Floating Boat dock

[southernsis]

Does anyone know where I can get a plan for a small floating boat dock? There is an old stationary one, but with the recent rain, the lake has risen and the dock is underwater. Thought a floating one would work better.
If this is the wrong place for this topic, I am sorry.
Thank you :-/

[JRR]

I just today walked by one in the Georgia Red Top Mountain State Park.  The lake water was low so the whole dock was on land.  I didn't study it much (pretty chilly), but did notice that the "floats" were made of corrugated pipe.

I left wondering how they seal the ends of those pipes against water leaks.

[glenn-k]

No problem Southernsis -- I have 5 of them on my house.  3 make up the bathroom roof and 2 are bridges on different roof levels.  Also used 3 in the RV Garage.  I have about 20 more outside on the hill.  All wood is pressure treated on these.  The old was CCA treated.  Maybe issues with that now.  New wood is ACQ - rough on fasteners though.  Stainless or heavy galvanized is what I think they use on that.

Most of these are 4'x 18' with 4"x10" x 18' beams outside and 4"x10" x 3''5" beams at each end and in the center.  4' long 2"x6" deck boards over the entire top.  There are 3 2x6's running from end beam to center beam at both ends evenly spaced.  They are fastened at both ends with upside down joist hangers as the foam floats are pushing up on them.  How about using empty 55 gallon drums for floats if foam is not available"  I'm not sure what the life of them would be but maybe you could fiberglass them.  Another option would be to have a welder make pipe pontoons for your dock.  

[glenn-k]

JRR's idea of corrugated culvert pipe would be great for floats.  Just have a welder make plates for the ends and weld them in - test for leaks may be a good idea.

[southernsis]

Thanks everyone. I have had a problem getting a simple plan. Everything I had looked at wanted to sell me expensive products. I can get large plastic barrels at a place near me, so I will probably go that way. Thanks again

[bartholomew]

Instructions for a basic floating dock here...

http://www.canadianfishing.com/dock/index.htm

[glenn-k]

That one looks better for a stand alone dock, Bart.  More stable.  These were hooked to a bigger one.

[MountainDon]

Cool dock Bart. Now id I only had enough water to need a dock....  :-?

[glenn-k]

You don't need water - I have 5 on my house and 3 in my garage.  Now if I only had a boat.  I have considered hanging one in the air off the side of one of the docks.

[MountainDon]

Could be handy to have a boat if global warming does a number on us.    How do you build an ark?  :-/

[builderboy]

I have 3 floating docks. One uses 45 gal plastic barrels. It's rather unstable because it's so far out of the water due to the barrel depth. A second one uses plastic pvc pipe filled with foam and the ends sealed shut by palstic welding. You can see the concept at www.plasticweld.ca - this is more stable but expensive at about $canadian 25/lineal foot. My preferance is Dow colsed ceel foam billets. these are most stable as the dock is actually down in the water. I used 2x12 and lots of foam. Unweighted, it's in the water about 2" with 9.5" above water. Also not cheap. My experience - the cheaper the plotation the poorer it floats!

[southernsis]

Thank you everyone. Now I can do something about the present dock. The person we bought the property from took a porch from a mobile home and stuck it in the water. It is a very unstable ugly thing. Right now it is underwater, see photo.

[blackdog]

Hi all.

First off, as a new member I like to say what a great forum this is.  Lots of great advice.

I purchased the Little House plans last year and I plan to use them to build a sleeping cabin at my newly aquired cottage in Central Ontario this year.  The cottage came with a 2 year old floating dock.  4 - 6' x 10' sections joined with hinges in a L shape.  The floater is attached to a 8' x 10' crib at the shoreline.  Floatation is Dow Buoyancy Billets.  It's a fairly stable dock.  However, I'll likely add more billets and turn the hinges 90 degrees so they act as connectors and not hinges.  This will allow all 4 sections to act as one 40' unit.  The only issue so far is that the 'common' joists are connected with 3 1/2" deck screws which have been ripped out.  I'll be adding metal joist corners.

My advice...
1) use buoyancy billets not 45 gal drums.  You want a low centre of gravity.
2) use heavy duty HDG hardware.  Any type of wave action will eventually rip apart a dock joined together only with deck screws.
3) at least 6' wide

Here is some good reference material...

1) Dock hardware, foam filled billets and dock/swim raft plans
http://www.dockedge.com/index.asp

2) Dow STYROFOAM Buoyancy Billets and dock/swim raft plans
http://www.dow.com/styrofoam/na/res-us/products/buoy_billet.htm

3) One of the best dock books I have found
http://www.amazon.com/Dock-Manual-Designing-Building-Maintaining/dp/1580170986

[kenhill]

Note that if you use the foam block, they will shed foam and leave styrofoam nuggets around the shore.  Also, animals like muskrats love to chew tunnels in them and set up a nicely insulated home.  You can wrap the blocks in chicken wire to frustrate the muskrats.

I am going to try the drum method using stablizing posts and hardware from Cabelas as I hate to see human trash floating around a lake that can only be accessed by foot or plan.

[southernsis]

Welcome Blackdog and thank you for the information. Thank you Kenhill. I to do not want to see litter along the shore line. There does not seem to be anything in or near this lake that chew on styrofoam. Another dock has used it and it is in the same condition as when they put it in about 5 years ago.  

[NELSELGNE]

Used Pontoon boats, without motors, make a good floating dock.  
Picture example:
http://kindel.com/blogs/charlie/archive/2004/11/05/550.aspx

Also, See classified ads or eBAY.

[optionguru]

Where can you buy these bouyancy billets?  They sound great if not prohibatively expensive.

Thanks,
Peter

[MountainDon]

Check with marine suppliers, dealers.
Ask at a Marina.

[blackdog]

I too am planning on build a floating raft (8' x 8') and researched the different floatation devices.  My choices were between the Dow buoyancy billets and the Howell dock floats by Dock Edge.  Tie Down Engineering out of Atlanta GA sells a simialr product to the Howell.  I chose the buoyancy billets as they are half the cost of the Howell dock floats.

Anyhow, in Canada the buoyancy billets can be purchased Home Hardware.  They may have to be special ordered depending on the region you live in.  Didn't check the big box stores (Home Depot, RONA etc.).  But I don't see why they couldn't order it.  After all buoyancy billets are just a really thick piece of extruded polystyrene insulation.

Home Hardware cost is $80CDN for 7" x 20" x 96" and $105CDN for 10" x 20" x 96".  Figure on 20 lbs buoyancy per sq ft of dock, you'll need 2 of the 10" billets for an 8' x 8' raft and 3 of the 10" billets for a 10' x 10' raft.

[optionguru]

Thanks for doing the math for me, I think I'll go with the billets.