Marking a property line.

[Gary_C]

Here is the USGS map of your location from Topozone

I have already zoomed in on your property. If you move over to the lower right, you will see the grid north readings and the current magnetic readings. There is also an explanation for the readings if you click on the What's this?

You can't assume the sides are 1320 and 660 long. However, if you have three good pins along the section lines, you can use a compass and determine the angles and then measure the two sides. Then just use those lengths to find the missing corner. You should be very close.

It does appear from that map that the grids are not always square in that area.

[Mooseherder]

And the Headlines Read: :D
"2 Men Find Beale Treasure Originally Thought To be Hidden In Virginia."
While searching with Metal Detector for property line pin, 2 men stumbled across a major discovery. 8)

Can't finish story now, gotta go work. :D

[snowman]

We just did a rough compass run on a property a friend of mine purchased. With the compass and a hip chain we were able to find all old corners and several old blazes on the lines. It is exciting to find old stone corners and blazes.

I recently bought some land in wash state, only 1 line was marked. I spent a couple days with a compass finding the other corners and marking the lines, I agree, it's great fun! My wifes doing an adventure race this summer, they give you bearings to places where you retrieve a card or something,1st team to get to all the spots and back again wins.She wants ME to teach her how to do this. :D

[thurlow]

they give you bearings to places where you retrieve a card or something,

That was called a compass course when I was at Ft. McCllelan in '67  8)

[Radar67]

It's called land navigation now. They still teach soldiers how to use a compass, map, and protractor, along with the new GPS systems.

Stew

[SwampDonkey]

Private lots here were run off the river fronts and base lines were 'crown reserved roads'. In my area we have 4 roads running north south west of the river toward to USA border. Lots are running on an azimuth of 250-270 E-W off these roads. When you get a big bend in the river you get what's called a 'gore lot' which is triangular in shape.

[SwampDonkey]

It's called land navigation now. They still teach soldiers how to use a compass, map, and protractor, along with the new GPS systems.

Stew

It's also called orienteering, but that's the sport aspect of it. ;D

[submarinesailor]

Jeff,

I very strongly recommend you get a professional surveyor to lay out your property lines.  And get title insurance if you can.  I know it will cost you money, BUT!!!!!!!

14 years ago, when the wife and I brought the 76 acres down in Madison county Virginia, a lawyer friend told us to have it surveyed before closing and to get the title insurance.  IT SAVED OUR %SS.  There is a small price, about ¾ of an acre, on the other side of the river that after we closed, neighbor started trying to claim it was theirs.  Well, one day their lawyer called me about their claim, after explaining to him that we had it surveyed, who had completed the survey and we had title insurance; he/they backed way off.  Had no problems from them since than.

Bruce

[woody1]

I agree. Title insurance and deed serch. We had a piece of property in the family for 80 years. Everything was ok till we sold a small piece. The purchasers deed search showed that back when my granddad bought it from a lumber company all the owners didn't sign off. What a mess..lawyers, quit claim, surveys, $$$$. Make sure your lawyer has his ducks in a row. :D :D If you need to borrow a hip chain, let me know.

[LeeB]

I've never seen nor heard of a hip chain. Could some please expand on this a little. LeeB

[Jeff]

I do have title insurance, It was searched and is now recorded with Tammy and I as the owners with no leans in Chippewa county.  Its all ours. 

[Jeff]

Hip Chain from Bailey's

[LeeB]

OK. That's cool. Obviously you can get more line. Sounds much easyer than my old 200' tape. LeeB

[Kevin]

I've used a GPS for that purpose.
When you run the line it's better to have at least three people to stand in a line when placing the ribbon.
The the guy with the GPS moves ahead on the course, stops and looks back at the other two, lines them up by moving and places a ribbon.
Then everyone moves up to the next position.
Orange vests are handy for a visual through the trees.

[Jeff]

Yep, Jeremy is going with us to help.

[woody1]

The hip chains are fairly accurate. We were looking for a corner at 1322'. And bamm there it was 1322'.

[SwampDonkey]

Get a decent one (hip chain) and make sure you have at least three  wraps on the adom. wheel so it don't slip.  Make sure the guys behind don't walk along the same path as you do when following or your going to be 'fishing for halibut' as they get caught up and pull off extra string. Basically the compass man is in front, the hatchet man in the middle and the chain man close behind. (well dah eh?) ;) Might seem intuitive but I've had guys who just didn't get it. ;) Glad I got GPS that filters bad PDOP (>6 or less if you set a higher precision) and a compass. No dang hip chain. :D This time of year the satellite constellation isn't good at all some days or part days. You may not even notice it on the consumer units because they have no filtering, but the line will be wavy as all get out on the track log. ;)

Laid out 25 acres of thinning on a neighboring woodlot today. Oh the feeling after walking through 6 km of slushy heavy snow. 

[Gary_C]

Laid out 25 acres of thinning on a neighboring woodlot today. Oh the feeling after walking through 6 km of slushy heavy snow.

Wow, 6 km of snow!   

How could you see what you were doing?    :D :D

[Jeff]

I didnt want to say anything about it getting that deep... ;)

[beenthere]

Yah, dat's deeep a'right.  ;D  Jus the tallest trees poke through.........
We are only gonna hafta walk through about 6" tomorrow, if the forecast is right.....

[SwampDonkey]

Wasn't easy with gear and ribbons in your hands and softwood swat'n ya in the face and eyes.  Hate them darn spruce branches, they's armed. :-\

[Jeff]

Well, I think we learned a few things today. Corley5, My son Jeremy and I took a road trip to our property this morning. It was DanG cold and even more DanG windy. We checked into Lou's first off and picked up his staff compass and hip chain.  Last year Tammy and I had measured down Peasley, the west line, from the pin in Caribou to the north, 660 feet to the south and had tied some marking tape in a cedar to approximate the corner. We decided to start from the opposite pin on the Northeast corner. That pin has a cap on it that has  RLS and then a number which we determined stood for Registered Land Survey. We were able to use the hip chain to run up that surveyed line to where we found a stake at 660 feet. That would be the third corner. So, with Jeremy on the Staff compass because of his young eyes, and Greg on the axe, and me loitering in the middle, we took off on a heading of about 7.5° declination off of west.  What we found on most all of that back line was what I expected. Some cedar, mostly brush, and low spots, and "low ta no" grade trees. Nothing really the length of what we "surveyed" for lack of a more appropriate word of what we were doing, that amounted to more then deer bedding areas. ;D

Anyhow, Jeremy felt that we were veering one way, where I felt we might be veering that way too, where Greg said he had the inclination to sometimes veer the other way. Anyhow, Greg says to Jeremy "trust thy compass!"  We couldn't get a good line of site most of the time over 40 or 50 feet. So we would mark our spot and move Jeremy up, then clear anything we could as far as we could to get a new bearing.  We worked our way clear across the back of the property until Greg and I saw a glimpse of Peasley Rd ahead through thick stuff. We moved Jeremy on up and we walked out to the road and found our selves only a few feet south of the ribbon Tammy and I had tied on the year before.  Pretty dang close!

Anyhow, due to the fact that what we came out so close, I was quite happy, and Jeremy was quite shocked. He figured we were at least a hundred yards from where the corner would be, and we were right on top of it. Greg thought we came out pretty well as well. Though this did not establish and exact line, it did give us a clear idea where the back line was, and confirmed that it would be pretty much good for what I thought it would be good for, (although I'll let Ron make that final determination). Critter country!

We didnt take any photos back in the bush as we were to busy in the nasty conditions leading up to the storm that is on us now, but I did get a couple out to the road showing "the crew" 

[Corley5]

A Motley Crew if I do say so myself  ;)Trust the compass  ;) ;D  A crusty old DNR Wildlife Tech told me that  8)  I naturally veer left of the bearing    We did pretty DanG good today    Jeff and Tammy have a nice piece of ground and a good spot picked out to build a residence  8) .  Jeff has more willpower than I as I'd slick the cedar and anything else of value off it and make my money back plus  ;) ;D ;D

[thecfarm]

Good job there Motley Crew.Now,don't you feel better now about that back line?Wasn't all that hard.

[Jeff]

Yep, had a hard time keeping Corley from picturing my cedar trees on a landing.  :D

I know we were not exact on blazing the line, but it really does give me a good idea now.   I do feel better about it.