Floating Docks??

[muskielaw]

I am in the process of buying a lake home. Downside to the home is it is in the back of a bay with marsh shoreline. I will need about 120-150ft dock to get out past the marsh. (previous owner sold his dock to neighbor so I know he had at least 150ft). Considering it will run 10-20K to buy a new dock that length (and difficult to find a used dock that length) I am thinking about building a floating dock with 55 gallon barrels. I would plan on leaving the dock in the water all winter. Anyone who has a floating dock what are the pros cons of building with 55 gallon barrels? Any tips or tricks with building one? Do you leave the dock in during the winter? Does anyone know if DNR allows docks to be made with green treated wood? Lastly, if anyone has any plans for building such a dock that they would be willing to share that would be greatly appreciated?

muskielaw

[delcecchi]

Some things come to mind in no particular order

What is the fetch? ie how much water/ice can the wind catch and blow into your dock?

Won't steel drums rust pretty quickly? And what is plan to get the dock attached to them?

How much does water level change?

Need some way to prevent hazard to winter users like snowmobilers.

How will you secure dock to lake bottom to keep it from moving around?

[Gadgetman]

Go to mercomarine.com for all the stuff you need to build what you want. Use plastic barrels instead of steel. I leave mine in all year around. You could put some reflectors on it if you are worried about some one-who-thinks-I-am-silly driving over it, mine is surrounded by cattails and that really isn't an issue and doesn't sound like it will be for you either.I don't believe that there is an issue with using treated wood, tho plastic is nicer and will last longer for the decking. I am on dock configuration number 6...

[chaffmj]

Some things come to mind in no particular order

What is the fetch? ie how much water/ice can the wind catch and blow into your dock?

I can't answer this one for him.

Won't steel drums rust pretty quickly? And what is plan to get the dock attached to them?

I built one with plastic barrels and boxed them in and then used a heavy duty plastic rope to secure them

How much does water level change?

Again no answer from me on this.

Need some way to prevent hazard to winter users like snowmobilers.

Who cares? Just kidding but you could attach flags to the sections. I have a crib dock now and haven't had a problem.

How will you secure dock to lake bottom to keep it from moving around?

You use rings attached to the sides of the dock that slip around poles that are anchored into the lake.

I had one on my lake place up by Emily that worked well but I didn't leave it out in the winter and it was only 24 feet.

[leech~~]

My buddy has a place up by Outing and is in a muck bay as well. His dock is about about 100' feet long. We put a blue plastic barrel under each section and he uses a few long pipes at the end to keep it in place. We also made wheel sets which is just a long pipe with car wheels and rims on each, filled with heavy foam to help make them roll and keep them round. On the end we made a remove able hitch, so in the fall he just backs the truck up and pulls the whole thing on shore and just does the same to put it out in the spring. It's kind of fun watching this long thing come out of the water! It's been working for the last 10 years or so.

[gunner55]

The resort a couple of doors down has 2 what must 100' ers & they leave them in all year.

[Tom7227]

A friend built one over open water and when he walked on it the first time he was sure he was going in. He ended up on his hands and knees backing to shore. I don't know what he did wrong but he ended up putting in posts and tying the thing down.

I built a floating raft 25 years ago using plastic barrels. It still is in place. Had to replace the steel used to hold the barrels in place a number of times. Be sure to seal up the bungs tightly. I ended up putting silicone on them after a few years as they would take on water otherwise.

[muskielaw]

Thanks everyone for responding. I didn't clarify but it would definitely be plastic barrels. Does anyone have any ideas for hinges to connect one dock section to the other. Everything I find on-line that are being sold has dock hinges are about $70-90 per set. The pre-labeled hinges are just a male and female piece of galvanized steel that can be connected by a pin. With at least 10 sections to connect I would rather not spend $1000 if it can be avoided. If anyone can think of where to find such parts that aren't labeled as dock hinges with a huge mark up would be appreciated. Or if someone more creative than me has an idea as to how to connect the sections so that they can be pulled apart when needed and flex with waves lets hear it.

[muskielaw]

Also, for those that have owned floating docks did you tighten down your poles to the dock or did you let them float in the dock supports? I read somewhere that even though it is a floating dock they can get stuck up on the poles and when you step on them it suddenly drops. To avoid this they say to use standard dock support brackets so you can tighten the dock up. Then if you know lake is going to rise you go out and loosen the bolts to allow dock to adjust. Anyone with experience have any thoughts? Fyi the lake I will be on is used as a reservoir when the river gets high and they need to close the dam so water can fluctuate by several feet depending on time of year/rain fall.

[Slimdart]

How deep is your muck. I built a 100ft dock last year. We built the dock in the spring while there was still ice on the lake. We used a chain saw to get through the bog/ice and then drove poles down through the muck to the hard bottom. the end of my dock has 3ft of water but the poles are 14ft down. We found it was really easy putting it in, the dock is square and very firm.

[icehead]

How deep is your muck. I built a 100ft dock last year. We built the dock in the spring while there was still ice on the lake. We used a chain saw to get through the bog/ice and then drove poles down through the muck to the hard bottom. the end of my dock has 3ft of water but the poles are 14ft down. We found it was really easy putting it in, the dock is square and very firm.

Just want to hear more on the size of post you drove.

Thank You!

Sorry I don't have a answer my self but looking too.

[Slimdart]

The end of the dock was 4x6 posts. When I bought the place they were used for a raised garden so I just used them. Closer to shore where the hard bottom was only a couple feet down I bought a couple of 4x4's and used them. the Dock is 4 ft wide and I have posts down every 10ft I used 5/4 decking for the top and treated 2x6's for the runners.

If you have some serious man-power what i considered doing is the public utilities often will give away their used telephone poles. They are big but if you were able to get them seated they would not be going anywhere. Again I would be doing this in the winter where I could get the things I need on the ice.

[muskielaw]

Slimdart if you don't mind me asking what did it cost you in materials to build the dock? Do you have any pictures?

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Another option is to build a permanent dock at the highest level you feel your water will get to out to somewhere near the end and then have the last portion of your dock floating with a hinged apron between the two. The most popular way it's done up here at Lake of the Woods is to drive Tamarack logs/posts in and run treated stringers then frame up your deck on top of that. However most do not attach the deck to the stringers in the event of extreme high water the deck will float up off the stringers but wont actually go anywhere as long as it stays bewteen the posts. This keeps the deck from getting twisted and torn apart. As mentioned before,wait till winter, drill a 10" hole with an ice auger and run your Tamarack poles with one end trimmed to some sort of point down the hole and drive them in.

[Slimdart]

I don't have an exact number but it was close to $900 for 100x4 foot dock. Most of my posts were free the ones that I bought were accually 3x5 landscape timbers. I bolted two of them together and drove them down they were 8 footers and home depot had a sale and they were a $1 apiece. The Decking was 5/4 and spaced 3/4in apart. I don't have a good picture of the whole dock. I am going to be taking some pictures this week end and will post possibly Monday.

[img:left]

This is the best I have you can see in the background the boggy garbage I had to go through. You can kind of see one of my end posts by the dogs head. that was a 14 foot post.

[leech~~]

Don't forget to check if you need a permit if you drive permanent pilings into the lake or even your own shore line.

[muskielaw]

Slimdart, what did you use to drive the 4x6 posts down into the hard bottom? I have watched some youtube videos and its seems like I would need some heavy duty equipment to drive those things into the hard bottom far enough to last long term without moving.

Plus if you ever do get a chance to post some more photos that would be assume. You have me thinking a permanent dock may be the way to go.

Thanks,

muskielaw

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Easy way to set your posts is to water jet them in. Gas powered pump with a 2" hose necked down to a 1" or even 3/4" jet. Get your post where you want it and blast the bottom out from under it while working the post down as you go. Works really well!

[leech~~]

Easy way to set your posts is to water jet them in. Gas powered pump with a 2" hose necked down to a 1" or even 3/4" jet. Get your post where you want it and blast the bottom out from under it while working the post down as you go. Works really well!

This is a good idea and you can shoot the water right down the pipe and it will sink it in.

[Slimdart]

Sorry about the pictures I will hopefully get them up. To drive the post down I used a 20lb sludge hammer and a step ladder. We have not had any heaving issues yet. If I do we left most of the posts a couple of feet up so we can drive them back down if needed. the other thing we did is use screws on the runners so if things heave we can unscrew and level.

If you drive wood with a sledge make sure you have a metal cap or something to prevent the wood from splitting. We made our own.

[leech~~]

A home made sledge cap on the ends of the pipes will also help them from mushrooming when driving them down.

[muskielaw]

Thanks for the info guys! Plus I meant awesome and not assume in my last post slimdart:)

[Slimdart]

Here are some picts if you need something more specific let me know

[jb426]

Although I have not tried this but i have heard if you put some water in the barrels it will be more stable. it all depends on the weight of the dock. If you have a heavy dock less water as the wieght of the dock will make stable enough. Would only recommend putting water in if you plan on leaving in year round. Maybe someone with more experience could add more advice.

[Slimdart]

Any questions ask away.

[leech~~]

Any questions ask away.

Not floating right? Did you need a permit to put the posts in and leave them year round?