12 x 16 island cabin in Nova Scotia

[ScottA]

Nice place. 

[Alasdair]

Hi Dave,
The place looks great - regarding the stove we used to have a morso squirrel, it was a great little stove but in a 200ft cabin you will have the windows open even when it is -20! We currently have an aspen by vermont castings, also a great little stove but we are often cooked out in the winter as you can't burn a stove cool enough to be comfortable without causing potentially hazardous creosote. The little boat stove is cute but probably not practical in  cabin. I don't know what the answer is if you figure something out let me know!

[John Raabe]

Your Photobucket album was a great read. Wonderful cabin in a very lovely spot and a place for many years of stories.

The Jøtul F 602 CB is "the best-selling woodstove ever produced. It is also the smallest wood stove on the market." About $800 - $950.

[ScottA]

I have a Jøtul F 602 in my cabin. Great stove.

[OlJarhead]

Your Photobucket album was a great read. Wonderful cabin in a very lovely spot and a place for many years of stories.

The Jøtul F 602 CB is "the best-selling woodstove ever produced. It is also the smallest wood stove on the market." About $800 - $950.

Smaller then the Aspen? 

We have the aspen for our 500+ sq/ft place (if you include lofts) and it's more then enough!

[Squirl]

The cool thing about the Morsoe is the clearance.  I believe it has the smallest clearance givinig it the smallest footprint of any wood stove.  It might be a pita cutting the wood so small.

An 8000 btu direct vent propane heater would probably be much cheaper, safer, and more comfortable. You would spend more on the chimney for the wood stove than you would on the entire propane heater setup.

[davestreck]

An 8000 btu direct vent propane heater would probably be much cheaper, safer, and more comfortable. You would spend more on the chimney for the wood stove than you would on the entire propane heater setup.

True, but since I've already bought all the chimney components, and installed the through-wall thimble, I'm pretty committed to a wood stove. Plus its free to feed and doesn't involve humping propane cylinders into the woods. Propane my be in our future once we start tackling refrigeration issues, but not for a few years.

The systems I have to figure out are, in order of importance:

1. heat: woodstove

2. water: rainwater collection and hand pumps. We still have to carry in drinking water

3. electric: basic (but expandable) AC solar/wind system. Low power requirements to start, maybe 300-500Wh per day; generator backup

4. septic: outhouse with composting sawdust toilet, basic greywater disposal field

5. refrigeration: used RV fridge, plus coolers and block ice (we freeze gallon spring water jugs and use them to keep the coolers cool)

Thats my 5 year plan to give us a solid, but not fancy, off-grid cabin that we can comfortably stay in for a month or more in the summer. Sure looks formidable when I write it all together like that...

[UK4X4]

When you think of refridgeration there are many 12V versions which will run on an 85watt panel

there are some cheap ones- norcold and a range from compact appliance which have been cheap but hit and miss in the overland community.

then there are Engel -rigged reliable and simple using low current

then up a price range but fully dual systems are Luna from southafrica

I run an Engel in my road truck and beer fridge when its at home- very good bit of equipment if you can swallow the price !

[GrandMananer]

Hi Dave,

I just came across your post by internet search. Your cabin is EXACTLY what I want to build on my land in Canada.

Our stories are quite similar. I live on the DownEast coast of Maine. About 12 years ago (before I knew I would be living on the water in Maine) we bought land with friends on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. GM is about 20 miles off shore and is served by a wonderful ferry service. The island has a ~3000 year round population and we are able to drive right to our site on the edge of a 140' cliff with southern exposure (I can see NS on the horizon!)
Our friends have built several small cabins on their land but we were lazy and put a 30' travel trailer on our spot. Now my wife says it's time for the trailer to go! I have already built a 12 x 16 platform and was intending to construct a cabin exactly like yours. I really wanted something post & beam like you but may end up with stick built.

I would really love to be able to chat with you as I am a very slow typist! Any chance we could talk sometime?

Thanks! John

[strattonworthy]

We bought the land 5 years ago. Its amazing how cheap islands were selling for, and back then the US dollar was a heckuva lot stronger than it is now. Our trips up there keep getting more and more expensive. All I can say is: Budweiser at $45 a case hurts!

We did luck out with the property. We looked at 5 or 6 islands before settling on this one. It has all we were looking for: totally private and remote, but close to land; great views; good elevation; and a protected cove for landing. Only thing it lacks is a sandy beach. All the beaches are gravel, but the water is too damn cold for swimming anyway.

The Whaler is underpowered, but the whole package was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. And she still gets up and goes pretty good, as long as I don't try to carry 100 2x4x8s at once, like I did the first time over.

Hello Dave, I've read through your posts and am pretty impressed at what you've achieved; a great job indeed! I am considering getting an island in Nova Scotia and would be very interested in your experiences so far. I would also welcome as much advice as you can offer!

A few things that I would love to find out from someone who has experienced it first hand:

1. What are the planning restrictions in Nova Scotia for building a cottage on an island? I'm eventually looking to be permanently based there and so would like to build something with 2 bedrooms etc.

2. You mentioned break-ins somewhere. Is that a real problem? How have tried to prevent them?

3. Do you have wildlife on your island? Birds, deer, other animals etc? Is the a problem with mosquitoes etc?

Etc. etc. I have loads more, but think it would be better to ask you directly if possible?

Many thanks in advance, Cheers Matthew.

[davestreck]

Hello Dave, I've read through your posts and am pretty impressed at what you've achieved; a great job indeed! I am considering getting an island in Nova Scotia and would be very interested in your experiences so far. I would also welcome as much advice as you can offer!

Matthew,

Although I haven't posted here in a while, we still have the cabin and continue to work on it every summer (photos of our latest trip here: https://s88.photobucket.com/user/davestreck/slideshow/Nova%20Scotia%202013). The cabin is finished on the outside, and we are slowly getting the inside squared away. I have the components of the solar system assembled, and I hope to have it set up next summer, followed by the rainwater cistern and the 12V pump/propane water heater. It has been quite a process so far, but we couldn't be happier with the way it is coming along. In spite of all the extra work that building on an island entails, it has been totally worth it.

1. What are the planning restrictions in Nova Scotia for building a cottage on an island? I'm eventually looking to be permanently based there and so would like to build something with 2 bedrooms etc.

To be honest, we never got a permit for our cabin. All the locals we asked about it just laughed at the question. I'm not even sure where the building inspector's office is. Apparently in our area people build "camps" quite often without ever notifying the province about it. It remains to be seen if I'll ever see any fallout from this decision, and I certainly recommend that you fully follow all regulations wherever you decide to build.

2. You mentioned break-ins somewhere. Is that a real problem? How have tried to prevent them?

We experienced break-ins in the first few years we were building, although none during this past year. This may be due to the fact that we have become friendly with a number of locals (including a few that swing some weight in our little town) who we encourage to go out and use the cabin whenever we're away. They tend to keep an eye on it and (I suspect) warn away some of the local miscreants. In any case, we have dealt with the threat of break ins in 3 ways: (1) no locks, (2) nothing stored out in the open that we can't live without, and (3) a "secret" room where more expensive gear is hidden

3. Do you have wildlife on your island? Birds, deer, other animals etc? Is the a problem with mosquitoes etc?

We have a healthy population of deer on the island:



We regularly see bald eagles, loons and many types of seabirds. I have seen bear on the mainland just a few miles away, but never on the island itself. Seals and dolphins are common sights in the water in front of the cabin. Bugs are surprisingly mild on the island, at least in late summer when we usually go. Occasional mosquitoes (no worse than at home in coastal Massachusetts) but no No-See-Ums, which is a blessing. Horseflies are bad on the mainland but uncommon on the island, I'm not sure why. Overall, most days I don't bother to put bug spray on at all.

Hope this answers your questions. Good luck with your project, and don't believe people when they say you're crazy!

Cheers,

David