Would someone guide me on where I can find reasonable priced material for the floats needed for a floating dock. I realize sealed plastic drums would be nice but I need help on where to go to get these drums. thanks

If you receive the Pond Boss Magazine, you'll find an advertiser or two in there that supplys floating docks. You can also do a search amongst the different sections in this website and get some answers. Good luck!

Hey Deaner, just curious, how do you plan on securing the drums to the dock???? Ive got the drums, just wondering on the best way to attach them.

I had planned on having a recessed area to fit the drum into. I would have side pieces and cross pieces to fit the drum.

how about dock floats filled with foam that bolt to your dock floor or supports like west marine supply has? i made small dock that floats for a freind this way total cost was about 550.00 for the dock. hope this helps ideas,trapper

You can get foam about 12 inches thick and frame it with plywood on top and 2x12 around the outside areas. Do a 4' by 8' piece for each section , then run 2x6 or 2x4 runners to hook them together. It helps to drive pipe to the lake bed to keep them from roaming after that. Each piece will hold two 200# men. Very cheap dock. Mine runs about 32 feet out in to the tank. Make sure the posts that hold it horizontally are not held tight so that the dock can not ride up and down as water levels vary.

Has anyone picked up plastic drums from coca cola? I read somewhere that they use the drums only once then they are disposed. Has anyone knowledge on this? I am looking for a cheaper way to make a dock.

We have a family friend (now retired) who used to bring us (55 gal) plastic barrels he picked up at work. The original contents were a kind of industrial soap. They never got reused, but the residual contents weren't nasty to wash out and I wouldn't be afraid to have small amounts of it get in the pond in the event of a puncture. So maybe look for someplace that uses a LOT of water-based soap for cleaning.

The only problem I could think of in using these for a dock is that about half of them had the bungs punctured while being opened. But the bungs on ours use standard pipe threads, so you can improvise replacements pretty easy.

Deaner, your local car-wash uses soap that is supplied in drums. Silicone or otherwise seal the bungs.

Fine water park in Wiggins.

Thanks Dudley.

One thing about exposed styrofoam is that muskrats burrow in it. Makes a mess and eventually will sink your dock if not replaced, and this is not easy to do many times. Plastic barrels work better. If they leak you can replace them by partially filling the new barrels with water, putting them in place and using an air pump to displace the remaining water. You have to orient the opening to put the air in at the bottom or create a new one with a drill and plug it after displacing the air.

There was a long thread on Floating Docks a while back http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=19;t=000021

Kidney dialysis clinics use large quantities of acetic acid, which comes in blue 55gal drums. They usually give them away. I am going to make a floating dock from them some day.

The soap drums I've seen are translucent white. Light is not excluded which allows the growth of organisms in any residual water. If you have a choice, blue or black would be a better choice than white.

Both the blue and the black drums have held up much better for us than the translucent white ones. The white ones have gotten brittle, blue and black have not.

Ask questions about car wash drums. I know a guy who has a couple of those cash flow places. He uses chemicals and always wears gloves when handling. He is supposed to dispose of them at hazardous waste sites. He says that a lot of car washes use soap but not all of them.

However, I doubt that the overall effects would be a problem.

Industry is forced to treat many common substances used as food, or for household cleaning, as hazardous waste. (at great expense) It gives the government bureauracrats job security.

Caustics, soaps, and acids of all types are very easy to rinse out of drums, and are totally harmless once diluted.

Deaner,

Here's a floating dock made from blue plastic drums. I hope it inspires you like it does me!

http://webpages.charter.net/bobad/dock.jpg

Bobad that is a very nice looking dock. I am thinking now on exactly what I would like to have I realize there is no need to ask anyone for money as they all claim to be as broke as myself--joke.

OH! It's a joke! OK, I'll put my wallet away.

I'm broke already. When the excavators get done, I'll be beyond broke.

Man that is a really nice dock.
Do you have a spec. on that?