Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Esshups floating dock

Now this really hurts my heart......I started collecting barrels this past summer for my winter project dock build and they are black, blue and mostly white. I've compared them and except for the color, I don't see any difference. Were you especially rough on them pushing/dragging the dock into the water?

I'm sure you all will think I'm nuttier than I am. But, I built my 12'x 12'dock platform with pressure treated 2x12 bands and joists. I decked the platform with pressure treated 2x6s. I pushed it into the water with my tractor, hoping it would float. It did.

A friend then helped me put the barrels under it, starting at the four corners. A few days before needed the the barrels, we sealed the threads of the openings (bungs?) with RTV, and then screwed in the caps. After the water warmed, and w could be in the pond, my friend and I dropped the barrels into the pond one at a time. We were able to push them down far enough into the water to get them between the joists. The more barrels we got under it, the easier it got. I'm not sure, but I think I've got 12 barrels under mine. Nothing holds them in place except their flotation.

My barrels do collapse a little in cold weather, since they are air tight.

This is my third season with this dock. We get at least 10 inches of ice every winter, and it hasn't affected the dock in any way. So far, so good.

I don't think so (being especially rough). As you can see from the pics, I have the white barrels under the 4' wide section, and the blue barrels under the 8'x12' section. The dock was only about 10' from the water, and I had all the barrels sitting on 2 PVC pipes each to have plastic sliding on plastic. There are no rocks in the soil, and the grass was wet when everything was slid into the pond. I also sealed the bungs with outdoor silicone sealer, applying the sealer to both the bung and barrel threads, then screwing them together.

One barrel did catch on a bolt as it was sliding into the pond, that barrel was replaced before it hit the water. When the dock was lifted to replace that barrel, the other barrels were inspected and moved if it looked like they would come close to any other bolts.

Esshup I am really impressed with you design, detail and workmanship you have put into your project. Your 45 degree cuts on the outside framing on your gangplanks is a perfect 90 degrees to the length and is something that would be hard for me to do with an electric hand saw even with a guide and keep it a strait 90 right angle. Also the U-bolts you made don't seem to have any heat coloration, so did you bend them cold. Again, great job.

Thanks John. Yes, cold bends as I didn't want to destroy the galvanizing. I have a bender that can bend up to 3/4" solid square stock cold.

I'm sure most know this but even treated wood exposed in the sun and weather must have a treatment of paint or other protection or it will degrade and start to splinter. I was warned of this and also experienced it. My deck, which is half covered with a roof was covered with a deck stain just I after built. Over the years, about 12, the roofed part of the deck has held up like it was new but the other half started to splinter. I gave the sun exposed half a treatment this spring but it was like closing the barn door after the horse was out of the barn.

You are absolutely correct John! A lot of the treated wood still had a high moisture content so I plan on treating it next Spring.

My dad (way back when) built a nifty little "drum-jack" (lever) that we used to install and replace plastic drums beneath our floating docks. Continually pushing the right end of the lever-jack downward eventually causes the drum to roll along the opposite end of the "pipe-rails" and pop-up into place (after the dock-frame is in the water). *Be forewarned: the "pop-up" happens VERY rapidly and with lots of force. Keep all fingers, toes and limbs clear of the slot into which the drum will rise.*
Of course, our drum-slots were oriented parallel to the dock's length-wise perimeter - whereas the slots on Scott's dock are perpendicular to its long-side perimeter. Even so, this type of lever (or two) could be used to partially elevate the floating dock and allow "easier" removal and replacement of floatation drums or blocks.

BTW, the downward force needed to submerge the “pivot-drum” (and cause it to roll along the lever-rail) is equal to the mass of the water displaced by the pivot-drum. For a 30-gal drum, that downward force is roughly 250 lbs. Therefore, securely welding the jack’s perpendicular pipe-legs approximately 1/3rd of the rail's length away from the “dock-frame grabber-cleats”, thereby leaving 2/3rds of the rail-handles for leverage, serves to multiply the force transmitted to the frame-grabber end (which is important if you only weigh 150 lbs).

Kely:

Thanks! That is a great idea.