Got my weights on the dock today. What a huge difference in stability.
One five gallon pail filled to the top with 1.5 bags of sacrete stone mix with a 1/2"X8" eye bolt. 3/16th cable to the another bucket filled with one full bag of sacrete stone mix with eye bolt. Attached to the bottom of the dock is another eye bolt lock nut and washer. Hung off that is an 8" cloths line pulley. Cable runs over the pulley full bucket sits on the bottom the lighter bucket is 2/3rds the way up from the bottom. Both outer most corners of the dock are anchored this way.
As we add weight of people on the dock the bucket will sink down and the weight of the bucket and the drag in the water stops the dock from bouncing and it takes all the jounce out of the dock.
I would highly recommend any floating dock to have this system. My problem was that I am 11.5 feet of water right off the dock. To pound a post into the bottom of the pond was less of an option.
I thought that I'd share how I use the space beside the gangway from my fixed dock and floating dock in case anyone is interested in doing something similar.
Thanks for the tips! I'm planning on something similar, but I only have a small Kubota tractor with FEL.
Same as you, it's framed with the barrels under it. I'm going to pick it up, (it's sideways to the pond now) and put PVC pipes under the barrels. I figure the plastic barrels will slide pretty easily on the PVC pipes. 2 pipes per barrel, sorta like launching a boat into the water. At least that's the plan. Right now the frame is approximately 8' from the water's edge, and it's on a 6:1 slope so there isn't a big drop to get to the water.
I plan on drilling/washing 2" Galvanized pipe into the pond bottom, and let the floating portion slide up/down over the pipes. There will be plastic sleeves U-bolted to the outside of the pier in 6 places and the pipes will be inside the plastic PVC. The walkway will be hinged to a 12' long, 4' wide platform that is attached to 8 pieces of 4"x6"x4'-8' long treated timbers that are sunk into the ground and concreted in. The walkway is 16' long, and will roll over the top of the floaing portion of the pier. Once it's floating I'll add the decking. The decking where the walkway rolls on the pier will be in place before it's floated. From low to full pool, I figure the walkway will only roll 18" max.
esshup,
Did you get your dock built yet?
1 Acre Pond with SMB, YP, LMB, GSF, RES, FHM, GSH, Papershell Crayfish, Pike 5.5 Acre Pond with LMB, BG
I really like this topic, and thought I would add my dock in a bit prematurely. It is 24x32, and is situated on a ledge of hardpan so that the deepest posts are in about 5' of water, but at the end of the overhanging joists it is 8-10', and three feet further out it is 12-14'. We had the pond builder dig straight down in this area for this purpose. There will be a 15x15 covered section in the middle of the dock...which I will finish at a later date.
BTW...I sketched the dock out in great detail for the better half, discussed it, compared it to other docks, etc. She saw all the posts in the ground, then the beams on the posts. When I finished the last joist, she said "why did you make it so big?" We do have a large family nearby, and we've had 20-30+ people at the lake the last two weekends eating, fishing, swimming, playing water polo with beach balls, etc. I'm sure we will use the entire surface.
Sorry this pic is in low light...completed versions will be better.
Thought I would provide updated pics of my dock. You can see the 15x15 center section that has a 2x8 cross with 2x4 diagonals. The outer sections are 2x6. The center joists are 12" on center, the outer joists are 16" on center. All 2x6 decking boards were edge screwed with a CAMO jig...works great and I highly recommend the CAMO pro (only about $40). For the 2x4s, I put one CAMO screw in each end to hold it in place, then used a punch and hammer to make a small hole on the edges. The CAMO screw then went into this small hole and drilled the rest of the way.
I don't think it is visible in the pics, but I eased all of the floorboards with a 1/2" roundover bit...really helped the appearance and comfort on bare feet. The four posts in the middle will support a roof, and will be covered up about 30" by rock. Hope to have a ceiling fan, lights, etc. Also planning an outdoor kitchen/grill area on the land side. Lots of work yet to be done!
Also notice that I have some more excavating work to do around the pond...one of several areas where I should have held the contractor more accountable!
First post on PB, wanted to share the dock construction on our recently renovated (but still leaking ) .5 Acre pond. The pond is just East of Rusk TX and is 12'x20'. I used sketchup to design the dock and we started construction before the pond filled. We need a little more dirt brought in on top of the dam to level it off and then we will construct a step the full width of the dock. After a drying period we plan to stain. We did all the work ourselves and probably have $4k into it.
Here's mine. Very simple, but did not want to invest a whole lot while not knowing if the pond would hold water....it's still leaking some since it first filled last Nov 18. This was taken after a big rain, and the straw I had spread to control erosion floated in the pond.
Some Menards dock kits.. (4 of the 4x10s, reconfigured)
8 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (didn’t make it. 0 seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) I think we have survivors! I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
along with 2" galvanized pipe for posts and cross pieces to support treated 2"x8". Top of pier is plastic "wood". Slicker than owl you know what if you try to walk left to right when there is snow/ice on it, and you have to be careful when it is wet. Pier is 60' long and 4' wide. End is 8'x10'
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) .5 Acre pond. The pond is just East of Rusk TX and is 12'x20'. I used sketchup to design the dock and we started construction before the pond filled. We need a little more dirt brought in on top of the dam to level it off and then we will construct a step the full width of the dock. After a drying period we plan to stain. We did all the work ourselves and probably have $4k into it. 
