Baller LoopSki Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 who has some fast builds from first dirt moved to skiing. I thought I read somewhere that someone was able to do it in 30 days. I assume filling it takes longer than digging it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ The_MS Posted September 23, 2019 Baller_ Share Posted September 23, 2019 In Minnesota it takes months just to grease the local politicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller 2Valve Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 our Wally course raises and lowers in 10 min. does that count? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ lpskier Posted September 23, 2019 Baller_ Share Posted September 23, 2019 it took my contractor 26 weeks to do my pool in Orlando. By extrapolation, that’s 32 years, five months to do a lake. But it would be a nice heated lake with a spa. Lpskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ MISkier Posted September 23, 2019 Baller_ Share Posted September 23, 2019 @kurt, how long did your lake take? The worst slalom equipment I own is between my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller John Brooks Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 I believe the biggest time requirement is vegetation growth on the shore to better manage erosion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Jetsetr Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 I know Stillwater in WI went quick, they were pumping a sh*t load of water OUT while building/digging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller jhughes Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 I talked to a guy that said he put 5000 hours on an excavator digging a lake. If you consider a 40 hour work week as a regular employee is about 2080 hours a year that's over 2 years at that pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller LoopSki Posted September 23, 2019 Author Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 @jhughes in two years one could dig it with a shovel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller klindy Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 @jhughes Tonka Toys don’t count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Onside135 Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 @jhughes I’ve not dug a lake, but if I were to dig one and owned an excavator, the first thing I think I’d do is sell it and buy a scraper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller BraceMaker Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 Depends what you find. If you could find a natural valley with lots of clay in theory you just need to build a dam on one end and shape shorelines. If that had natural water flow into it that you could divert while digging you'd be in business. If you have to haul in tons of clay and over dig and then line it... If the material you are removing is valuable like good sand or good farm soil you might get a bunch of it sold and the buyer will get at it quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller gsm_peter Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 @eleeski ... Experience from digging 2 lakes?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller bojans Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 Years ago we were skiing with Keri Tolzman in Wisconsin. He had a cranberry farm going as well as a couple lakes. He talked about needing an additional lake for regionals and how he used a large dozer to push dirt to the edges creating essentially a ditch. I forget what he said the time to dig was but he had a pump on the back of his dozer that I believe he said could fill the lake in a couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Sethro Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 I remember an article in Water Ski magazine many years ago about a group of contractors that got together to build a lake for a fellow contractor...memory tells me it was 10 days, but I don't exactly trust my memory on that one. I do remember it was a very short period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller LoopSki Posted September 23, 2019 Author Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 @Sethro I think that's the same article I read. 10 days to dig and 20 fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller eleeski Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 My first lake started in May. We skied on it for Thanksgiving. We did survive a blown engine on the D8, a blown engine on the Nautique, a flood, a dry well, innumerable little disasters and a near zero budget. Learned a lot. Of course we thought we'd be skiing in a month. Like I said, I learned a lot. The Mecca site was commercially dug and took all summer - but moved a lot of dirt. I don't remember how long it took to dig the lake @gsm_peter skied at with me - it was a low priority project that took many years to finish. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller buoyboy1 Posted September 23, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 23, 2019 My lake was built in 3 months but did not ski on it for a full year to allow shoreline vegetation to establish and it was the best advice I could have received. If not you will get severe erosion and will regret it later unless you have 100 percent sandy soil. Think big picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skiep Posted September 24, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 24, 2019 Lake 38 start date Jan-22 2012 sking July 22 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Swini Posted September 24, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 24, 2019 Yes my buddy from Ontario was just under 2 weeks from when he broke ground to when there were buoys floating in it. He had 2 different excavating companies digging 1/2 each with a 20k bonus to whoever finished their 1/2 first! Its the lake where the Barefoot Worlds were last summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller mfjaegersr Posted September 24, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 24, 2019 Wouldn’t it be interesting to watch a time-lapse vid from start to ski? Pick a lake, any lake. First shovel to first buoy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller kurt Posted September 24, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 24, 2019 @Swini holy crap! Mine was 6 months to dig, clay was so hard they spun the tires off the John Deere's pulling the pans and had to switch to an excavator and top load the pans. 6 months to fill, they finished after the rainy season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Skoot1123 Posted September 24, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 24, 2019 Our lake was 3 years. But each year was only 3 months of digging. Lake filled in 4 months. Not the fastest - but considering all the regulations I’ll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller theboardingschool Posted September 25, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 25, 2019 @LLUSA took less than two weeks if I remember correctly. The land a 12-15’ drop from one end to the other, so they took from one side and built a damn on the other. And a e had a creek to pull water from to fill. So a diesel pump ran 24 hours a day until it was full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller LLUSA Posted September 25, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 25, 2019 @theboardingschool your close 28 days to build and 45 days to fill, you ought to know the days you carried fuel to the pumps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MickeyThompson Posted September 25, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 25, 2019 Wow! After reading this thread makes me appreciate all the people that have built lakes for us to enjoy. I'm very fortunate here in north Alabama to have three lakes within 45 minutes of my house and two more within 70 minutes. Thanks to all you lake owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skimtb Posted September 25, 2019 Baller Share Posted September 25, 2019 I’m not buying it. I think it takes a year to do. Someone needs to come dig one within 20 min drive from my house to prove it! Otherwise it’s hearsay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyjamesbrown Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Came across this article while ago: https://www.boatingmag.com/features/2002/04/01/a-blueprint-for-building-a-private-ski-site/ Fantasy reading for me, but I've always said if I ever win the lottery, I'm gonna dig a big big hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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