Forced re-fresh
 

A cool trick if you don't want to clear your cache -- you can add a "?r" at the end of the URL to force a re-fresh, like so:

http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/?r

This tricks your browser in to thinking it's an entirely new URL, and thus a fresh, un-cached copy. I guess my "cammo-nerd" cover has been blown :cool:

Also, Kudos to FLL and IG for getting Snake Eyes back up and running, and I'm sure everyone is jealous of our Colorado snow!

My bad
 

You are right the cabin is too high for an Islander.

...a mini cabin cruiser!
 

As always, the wind weather and waves are the big boss on the Big Lake. Especially true for an 18' aluminum boat in January, but I felt safe and secure yesterday as I boated from Meredith Neck to Rattlesnake Island. The earlier white caps had calmed away so the water was smooth enough. Rounding the south end of Rattlesnake with Island Girl, a couple of large swells definately got my attention but otherwise it was a fun-run and good for repairing the Snake Eyes web-cam.
About my boat; it is a '74 Starcraft Starchief with a '00 Suzuki 70hp four-stroke. It has an enclosed bow area with a high windshield so spray coming over the bow is not too much of a problem. Suzuki makes a terrific outboard, or at least my Zuki is terrific! It always starts easy, runs quiet, is reliable and sips gas. I can go all over Winnipesaukee on a six-gallon tank with a two-gallon backup spare.
While an 18'er is probably considered too small by many, it works for me and it definately gives you that feeling of being close to the water, like a surfboard or something, that you just don't get in the bigger boats.



"...boats are like people; it's not the age, it's the condition!"

Wow. Now my mental image of FLL is forever shattered.

;)

First kayak trip for 2007
 

Saturday was so beautiful that I took out my kayak and paddled from around Echo Point down to Sandy Point and back. It was an amazing day. I didn't have to worry about any boat wakes for the whole trip! Soon after I got back a big rain and wind storm blew through which seemed to clear out any ice that had formed down by the beginning of the bay. Does that count as ice out?
I also saw my first robin of the year so I guess that oficially makes it spring.

And my forsythia is blooming!:confused: :confused: :confused: Only one small, but quite noticeable yellow flower. Hope the others sit tight for several more months.

FLL, I was jealous to see the pix of you out on your boat in early January. If mine wasn't deep in a storage shed, I'd be out there, too - if only to say I've done it. And 18' is just fine. Mine is a 15 year-old 20 footer, a real beater of a boat but I love it. I have no desire for anything newer or bigger. :coolsm: :coolsm: :coolsm:

70+
 

Down here is was over 70 on Saturday so I washed the truck. So blame me for the rain today. The blue berry bushes where I work are starting to bud it is so spring like I can't stand it.

Will the lake freeze this year? I hope so. Perhaps if every one puts their boats back in the lake the temps will drop and the snow will fly. I have not even looked at my snow blower in the hope it will snow. Reverse psychology!

And 18' is plenty. We have a 20 year old 19 footer and that handles what we need. The first boat was a 15' Starcraft and that boat was used more in two weeks of vacation than many of the big boats are used all season.

Remember it is not the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean!

Swimming??
 

I understand some of the kids in Wolfeboro went swimming last weekend. At least they got their feet wet. Anyone else go in.
I walked the beach in FLorida.

Mee too
 

Saturday was definately a hard day to beat...I took my canoe down the Northside of Long Island....it was a remarkable experiece.... I noticed a few others with the same idea.....

Yup,I have to say I see FLL in a different light now.Great job,Great friend!

Do I see a hint of white?
 

Just looking at the Weirscam and I thought I saw a hint of white up in the mountains.
Wishful thinking?

Wishing might make it so
 

I see ice in Smith Cove, and snow on some mountains from one of the BearCams. All of our wishing is having an impact! lol :D

... and speaking of the BearCams.... the owner of them, Bear Islander, is in Antartica... pretty amazing pictures if you are interested. http://www.rl99.com/.

If the wind gods could just cool their jets and let the lake skim over we could be on our way to some winter fun!

IG.... who is tired of looking at the snowmobile in the garage.... wants to see it at the lake!

Stop What you are doing now!!!
 

Go and look at the webcams.... it is 10:33 am on Jan 12 and the various cams are showing particularly gorgeous views of the lake.... wish I was there!!! :emb:

http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/icein.htm

The views from the summit of Gunstock were magnificent yesterday. I wish that I had my camera with me!

Smith Cove has lost ice cover over the last few weeks, it was locked in pretty well but is back to a skim.

I'm seeing a light coating of snow on all the cams this morning except snake eyes which, once again, appears to be plunged into darkness. Looks like another trip to the island may soon be in order! More snow predicted over the next two days! I like to check out THIS WEB CAM for current conditions and rate of snow fall since it is "near" real time. I'd like to help you out Island Girl....do you think we could make it over to snake eyes in kayaks like this guy photographed recently in Alton Bay?
(courtesy photo by George Murphy as seen in the Baysider)

I shaved off all my hair today, so get your skis and sleds out folks. The cold air should be here any time now. :D

Low and behold!:eek: Ya'll may be interested in seeing the forcasted temps on Accuweather.com and Weather.com. I should have shaved my head two months ago!

The power seems to be off on Rattlesnake... phones just ring and ring... no answering machines... and the power company's boat is not in the water... so we wait for another solution!

Check out Lake Wentworth cam!

Woo Hoo!!
 

Here is the link.... now if the wind would just die down.

http://www.lwa.org/index.php?option=...ebcam&Itemid=5

IG

Some promise at last!
 

Winnipesaukee's waves rolled a lot more sluggishly than normal today as nearly a half-inch of sleet fell on top of 2 inches of snow, and the temperature remained around 21 F all day.

It is ready to freeze, and the shoreline ice formations that formed from splashover 2 days ago still have not melted which is a great sign. Now the computer models show Wednesday's daytime high struggling to reach 10, and two straight nights of below-zero followed by strong hints of another cold wave for the upcoming weekend.

We're going to see this thing freeze by the end of the week!

...what to do...what to do?
 

Is the ice-in finally gonna get here.....the temp has dropped over ten degrees down to 18 in the past two hours....should I play it safe and remove my boat...or leave it in....are these colder but not real cold temps just a temporary cold couple of days before it goes back up to the mid thirties or what? Think I'll pull my boat before the launch ramp gets iced and wait for a big fast ice-in................swoooooosh......the sound of water changing to ice!

It's time to give in!!
 

FLL,
It's time to get that wonderful craft out of the water while you can! The 6-10 day outlook for temps is for way below normal through the end of the month. Real winter is just around the corner.

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/product...10temp.new.gif

BT

You know Les,I don't agree with a lot of your views but my hats off to you for your failure to give in to the end of summer.Are you sure your not a true old time yankee rebublican in liberal clothing?I think I'd get that aluminum yacht out of the water today or at least by the end of the week.God bless you,you old yankee!!

I dunno, I'd bet there will be clear sailing between at least Meredith and the Weirs for the rest of the winter.....:confused:

Yup, winter's here
 

Winds gusting to 22 mph out of the northwest, temps falling from a morning high of 20... this is more like it! The only thing out-of-place is the white-caps where ever-flowing rivers of blowing snow (atop a smooth hard surface known as ICE) should be.

Winter's here for at least the predictable future. Got two more storm systems coming up the coast, and regardless of their track (snow or no snow?) they'll pull down more Canadian cold air as they exit. For more info I maintain a weather page geared toward New England at www.blackcatnh.com/weather.

Check this graphic out - it's this afternoon's watch/warning summary from the National Weather Service. Look at it and ask yourself, "Global warming?"

These two tell it like it is - cold in those southern homes...

http://image.weather.com/images/maps...mp_600x405.jpg


.

....a starting problem.
 

gee whiz.....thanks for all the moral support....ran into a not-so-minor problem(s) today.....first, after cleaning about two inches of crusty frozen rain-snow-slush off the boat and boat cover....one side of the boat lift was frozen in the up position....after tapping on the lift and ice w/ a small mason's hammer, got that free'd up pretty easy.....next problemo and a bigger one....it's the normally terrific Suzuki outboard.....I think probably the Suzuki is not getting any gasoline....it started right up and ran for three minutes and then died and will not restart....it cranks good and there's enough juice in the battery to work the trim & tilt, but the engine won't fire up, like it's not getting any gas.....maybe a .......something frozen(?) except gasoline does not freeze .....it's a problem that needs to be addressed probably before the looming ice-in. While there is still absolutely no ice to be seen within miles I know it's out there.....da-da.....da-da-da..(theme from Jaws the movie here)......later.....tomorrow should be another day?

Get that boat out tomorrow
 

Hey there FLL,

The forecast for Wed night from 10pm on is for low temps and no wind... the lake could skim over and you would be SOL. Is your gas line frozen?

IG

If not tomorrow, definitely Thursday
 

Only the wind is keeping it liquid now. A Thursday Ice-in will depend on how much ice can form Wednesday night with calm winds and temps near zero. Thursday afternoon's temps near 32 and winds from the SW would break up any ice that's too thin to survive, but a few more snowflakes are moving in for Friday so anything that's not frozen by Friday night will freeze within a few days.

Tom Chisholm on Ch. 8 tells of models hinting at a cold air mass that's as cold as air gets in North America, coming out of Siberia and crossing Canada, arriving here by the end of the month. Winter, at last!!!

BTW does anyone know if there are records for Ice-In, and if so, what the latest recorded Ice-In has ever been? I've googled around and found only the ice-OUT records.

Sounds like a frozen fuel line.....
 

Less,

Unfortunately, it sounds like a frozen fuel line is the likely problem and with these tempatures it will not be easy to thaw it.

I would carefully try a hair drier, but the chances of it working are not high. Warm water poured over accessable areas of the line is perhaps a safer idea. If this does not work, consider running a temporary new line from the tank to the engine. This will cost some money, but you do not have much time to get the boat out. In either case, I would first treat the tank with dri-gas to get at any additional water that may be present and not yet frozen.

If your tank is not full and if you used your boat a when it was warmer, as we know you did, you likely drew in relatively moist air that condensed into water when it got cold. The water likely stayed as water in your tank due to the volume of the gas in the tank, but froze when you pulled it into the feed line to the engine. If you have some metal in the feed line, I would hit it first with the hair drier or even grab it with your hand for a few minutes. Be very careful with the drier and any gas fumes.

I am not up at the lake. If I was I would try to help directly. One good turn attracts another!

Good Luck!

R2B

R2B:

Since these 4-stroke motors are cooled by water, couldn't there be some frozen water somewhere as well???

ice in view!
 

nice sunrise this morning and shows a skim of ice on the Pine Island Cam!

PIG

Boy FLL, I'm really worried for you now. All of the above suggestions are good. I am going to assume that you have a portable fuel tank?? Disconnect it and bring it and the hose into the house to warm up. Go for the dry gas too. If you have the ability to get power to the dock either use the hairdryer (not that you would have one!) or put a floodlight or light bulb directly on the engine power head. You'll be amazed at the amount of heat that will transfer to the engine. Good Luck

Blue Thunder

Ice Coming Soon?
 

Bitter cold weather has finally arrived at the lake. It's -4 degs here in West Alton this morning. The wind howled all night and kept the lake churned up ... we recorded a 44 mph gust about 10:30 PM last night.

When (if) the wind dies, I think we're going to see ice forming quickly.

Here's a photo taken from our window at 8:00 am. (It's too cold & windy to go outside!)

http://www.echoshores.com/ice-in/2007/011707.jpg

http://www.echoshores.com/ice-iin/2007/011707.jpg

Cool....I mean COLD!
 

:) That's great news DRH!

And if we do get the snow & ice predicted over the next two months, hopefully I'll be able to sled up & over the mountain and sneak down your way for a cup of joe!:)

I highly doubt that you would see enough ice in the next 24 hours to be considered an ice-in. A lot of the shorelines still do not have much if any ice buildup. I would expect another 4-5 days if things stay this cool before you see anything serious taking place. There is enough wind to keep it moving and it certainly takes a lot to skim over the broads. Some of the channels, coves and between the islands will start but I do not think we are quite there yet. I am hoping for a final boat ride on Saturday.

This morning, while looking at all of the web cams, at two different times - I saw what seemed to be the same vessell in both the Pine Island cam view and the Bear Island cam view.
Now, from the map illustration on the Bear Island site, I know these two islands are next to each other, I guess I just never realized which direction the Pine Island cam was facing. So, I assume the Pine Island cam faces east? So when looking at the Bear Island Cam, are one of the homes that are in view on Pine Island that of the Pine Island Cam?
Just curious...

We'll have to wait and see... I've seen a half-inch of ice form on the open lake overnight (in past years) if the air is cold enough (below zero) and winds are calm. If tomorrow's SW wind doesn't get strong enough to break it up, it will survive to meet Friday's snow and then the next arctic blast on Saturday. This morning we're seeing rapid cooling of the water, with a steady stream of arctic sea smoke blowing down the open lake and a low of -2 on Black Cat Island. If for some reason the ice doesn't thicken enough by Friday, it may stay open till Monday since we have more strong winds coming up for Saturday.

But all details aside, the moral of the story is, "if you left anything in the water that you want to take out, now is the time to take it out."

Check out this morning's cam view...

here's pic #2
 

Bear Island Cam...