Constructing a dock on my one acre pond. Any suggestion on a good size? Don't really know how it will be used, except perhaps to have a few people fishing off of, or jumping in the water. Perhaps dock a canoe along one side...

Will be a platform dock that will connect back to the shore via "bridge" ramp. Just curious what size dock you would build...

Thanks
J

other things to consider;

Do you think that you'll ever have a fish feeder on it? Are you the type of person who may want to have a cage to grow out some small fish to put into the pond?

jsfatl...ya thinking something about like this?

Zep - That's it exactly. But probably smaller ramp...

Hey Zep - that is one cool dock man!

Is this a floating dock?
(Can't really tell by the photos, but I think it is.)

Did you build it or did Wahoo Docks do the work?

I'd like to see if it is something doable for me to do in my pond.
I have very steep edges off the back that go down to 12' depths, so the use of poles, etc. is out of the question - I think.

Thanks - Jeff

Mines 16x12 good size for everything I do..

Ours is no bigger than a boat...



Link to the thread if you want to view the process.

Building Dock

Jeff....that's not my dock. I have collected pictures of lots of docks so when I get ready to build I will be able to show someone "this is basically what i want". It does look like it is a floating dock. Here are some other pretty cool docks I've come across on-line. BTW...I am going to have a small dock...probably with no roof, some of these pics are just for ideas.

jsfatl...if you don't have handrails it's probably best to go with a slighty wider walkout plank. I am not going to have handrails so my walkout will need to be slightly wider than one with handrails.

Also consider the depth of your pond where your dock is located in your decision process of deciding whether or not to use hand rails. If it is ten feet deep below your dock, I would suggest handrails. If it is just a foot or two, they wouldn't be necessary. But to each, their own.

thanks...jludwig.
my walk-out is going to be pretty shallow
at least most of the time
but after a salty margarita or two I might regret no handrails!

Here is an option for small ponds

that's nice muddywater
can you slide over to Texas and build me one!

Mark, I've also been known to dive down into some mixed up tequila.

Check out EZ docks of Texas. They are in Euless. They are modular. Just design what you want.

Thanks Dave!

My two cents, a floating dock is nice to fish from as your always at the water surface to land fish. However, the smaller it is the more it will tilt with weight on it. If you plan to use barrels for flotation, try filling them part way up with water it will be way more stable.

Why would it be more stable? They will support more weight empty.

That's interesting woodster....especially as my brother and I discuss floating vs. fixed for a small dock. We lean towards fixed, but see upsides to both kinds. Our water level seems to be pretty stable. Texas has had a terrible drought and our pond was never very low even last summer. It now is full and overflowing into the drain pipe. And we have a possible plan to supplement our pond with a type of "retention" pond/basin. Still not sure which type of dock we'll go with.

My nephew & I built a small floating dock (8 x 8) a couple of years ago with barrels. It is way too small. I'm a pretty big guy and I can stand on one edge and tilt it enough to think getting wet is very possible. With another person we are both going for a swim.

My plan is to build a fix dock about 21 feet long and then attach the floating dock to the end.

Zep, I'm delighted to hear that your pond is full. I'm hoping after the rain from the past couple of days that we are getting full. It will be the first time in 2.5 years.

Looked into those... Gets expensive in a hurry.

Bushwacker....that's good to know.
I would not like having a lot of "bounce" or lean in a dock.
I am starting to think for us "fixed" may be the way to go.


Good deal. The rain has been such a blessing.
How low did your ponds get?
Hope your's keep filling with more rain predicted next week!

Last Sat...Lake Zeppelin full

For a floating dock I heard it should be at least 12 x 12 for stability.

Zep, back during the bad drought we basically went dry. Had about 12 to 18 inches of water in about 30 foot circle. Most but not all the fish died. Wish that I had killed out everything. When full we are just shy of 2 acres.

I am starting to believe that the pond has too much shallow area. About an acre is roughly 3 feet deep when full.

Sure wish that I had time during the drought to have put in a dock. How do you dig a hole when the dirt is covered in 3 feet of water?

Loretta, based on our experience you are probably right about a 12 x 12 is the minimum size. I also would want to drive some metal posts down at each corner to help stabilize the dock and hold it in place.

16 x 16 is perfect.

Here is a link to the one we built!



Link to my dock building and launching party!

Beautiful dock and pond Dr. Pratt!

Thanks Zep!

After much reading we decided on the above design, it was a LOT of work, but very fun.

send me a message if you need help launching yours!


dustin

I have been just working on mine. A few more minor details and it will be done.. The walkway is 5 to 6 feet wide. Comfortable for two people walking out side by side, or setting stuff down and getting by it without tripping over it.

The end is 8x10, which makes the area between all the posts 6x10. I feel that this is good enough for two people to fish, or have chairs and still have a bit of room. I do plan on putting a feeder on the one corner. Now if I want to put a grow-out cage off it, then I will wish it was a bit bigger, but I imagine I will make do.

It is a combination of permanent posts and floating. The deck can float by means of the wood's own buoyancy. It is not fastened to the posts and cross headers it is setting on. I wouldn't plan on standing on it if the water comes up that much, but we get some heavy rains that will raise the level of our pond as much as 16-20". Then it will flow back out in about a weeks time.

I have about a 1+ acre pond and I didn't want something so big that it would be overpowering the setting.

fish & chips I love your dock!

it has a bit of the "old, but new look"
and the size I am interested in.

great combo on floating vs fixed.

if you have any additional pics
and ya have time PM them to me.

"The deck can float by the woods own buoyancy"

Does that mean that there are no floats under it?

Thanx

Good question? I don't think it'll float with people on it without floats.

That's correct, there are no floats underneath it. As BGK mentioned, it probably will not hold anybody up when it needs to float. But, you can be guaranteed that I will give it a try to see how it reacts when the occasion arises.

It is normally held up by horizontal 2x's that are fastened to the posts. The platform/deck is not fastened to the poles and horizontal 2x's. The deck sits were my water level is at normally. When it floods, the deck will rise with the water and when the water recedes it will settle back down in place. I just couldn't justify the extra money it would cost to make it a true floating dock, for the once a year its needed. However, I didn't want the post to be popped up out of the ground due to a flood, thus letting it move. Time will tell how this all works out.

More ideas: Ramp/Dock/Barge Combo

jsfatl....here is another nice floating dock.
Made by PondKing. It's offered with a
10 or 20 foot walkway. Looks well made.

Any links to a nice ladder to be used on a dock to get out of the water??

http://www.dockbuilders.com/dock-ladders.htm

I bought one of the ladders that you can pull out of the water a couple of years ago. I think it is the L-L5 model. Not cheap but works great and looks like it will last a lifetime.

dj...those look really well made and come in "wide-step"...pretty cool.

nice underwater lights too
http://www.dockbuilders.com/fish-attraction-lights.htm

I'll have to wait until I get electrity at the pond before i canput in the lights!

We put a pool ladder off craigslist for cheap to use on our dock.

Ok... my dock went thru the floodwater test that I expected to happen. It's nice when things finally go the way you planned. We got 6+" of water in less than a 24 hr period. Water rose like I never seen it before. Even the national weather service said that flooding happened in areas that never had it before. My whole goal with this is that I did not want my poles to pop out of the ground during high water times. The water will settle back down to normal in short time.

Here is a shot of it after we got over 2" of rain during the night. It floated up about 6" high from the underframeing. Yes, you could walk on it. Mainly you want to stay centered, otherwise it tips. Doesn't tip so bad that you fall off, if your steady on your feet.




This pic is about 8 hours later. We got over 4" more in less than two hours. It rose up so high that it was about ready to float free.



And this pic is after wiggling it a bit, it dropped back into place.

Isn't it nice when your "what if" plan succeeds?