Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Question for folks who have docks or piers.

What would you say is the ideal height above the water line for the decking on a dock? My posts were put in before the pond filled up and this summer I will come back and add the decking. It is a 3/4 acre pond and the dock is T shaped, 30 long by 5 feet wide with the T being 15 feet by 5 feet.

I have floating dock, about the same size. The decking sits about 1' off the water. I like it because it is always easy to get in and out of the john boat, kayak and just for relaxing.

Coach B:

A couple of weeks ago I lost my permanent dock out to the island some 80' away. I orginally used 2-45 gal drum (one at each end) to hold and support the 24" wide and 16' length of each dock piece above the water line. Once each section was floating I secured each section together with 2" x 6 " pressure treated wood and drove 2" x 4" lumber into the lake bottom and nailed to docks. Each vertical post had a cross piece to support the weight of the dock and I had these vertical posts into the lake every 10-12' along the 80' span, then removed the drums do to water level going up and down throughout the season. This past fall/winter the lake water level rose to touch the bottom of the dock. The result, once the ice melted and we had a storm out of the north (dock was east to west onto the island) the wave action and wind lifted the dock posts and turned over the entire length of dock. As you can imagine, I'm going to have some trouble building a new one using the same dock system. Therefore from my experience use a floating dock system to allow the dock to move up or down or if using a secured dock system allow at least 24-30" of height above the water level. Some may be able to have less height due to a small sized pond or a FAIRLY STABLE WATER LEVEL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR? Best of luck....

Rowly

If you aren't worried about ice or high water then about a foot above the water is ideal.

I had my dock built about 24 inches above full pool which is about 3 inches above the emergency spillway. Only time water has gone over the spillway the water got almost to the decking but did not cover the dock.

Coach B,

Here's something to consider that hasn't been mentioned....will you ever raise the water level?

I'm a believer in never saying never, and yes 1 foot is about ideal....unless down the road you think like most of us "gee I wish my pond was larger" or "gee I wish I could raise the water level a foot or so." Something to consider in your decision.

LOL, Meadowlark, I didn't want to go into the floating vs. fixed issue because Coach already said that his posts were driven in. But that is exactly what I am going through right now. We started using the water for irrigation, so we raised the water level couple of feet to prevent it from dropping too low in the summer.

One downside of a floating dock, is that it sways.