Thanksgiving at the Lake: Making the Last Weekend Count

Thanksgiving Monday is October 12 this year. For plenty of families that means one more drive up, one more fire, and the quiet understanding that this is probably it until spring.

It is a strange weekend. Half celebration, half shutdown. The turkey goes in and somebody is out on the dock with a wrench. We see the same pattern every year in the shop: people call in early October wanting to know what they have to deal with before they lock the door.

Here is the practical routine, in order.

Friday: arrive, look around, make a list

Before anything else, walk the waterfront with a coffee and look at what is still in the water.

A shoreline sweep often turns up more than expected: a dock, boards, paddles, pumps, ropes, anchors, chairs and small fittings.

Write it down. Every year somebody drives home in October, remembers the anchor line in November, and comes back in April to find it seized into the ice.

Saturday: use the water, because it is still there

October water can still support a suitable outing, but sunshine and comfortable air do not establish water safety. Check the specific waterbody and dress for immersion.

More to the point, the dock is still in. If it is coming out on Monday, Saturday is the last day anyone gets to stand on it this year. Kids know this instinctively and adults tend to forget.

If you are going out on a board, the water and air have separated properly by October, and cold water is now a real consideration rather than a theoretical one. Dress for going in, not for standing on the deck. Wear the flotation device. Our fall layering guide covers what that means in October specifically, and Transport Canada's Safe Boating Guide lists what you are required to carry.

If you are on the fence about whether it is still worth going out, our piece on knowing when to call the season is the honest answer.

Sunday: clean and dry, because drying is the bottleneck

Everything else on this list is fast. Drying is not.

Get the dock, the boards and the chairs out of the water Sunday morning at the latest. Rinse them. Lay them flat somewhere they will get sun and air. Then flip them in the afternoon, because the underside holds far more water than the top and it is the side everybody forgets.

Do not roll anything that is even slightly damp. A dock packed wet in October is a dock with mildew stains in May, and those stains do not come out.

October helps you here and hurts you here. Cool dry air moves moisture well. Short days and low sun mean less drying time. Start earlier than you think you need to.

Monday: pack, drain, and take the batteries home

Our dock winterization guide has the full version if you want to do it properly, and the storage mistakes piece covers what happens if you do not.

If you have a boat or an electric outboard, that is its own job. See winterizing an electric outboard.

The question everybody asks: does the dock have to come out this weekend?

Thanksgiving is a convenient date, not a deadline. The actual deadline is freezing, and that arrives at wildly different times depending on where you are. We wrote a whole piece on when you actually have to pull the dock, because the honest answer is that a lot of people pull three weeks early out of habit.

The real question is whether you are coming back. If Thanksgiving is your last trip, everything comes out now. If you will be up again in early November, and you are not somewhere that freezes early, the dock can stay.

Be realistic about whether anyone will return before conditions change. If not, remove and store the gear now.

While you are looking at everything anyway

You are standing in front of your entire kit with fresh eyes, which will not happen again until May. Two things worth doing.

Photograph serial numbers, condition and storage. The record can help with inventory, service or a future claim.

Write down what needs replacing. The paddle that is bent. The PFD with the compressed foam. The pump that has been struggling. You will not remember any of this in April, and you will remember all of it in late November when the year's best pricing shows up. Our Black Friday buying guide covers how to shop that window With a Clear Checklist.

One thing worth saying

There is a version of this weekend where somebody spends the entire time working and nobody actually enjoys the lake.

Do the assessment Friday, use the water Saturday, clean Sunday, pack Monday morning. That is maybe four hours of actual work spread across three days, and it leaves the rest of the weekend for the reason you drove up in the first place.

Questions about any of it, the shop is at 1-800-399-5260, Monday to Friday, 8 to 5 Pacific. Real people, and they have all closed a cottage.