Hey Donnie,
I dug holes a few feet deep with a posthole digger and filled the bottom of the holes with gravel. Then I got two 4' long 12" sonotubes from Lowes, cut them in 2 pieces, and kind of wedged them into the tops of the holes and leveled them. Then I dropped the 6x6s in and poured sackrete and water into each hole, positioning and leveling the 6x6's as I poured. Once you get a foot or two of sackrete in, the 6x6's become pretty stable and you can start tamping the mix in. The next day they were rock solid. The sonotubes are basically just a heavy, wax coated cardboard tube and rain/water will eventually make them dissolve and all you'll see is concrete cylinders.
I'm waiting to finish the dock until the pond is at spillway full, and then I'll put the deck just above that level. I still need to put two more short 6x6s in on the bank. I'm planning to string 2x10s down each side and one or two in the middle (the walkway will be 10' wide) and use 2x4s for planks. I'm going to let the end of the dock overhang by around 3' and put an aluminum ladder on the end, and am planning to build bench seats between the 6x6's on either side. I probably won't do much else other than maybe a handrail and possibly some copper caps for the 6x6's once they are cut off. I don't plan on a roof or anything so the 6x6s are only sticking up high enough for a railing and the benches.
Here is a pic of right after the posts were sunk, and what they looked like a few days ago.
I'd love to see pics of your pond if you get the chance.
Eric
