i was looking to see if i could pull off swinging up there after the steelers TNF game if i go to that, my week is already trashed, go up friday and fly to denver monday... gonna feel it out and see if i can. Otherwise its gonna be a while before i get up there i think.

100% rentals seems the way if you want that kind of boat. But... is it still a "dock" if you put a roof over it or like.. no nothing built on the shore? It's a boathouse, totally different thing! Very classy.

Open-top kayaks are cheap used and just some molded plastic you can throw a tarp over in the shed or garage and forget about until spring - if you don't go in for the fish-finder and all that stuff. Found I prefer knee deep in a creek with a smaller fly rod or tenkara. It's chill, you see wildlife, no one much bothers you.. Pulling some absolute monster up out of the depths on a lake is a rush but even when that happens by the end of day I'm just demolished. Sunburned & hungover ain't it. Eating my lil lunch sitting on a big flat rock midstream? Heaven.

20 hours ago, T-Dub said:

100% rentals seems the way if you want that kind of boat. But... is it still a "dock" if you put a roof over it or like.. no nothing built on the shore? It's a boathouse, totally different thing! Very classy.

Open-top kayaks are cheap used and just some molded plastic you can throw a tarp over in the shed or garage and forget about until spring - if you don't go in for the fish-finder and all that stuff. Found I prefer knee deep in a creek with a smaller fly rod or tenkara. It's chill, you see wildlife, no one much bothers you.. Pulling some absolute monster up out of the depths on a lake is a rush but even when that happens by the end of day I'm just demolished. Sunburned & hungover ain't it. Eating my lil lunch sitting on a big flat rock midstream? Heaven.

essentially nothing left in the water..

2 hours ago, GoBengals said:

essentially nothing left in the water..

not even a ramp? gotta love people that already got theirs deciding no one else gets one

Driveway progress.

First photo is driveway from road.

Next two are the look from the end of that part going left toward where my house goes.

Last photos are end of first part to right toward where buddies house goes.

Accidentally posted one pic twice

45 minutes ago, GoBengals said:

First photo is driveway from road.

Next two are the look from the end of that part going left toward where my house goes.

Last photos are end of first part to right toward where buddies house goes.

Accidentally posted one pic twice

Did I already suggest installing one type of light fixture, maybe 2 if you want floods outside? Could go as far as secondary UV under the cabinets for the kitchen counters but.. I got a whole closet full of different bulbs here, not even counting the seizure-inducing fluorescents with ballasts that were probably fried a good 10+ years ago, not just in the garage but also some of the closets, for some unholy reason. Fucks sake. Convinced the contractors offloaded all their backstock on this place.

Think the bigger lesson here is it's cheaper to pay a little extra for the (stable, already accepted) newer tech instead of needing to modernize shit in 10-20 years. Also in-line water heaters rock.

14 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Did I already suggest installing one type of light fixture, maybe 2 if you want floods outside? Could go as far as secondary UV under the cabinets for the kitchen counters but.. I got a whole closet full of different bulbs here, not even counting the seizure-inducing fluorescents with ballasts that were probably fried a good 10+ years ago, not just in the garage but also some of the closets, for some unholy reason. Fucks sake. Convinced the contractors offloaded all their backstock on this place.

Think the bigger lesson here is it's cheaper to pay a little extra for the (stable, already accepted) newer tech instead of needing to modernize shit in 10-20 years. Also in-line water heaters rock.

oh yeah im all bout keeping tech up to date.. when we moved here, i made the billion bulb changes and have the same piles in my garage.. CFL, then finally to LED.

i learned the hard way, or the broke way in most cases, that its better to wait or save and spend on up to date tech or on quality in general, youll save money in the long run and have a better time along the way.

** similar but offtoppic rant **

i am fearful of the furnishing of the place, ive never had to furnish a place from scratch, and while i could possibly relocate some stuff from my house and replace it here, thats not much better and possibly more expensive.

furnishing 3 complete bedrooms, beds, sheets, mattresses, nightstands, a dresser or wardrobe, youre looking at $2500-3500 for good quality materials, then $300 for good quality sets of sheets, towels, now i can go cheap on sheets and just plan to toss them as they get ragged, but just depends am i planning on them falling apart or getting stained, same with towels.

cause ill have a cleaning company coming to change that stuff.

so $10k+ on three bedrooms. then two family room sets essentially, likely $3500-4500 each, couches, love seats, chairs, tables, cofee tables, lamps, decor, rugs, etc.

then kitchen, full stock of cups, plates, silverware, appliances, stools to sit at counter, etc etc etc.. probably $2500-4000

bathrooms stuff, mats, curtains, then random house stuff, a coat rack, hallway stands or shelves, dnd wall decor throughout.. probably $2500

then outdoor furniture for both levels of the place.. $4000-5000 each for lots of space for people to hang out in groups.

easily $20-25k.. and $40k wouldnt be a shock..

and how much can i try to bargain shop for stuff that gets delivered 25 hrs away from my house?

i can buy and store stuff from pottery barn, theyll collect items for you from all of thier stores at a warehouse closest to you then schedule a truck delivery date for you. I also get 25% discount there,

i can shot clearance and stuff along the way and store it ll at my house in the garage, and drive a truck there the first time i go or ship a POD and fly and meet it there but the pod will cost a few thousand, the truck will cost $1500 and waste 2 days of my driving.

no great options here..i got homies in ohio, who could store some small stuff, but nothing convenient there.. i could store it here and wrap pallets and ship pallets to the new place.. that will be $700each pallet.

and i cant logically furnish with ikea stuff to start and slowly upgrade as im costing myself money on the listing for rent if its poorly furnished.. im talking $1000+/nt in ski season potential here.

i honestly think i need to run the build loan at the last second i cant spend more out of pocket, then run a second job to make 20-30k/yr off of, and just spend each paycheck from that on furnishing shit and figure out storage of it the best i can...grab night stands on clearance, sheets on clearance, etc and just stockpile..

quite a rant of me thinking out loud of the gravity of this project there... my bad..

4 hours ago, GoBengals said:

oh yeah im all bout keeping tech up to date.. when we moved here, i made the billion bulb changes and have the same piles in my garage.. CFL, then finally to LED.

i learned the hard way, or the broke way in most cases, that its better to wait or save and spend on up to date tech or on quality in general, youll save money in the long run and have a better time along the way.

** similar but offtoppic rant **

i am fearful of the furnishing of the place, ive never had to furnish a place from scratch, and while i could possibly relocate some stuff from my house and replace it here, thats not much better and possibly more expensive.

furnishing 3 complete bedrooms, beds, sheets, mattresses, nightstands, a dresser or wardrobe, youre looking at $2500-3500 for good quality materials, then $300 for good quality sets of sheets, towels, now i can go cheap on sheets and just plan to toss them as they get ragged, but just depends am i planning on them falling apart or getting stained, same with towels.

cause ill have a cleaning company coming to change that stuff.

so $10k+ on three bedrooms. then two family room sets essentially, likely $3500-4500 each, couches, love seats, chairs, tables, cofee tables, lamps, decor, rugs, etc.

then kitchen, full stock of cups, plates, silverware, appliances, stools to sit at counter, etc etc etc.. probably $2500-4000

bathrooms stuff, mats, curtains, then random house stuff, a coat rack, hallway stands or shelves, dnd wall decor throughout.. probably $2500

then outdoor furniture for both levels of the place.. $4000-5000 each for lots of space for people to hang out in groups.

easily $20-25k.. and $40k wouldnt be a shock..

and how much can i try to bargain shop for stuff that gets delivered 25 hrs away from my house?

i can buy and store stuff from pottery barn, theyll collect items for you from all of thier stores at a warehouse closest to you then schedule a truck delivery date for you. I also get 25% discount there,

i can shot clearance and stuff along the way and store it ll at my house in the garage, and drive a truck there the first time i go or ship a POD and fly and meet it there but the pod will cost a few thousand, the truck will cost $1500 and waste 2 days of my driving.

no great options here..i got homies in ohio, who could store some small stuff, but nothing convenient there.. i could store it here and wrap pallets and ship pallets to the new place.. that will be $700each pallet.

and i cant logically furnish with ikea stuff to start and slowly upgrade as im costing myself money on the listing for rent if its poorly furnished.. im talking $1000+/nt in ski season potential here.

i honestly think i need to run the build loan at the last second i cant spend more out of pocket, then run a second job to make 20-30k/yr off of, and just spend each paycheck from that on furnishing shit and figure out storage of it the best i can...grab night stands on clearance, sheets on clearance, etc and just stockpile..

quite a rant of me thinking out loud of the gravity of this project there... my bad..

I live in Florida of the Southwest so estate sales, auctions, & thrift stores are pretty well stocked. Maybe less of an option in rural Maine.

On 10/19/2025 at 7:01 PM, T-Dub said:

I live in Florida of the Southwest so estate sales, auctions, & thrift stores are pretty well stocked. Maybe less of an option in rural Maine.

yea so few people around, they have thift like stores, but most items should be set on fire not be resold, snow and trail equipment is a whole other story, the secondary market is thriving there.

3 hours ago, GoBengals said:

yea so few people around, they have thift like stores, but most items should be set on fire not be resold, snow and trail equipment is a whole other story, the secondary market is thriving there.

Used outdoor gear of any kind is easy to come by around here, too. Tourists will come through, outfit themselves for a week long fishing trip or kayaking or snowboarding, whatever, then pawn all that shit because it's easier than trying to ship it all. Pulled up to a shop for a propane tank or something once & everyone that worked there was outside unloading a bigass heavy-duty raft off a trailer piled with gear. Guide got a really fat tip from whoever and just gave them all of it to to resell as a bonus. Happens a lot, apparently.

Not much point in buying anything like that new unless it's expensive and complicated enough to care about a warranty.

my dada had a ATV, sister wanted it.. so she gave me my cut of half its worth through the estate... shes never used it... so i just gave her half of what she gave me 4 years ago for it back.. so now i own that.. i dont know where it even is... so i need a trailer that can both TOW the ATV and BE TOWED by the ATV... then i need a shed.... THEN i need to get the thing to maine... a 25 hr drive...

this is a terrible plan all together honestly..

On 11/4/2025 at 11:18 PM, GoBengals said:

my dada had a ATV, sister wanted it.. so she gave me my cut of half its worth through the estate... shes never used it... so i just gave her half of what she gave me 4 years ago for it back.. so now i own that.. i dont know where it even is... so i need a trailer that can both TOW the ATV and BE TOWED by the ATV... then i need a shed.... THEN i need to get the thing to maine... a 25 hr drive...

this is a terrible plan all together honestly..

Does sound like it might be cheaper or at least easier to sell it and buy another one local? or a side by side/UTV, or snowmobile if you plan on doing winter stuff up there. They made UTVs licensed & street legal here in AZ a while back so they've pretty well replaced the golf carts that used to be everywhere around the retirement communities. Few places have ordinances against them because they're kinda loud, like I haven't seen one in Phoenix city limits, but otherwise they're everywhere. Common to run into whole packs of them out in the parks.

On 11/6/2025 at 5:13 PM, T-Dub said:

Does sound like it might be cheaper or at least easier to sell it and buy another one local? or a side by side/UTV, or snowmobile if you plan on doing winter stuff up there. They made UTVs licensed & street legal here in AZ a while back so they've pretty well replaced the golf carts that used to be everywhere around the retirement communities. Few places have ordinances against them because they're kinda loud, like I haven't seen one in Phoenix city limits, but otherwise they're everywhere. Common to run into whole packs of them out in the parks.

UTV would really be ideal. so damn expensive tho. hard to get into a new one for less than 12-15k, nice ones are 20k... its ridiculous.

hmmm a UTV or a brand new honda accord hybrid.... same fucking price...

What the literal fuck…? 😳

looks like some honda and yamaha ones start around $13-15k... but still...

looks like th eone i have from 2008 is worth like $3500-5k.. so if i can get 5k for it i can get a brand new UTV 4 seater for $9k, like $250/mo financed..

fucking ridiculous

gotta get my kid to transfer to an in state school, this $25k tuition AFTER his scholarship per year is raping me..

Pretty solid used market around here, but again they're both very popular and street legal in most places

I know I'm late to the party and haven't posted in a while, but don't be afraid of plumbing, if that can reduce your building costs. PEX and other flexible tubing is easy as pie to run, is color coded, various manifolds for control, is either crimp or screw on, so easy even an electrician can do it 🙃

On 12/19/2025 at 12:59 PM, MOC said:

I know I'm late to the party and haven't posted in a while, but don't be afraid of plumbing, if that can reduce your building costs. PEX and other flexible tubing is easy as pie to run, is color coded, various manifolds for control, is either crimp or screw on, so easy even an electrician can do it 🙃

great point, i have used pex here and there, my buddy was a contractor and refinished by pathroom and we converted everything to pex..

On 11/14/2025 at 11:26 PM, GoBengals said:

hmmm a UTV or a brand new honda accord hybrid.... same fucking price...

My parents still live on the farm (they're in the their 80's now)... my dad is still sharp as a tack but he's somewhat of a physical wreck, at least in his legs (athletic injuries that are never so much as diagnosed = pain later, which he always predicted. Well golly gee, he was right!). So anyway he hobbles around but still wants to cover the property (300-ish acres) so he uses one of these:

John Deere Gator, less intense than the above examples, more like a golf cart on steroids but more than holds its own on rough terrain and can do some tough jobs too. The top ones are about $20K CAD so not as wacky as those hardcore "cross-country... with speed!" monsters you showed above.