Frozen in Ice Castle ideas?

shorthairsrus

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I am sure one call to a certain towing service in MN and $$$$$ its out -- of all the vehicles and etc (some which only go down partway) they do enough of the work --- it will come out. Its not like its impossible.

1. the thing is insured and unpaid for -- then call your insurance company
2. Its paid for -buck up pay for the service out of MN.

I dont see an option 3
 


BrokenBackJack

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As most of you well know my body is shot, but i know if i was near this fish house i would be helping to try and get it off. It bothers the heck out of me to see someone in dire straits. We were brought up to help someone in need and this poor soul is in great need! Poor guy probably has a loan on this thing too.
Opie hats off to you and a thumbs up for trying to help this person. :;:thumbsup You are a good man! :;:exactly
 

FishSticks

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I hope he gets the thing out, I've had some issues with my ice houses but have been pretty fortunate to this point. Would very much like to see some pics as well.
 

Rut2much

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What lake is the IC on?
1A576210-C637-494F-A5D5-FE4016C80134.jpg
Hiddenwood lake
 


Opie11

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Update as of yesterday is really no progress and it may be worse than when he started. I think using the heaters to try to thaw the ice around the outside was probably not a good idea if you can't finish the job once you start. I was the one pushing snow away with my utility size lawn tractor/loader yesterday. Didn't trust the ice around it to hold the skid steer up. SDMF and Allen pretty much hit the nail on the head for how it got that bad. Inexperience to some extent, being unable to get to it because of snow events and just the miserable cold weather in February. Crap happens! The owner I believe is lining up an overhead gantry type system and we may try to get it hooked up and then cut it out. Will see what size stuff he comes up with. I still haven't taken a picture, because I would feel bad if he became an ice fishing site meme. I understand it might help to come up with ideas to see the extent of the problem, but I just hate to see the picture get passed around and laughed at. Maybe I'll post some if we get it out successfully.
 

risingsun

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Thanks for the update, and I certainly understand and agree with you respecting his privacy. And your right sh@t happens. It is a aprt of life with the humps and bumps. I hope things work out for the best with minimal damage, and above all please be safe whatever you try.
 

Meelosh

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No joke, you may want to consider getting some pontoons attached to it somehow if you haven’t made any progress yet. I have no idea if that if feasible or even a good idea but I’m not sure you’re going to be able to get it out. Some times rescue operations become retrieval operations.
 

CatDaddy

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No joke, you may want to consider getting some pontoons attached to it somehow if you haven’t made any progress yet. I have no idea if that if feasible or even a good idea but I’m not sure you’re going to be able to get it out. Some times rescue operations become retrieval operations.

Pontoons may be a relatively cheap insurance policy....what size?

And much respect for the thoughtful action to not post pics yet. I'm dying to see them, but not at the cost of ridiculing a guy already down.
 


Sum1

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Yup! I’ll never own an Ice Castle. Hopefully these guys are loaded with cash and it isn’t to big of a hit. I would hate to have this happen to a guy that saved his every last penny for one.
 

BrokenBackJack

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That is what we were thinking once you start to try and get it out you have to stay and finish getting it out. Could be a very long day or possibly 2 especially if one hasn't done it before.
Poor guy i bet he is just going nuts.
 

johnr

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We fished Our local Patterson Lake on Sunday snow on top was still 6+ inches thick, and getting slushy under the top crust. Made our Ranger travel a bit sketchy, since I am way to cheap to put tracks on. Point being the temps were really nice, and this coming weekend should be conducive to a good shot at getting it freed.
This might be your last chance, ice was still 30 inches or so on our local sw lake, so guessing it would be that up north.


Good luck, be safe
 


Lungdeflator

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Opie- I live in Berthold, if you need another guy to help out and make a big push to get it out, let me know.

Is there still ice inside the house?

H&L oilfield supply is in Berthold. They probably have some rig heaters available to rent. A lot of that snow weight will come off the ice this week. I'd really try to get some major heat going inside the house and thaw that out, the floor should thaw out as well if you have all the fans running. Like I said, if you need help shoot me a PM or something.
 

NDSportsman

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This thing is just frozen in on top of the ice right? I mean it didn't go thru the ice did it? How thick is the ice under the house? Can't believe you haven't been able to get this thing off yet. Should not have taken more then a day IMO. Get a chain saw and cut around the house as close to it as you can and only go down until you are below the house frame. should be able to get spud bars under it and pry it up enough to block it above the ice and pull it off.
 

Lungdeflator

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I'm not sure if spud bars alone will do it. Not sure what a 20+ft long weighs, but probably quite a bit. I was thinking you could chainsaw spots out on all 4 corners, big enough for some nice bottle jacks to fit in. Might even work to cut and run the jacks at a bit of an angle if you are worried about cutting down to deep into the ice.
Might sound pretty optimistic, but I think if you thawed out the inside and got the floor hot, the jacks under the corners should pop it out. At least they would put a lot of upward pressure on the house while you sawed or chipped away with bars around the perimeter.

Opie- Tell your friend I'll give him 100$ cash for the house. As is. lol
 

Mort

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Well whats the progress of this thing???????? Should of had it off with the nice weather lately.
 

Bfishn

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The lack of an update lead me to believe things are not going well in the recovery process. I cant believe nobody has driven by this thing yet and posted a pic.
 


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