Originally Posted by rtripple
Is there a way to know if the pond had a clay liner or not without tracking down the original builder? Would a pier post go deep enough to crack it? I can’t imagine having to drill it(for lack of better word) more than 12 inches into bottom. My issue with floating docks is stability. I like being anchored when on a dock without movement. Obviously I’d rather have a dock that moves around a little vs messing up my pond.

While I’m typing this. There are several old standing timber in the pond. Would that mean no clay liner and they just flooded bottom land with a levee?

You probably will have to go a lot further than 12" into the bottom to have stability. Think of building the same pier on dry land, with the pier as far up in the air as it would be up off the pond bottom in the pond. Would a piece of pipe augered 12" into the ground be stable if everything was on dry land? If unsure, you can easily do a test on dry ground with one auger and try to move it by grabbing the pipe as far off the ground as the pier would be up off the bottom of the pond.

IIRC the rule of thumb is 1/4 the length of the pipe in the ground....

With you saying that there is standing timber in the pond, then I would assume that the pond was just flooded and not to have a clay liner.

www.hoosierpondpros.com

[Linked Image from lh6.ggpht.com]
http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).