IMO, footed posts, and brackets are far easier than dealing with lumber, and the effort saved is well worth it. Just build your bridge panels the size you want them, then drop them on the brackets. Also, consider that floating bridges probably require moving/sliding sections on the banks as the water level rises and falls.
esshup and I have built 3 docks, and all three were with Tommy Docks hardware. Look specifically at the muck feet and galvanized posts.
TD hardwareHaving stationary posts or poles (are these called piles?) to build onto would certainly make this easier. My issue is with driving the posts in the mud. I can't walk on that surface (and don't have machinery) so, unless I want to wait until winter, I would need something solid to work on - I could always drop a tree or 2 and pull them across in the interim. I figure I have 3 ft of mud (or more) then at least 2 ft into solid dirt so I'd need to be driving 9-10ft posts and I'm under 6ft tall, and probably doing this by myself.
I can get my hands on some 10ft galvanized pipe (2 3/8" dia). After sinking them I could drill through those and attach pressure treated 2x6s between them, then use that as support for the long 2x6s which will hold the deck boards. Would 2 3/8" piles be big enough? I worry about them gradually sinking over time. And this is when the plastic barrel walkway sounds more realistic.
The logistics are perplexing me as I try to juggle
- materials I can handle alone
- materials I can transport in my truck
- materials within my budget
- structure I can build/move on the mud
- my poor building skills
