Here in Kansas we've been fortunate enough to obtain use of a small, shallow battling pond on private property--out in the country, about 35 miles north of Manhattan. Being somewhat small (100 feet and 150 feet on two of three sides--the third being mostly irregular in shape and not having been precisely measured to date, but longer than 150 feet anyway), we've wanted to expand the overall size to as much as three times the present surface area. Rental backhoes were the plan:
March 4-6, 2000 (special Friday afternoon thru Monday morning
single-day rate). Lay-mor backhoe (Case). Small, light. $125/day (8 hrs.
of use, w/o incurring overtime). Delivery for $2 per loaded mile.
Trailer and hoe towable by a half-ton vehicle, we took the equipment out
ourselves.
Initial attempts at digging on Saturday showed this model to be too light. The loader/blade was useless except for picking up or pushing dirt already dug out. The hoe bucket was able to make some progress, but basically the entire piece of quipment had to be chained to a Jimmy 4x4 to make any real headway at all. By Sunday afternoon, only a small English-type dam had been put into the ground at the low, NW corner of the pond, the previous overflow run-off area. An additional channel was traced out around our designated island, to a depth of several inches and about 6-8 feet wide.
Final: 6-1/2 hrs. of digging time expended. Total cost of $141.65. Conclusion was made that this hoe was simply too small and light for the job.
- March 31-April 3, 2000 (special Friday afternoon thru Monday morning
single-day rate). Model 310 75-horse backhoe (John Deer). Large,
heavy-duty. $240/day (8 hrs. of use w/o incurring overtime). Delivery
for 25 cents a mile and 50 cents a minute (loaded and unloaded driving
time/distance figures into total charge). Trailer and hoe towable by a
one-ton vehicle, we had to go with delivery and pickup as no such
vehicle available to us.
This backhoe made better work of the tough, deep Kansas clay--but the loader/blade was still at a disadvantage. Light rains had also made the ground very slick, traction-wise. The earthen dam just north and south of the wooden dam (w/removable cross planks to control pond depth) was built up to the same heigth as the rest of the west bank dam. The channel around the island was increased to a depth of perhaps 2 feet, with an approximate width of 10-12 feet. When the water table rises, the island will hopefully become just that--an island, surrounded by navigable water. A deep ravine just downhill from the old run-off area in the NW corner was also filled in with dirt, and a large thorn tree in this same area was pruned back with the hoe bucket. It looks like an express train hit it now, but hopefully it will still provide some shade this summer.
Final: 7-1/2 hrs. of digging time expended. Total cost of $414.60. Any further, appreciable pond expansion will probably take one to two full days of digging, just to expand narrow strips northeastward each phase.
Project Conclusions To Date:
14 total hrs. of digging time expended. Total cost of $556.25 in rentals, delivery, etc. The entire original project planned is still a 5-7 day dig at least. Further excavation is likely to be delayed (due to cost)--unless a friend of the property owner is able to make good on an offer to help with his own backhoe sometime in the future, at a very reduced rate.
This may not exactly be the Panama Canal we're digging....but then again, those folks probably had a LOT of dynamite....
Copyright 2000 © Craig McLean