Just finished getting my Licenses for excavater/loader/grader and backhoe and was chatting to my trainer about what it would cost to build a channel 50m wide 1.5m deep and 2km long.
He said the best way to build it would be to use a Scraper the approx cost would be $1000 a day and it would take 3 weeks to complete, if the ground is easy to dig in alot less time.
With the federal election coming up governments have a tendency of throwing around money especially to sporting clubs and groups it wouldn't be a silly idea to get a proposal put together and submit it for funding,all we need is a suitable location to build the thing.
Sounds like an expensive option.....
What about just buying some of those oil slick booms from BP after they have finished with them in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tow 1.5 kms of those out with your boat and you can have your speed course wherever you want.
The booms will probably be well soaked in oil which will leach out and calm the water further.
not until i have had a chance to sail it at least!
Been waiting for Mineral to bring down one of his big Cat's for a wee demo on a low tide, could sort it out quick smart
Elmo, see all those lumps below especially the 2 big ones jutting out on the right that never use to exist before the start of the run. Hopefully it will return to its natural state that existed (before the greenies interfeared with it?) by way of some more storm surges like in the pic below(2009), , .....
Choco - If your trainer only wants $1000 a day for a scraper then book him now.
Your talking about shifting 150,000m3 of dirt - you wont do that in 3 weeks with a single scraper. From memory a CAT 623 is about 17m3 a lift so thats 8823 lifts in 150 hours.
Methinks your trainer is a little off the mark.
The Maquarrie Innovation guys looked into building a canal and came up with estimates around a Million $ 
good thing at henty (Tas) it has is own digger for free.....the length in September 2009 was around 800m now around 1.7km just need another year of record rain on the west coast and theres easy over 2km and it was for free and still growing.
y bother digging it out .. plant a **** load of explocives and blow most of it away .. uses the scrapers and equipment to clean up
I remember seeing a photo of Bjorn sailing alongside an anchored floating boom with sheet plastic to make a calmish water run, I don't know if it was any good otherwise it would have gotten popular.
I think the theory is good, set whatever angle you like to the wind instead of waiting for the right angle on formed sandbanks.
Problem with chop killers is that the upwind chop still kills the wind at the surface. They are good for smoothing off the sharp bits of water but the swell gets straight through. They had something like that set up off Port Beach when they were dredging Fremantle Harbour over summer. It was pretty fast if you were lucky enough to get a gust within 50m of it. The rest of the time the wind was being killed by the sausage, which was sitting 50cm off the water.
Many years ago someone was trying to sail in the useless loop / shark bay salt works pans. I seem to remember they managed to go there and not get an wind (pretty difficult thing to do).
The salt mines have already built the ponds its just whether they would give anyone permission to sail in them (and who knows what angles etc... they are).
does anyone else remember that ?
Here's a shot of that sausage (pipeline) that was off the coast of Perth this summer. It started off in a straight line then they put a bend in it mid summer - this was taken in a 12-18 knot seabreeze so you can see it really has knocked the chop down but swell still sneaks through. Total length of pipe was about 3-400m?.
funny how we all think the same. I reckon working in with a farmer who needs an irrigation pond-('dam' over there?) would be the go.
Just south of Chch someone built a lake of the size you're talking about for his mad keen water ski sons. Trouble is, he then planted trees all around it!!!
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Couple of scoop racers useing 657E's, a Cat skinner, and two scoop chasers should get it done smartly.
657's are 25-30m3 a bowl Mineral? - Thats still 5000 passes - for your 657's plus D10/11's to push 'em -big big big bucks- well past chocos' trainer's estimate of $1000 per day - if only
Choco said
I think it would be easier to just build earth walls by pushing them up instead of digging a trench as long as the topography is nice and level.
Wind flow would be affected slightly, even if you had long batters.
Any channel would have to de dug / constructed in a suitable soil type to retain the water or have a large water supply nearby to keep it supplied
Choco if you get this one up I will come and work on it for free
