Our dock has been in the water for several years. It's actually a river not a pond. I am needing some advice. The water levels go up and down a lot and the way it's anchored it caused it to collide with our concrete steps. This past summer it started taking on water so we pulled it out of the river. Which by no means was an easy task lol. Upon inspection it had several holes. The more we peeled back the fiberglass the more holes we found. I just really need some opinions on how to make her float again. I plan on slapping some hefty levels of fiberglass back over the holes but I want a plan B in place, just in case. One option was 55 gallon plastic drums strapped underneath. I will be really thankful for any help regarding this situation. Here are a few pics. Sorry for my crazy father in law lol.

Blow in some foam insulation?

BTW, welcome to PB.

Welcome to PONDBOSS. Lots of knowledgeable guys here on docks, I'm just not one of them. Your father in law don't look that crazy to me. Looks like a fun guy. Besides we like crazy here. With the paddle in his hand, it looks like he's ready for the dock to break free and take it for a ride down river.

I like Dave's idea of blowing in foam, but I would research first to see if the foam you put in won't deteriorate with water.

If that's steel floats, might be time to check into a new way to float it. I would think there is a life span to steel and water. There are a lot of folks here that use the barrels, some with success and some with frustration. Has pros and cons. Cheaper, but you pay the price in getting them to work. I would think that you could at least save your decking to use on your next set of floats.

Richard:

Welcome to the forum. Are the floats fiberglass, steel or aluminum?

I made a floating dock out of 55 gal barrels, and I'm pretty sure I have a couple that are taking on water even tho I siliconed the bung threads and bung before I reinstalled them. I'll be swapping out the barrels for real dock floats from http://www.dockbuilders.com/dock-flotation.htm

I'm going to go with the standard floats. They are available in different sizes, so you can figure out how many to get for the amount of weight that you need to float.

I'll jump on the bandwagon with "replace your floats". If you're having rust/rot issues in that location, you most likely have other areas not far behind. I think that anything you do to repair will at most prolong the agony. I've had good success with barrels, but if you want a "set and forget" deal, go with esshup's recommendation. Haul those old steel pontoons to the scrapyard and recoup a few bucks.

Must be great being on a river...

I agree on replacing the dock floats.

I agree with all of the above. The rust holes you see now are a sign of more to certainly come in the future. I have had good success with plastic barrels. The foam floats are the way to go but my budget dictated otherwise.

I have the commercial foam floats, no problems so far and they stay in the pond all winter (freezes over).

Loretta, I saw many Sampans in China this past year made of large diameter PVC pipe sealed at the ends. They could carry literally tons of cargo on 6-8 8inch pipe 15 feet long secured together and powered by outboards. I plan to use them to make my swim platform, 8 ft X10 ft , this next summer. I saw these things hold 6-8 people and not be tippy or even appear to sink any.
Tom Sterling ( Shelby County ).

Lol you are right haha. We had just unchained it and floated it down to a boat ramp. Then we took on the task of pulling it out with a trailer lol. Which was so much fun. Also want to say thanks to everyone who commented and thanks for the welcome. The dock floats link was awesome. Didn't even know there was such a place lol. I will take more pics and keep this thread up to date. Waiting for it to warm up a bit before taking on this project.

I purchased my floats at Home Depot (online), shipping was free. They had the best price for me at the time. They also carry dock hardware. I used other sites to figure out what sizes I needed before I ordered.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/dock+floats?NCNI-5

Interesting, let us know how your platform turns out and please post pictures!

I just checked out the home depot link. Thank you so much for the info. I will be taking all of this into consideration. Just gotta figure out what's best. Really don't wanna start over because I can't afford it but hopefully we can salvage the deck and maybe purchase new floats.

Loretta:

Thanks for the link! I hadn't thought about looking at the big box stores. The free shipping sure is an incentive to get 'em from there.

Here's a link to the floating dock that I built. I will be adding 2 wrap around benches to the dock this year, and replacing the floats. Bench brackets are already in hand, I bought 'em when Menards had their 11% off sale.

You can see how the barrels are under the dock.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=350183#Post350183

Thanks for that. It's interesting to see how it's done with barrels. It seems as if the general consensus is go with the floats that are designed for this. I will def do that. I just have to figure out what size and how many of those floats I will need. Gotta grab the tape measure and some fuel for that two hour drive. I may take some more pictures and see what you guys think. I am by no means a carpenter or have I ever attempted to build anything. Very thankful I have very helpful family members lol. Thanks again guys.

If you go the Home Depot route, don't forget your 10% discount if you have a military ID card, active or retired. The discount will apply to your entire purchase and Lowes offers the same discount. I spent the fall and winter gathering my barrels, have 24 so far and haven't spent a dime. I started visiting 3 local car washes who regularly throw them out. I'd snag one or two at a time whenever I was in that area, and if I thought about it. You'll be competing with the guys who get them to sell on Craigslist for $20 each.