I believe if ordering from Menards, it's free shipping to the store. I've used Tommy Dock hardware and posts before and it seemed like good quality. Fireishot has a couple of piers using Tommy Dock hardware I believe. If you plan on owning the place for a while, I'd go with the thicker wall stuff. Less flex, last longer if it starts to rust. I would go 4 wide, easier for 2 people to pass one another.

We have a pier in a public lake. The posts are 2" galvanized pipe that was scrounged from street signs. It's been in the lake since the mid 1970's. The pier is approximately 60 feet long, deepest water is about 5' deep. We spaced the pipes at 8' intervals and used 2x6's for the runners. The pipes were all 8 feet long with the ones in deepest water 10' or 12' IIRC. Sand bottom lake, pipes were washed in with a hose pushing water thru the pipe. The pier is VERY sturdy, no wobble.

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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).