CB1 - And how long do the poles have to be to get to the pond bottom? Won't the dock be sort of wiggly when the heavy top is suspended so high off the bottom on tubular stilts? Or will there be some added stability since both ends are attached to the bank?
Bill,
Always the engineer and realist!
Well from my experience with the pier that was already put in the same way, yes it is a little wiggly but easy to get used to, and I've had up to five people standing on that one with no problems.
Posts were 12 footers and the bottom most of the way accross was 9 feet below the water level. So with one foot sticking up there is about 2 feet driven into he bottom. Believe it or not the pond is really hard clay just under the bottom surface, and not that easy to drive into. (I wonder how much the weight of the water has to do with that?) I had to catch a breath after pounding in each post. Probably 30 or 40 hits per post. There is also a lot of weight pushing down. Each pier section is at least 200 lbs. -- I'm guessing. For aluminum I'm really surprised how heavy they are. The friend that gave them to me said they are a little over engineered. LOL That may be why he gave them to me as he had to take them out and put them in every year on the 371 acre lake he is on.
I'm going to drive two short posts into the bank where it connects to opposite side which should also stabilize it. I can also add more posts any time just by adding more clamps if I want to.
