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Grizz
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 03:55pm
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I am looking for some ideas on how to put in and take out our dock each year so it can be done by one person.
Background -
Last May, I had a custom floating dock built consisting of three floating sections spanning 15 feet long by 6 feet wide and a 15x20 foot "platform" configured into an "L" shape. The entire dock and platform was finished with duradek. As such, it makes it quite heavy for one person to manage.
As it was new in May, it was "installed" for us however, at the end of summer (September) I used my side by side with a 4500 pound winch to pull it out and up on the shoreline.
Problem -
My "shoreline" is not flat with several small hills moving up to the cabin. It has roughly a three foot "step up" to get the dock out of the water onto the shore. Sadly, I've been told I am not allowed to alter any of this for "environmental" reasons.
In September, when we tried to take it out, I used two 2X10 foot planks thinking it would just slide out of the water and onto the shore...which it did until it encountered the first hill at which point it just dug in. In the end, I had to use 4 round fence posts to roll it up the lawn to get it to when we need it to be however....
1. This was VERY time consuming
2. I have no idea how we are going to get it back out next summer.
I am looking for any ideas people might have. Like I said, I have a 4500 LB winch to bring it in. I was thinking about either designing some type of wheel kit or some "skid plates" for them to slide on.
To get it out next summer...all I can think of is a snow blade on the side by side to push them back out.
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mj1angier
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 04:06pm
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Put wheels on it:
https://www.wavearmor.com/product/patched-dock-wheels/
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 04:26pm
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Is this a lake or a river? Do you really have to take the dock out of the water every season?
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Grizz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 06:28pm
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Thanks for the response.....That's totally what I was thinking, I am just not sure how to "attach" them to the dock so I can remove it over the summer. I was either thinking about some type of "table top" or L brackets the dock would settle into....maybe I am overthinking it
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Grizz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 06:30pm - Edited by: Grizz
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Quoting: NorthRick Is this a lake or a river? Do you really have to take the dock out of the water every season?
It is an actual lake (smaller and protected) that completely freezes over and, I am told, will destroy the dock if left in over the winter as the ice moves...No one I know has ever left their dock in over the winter around here....are we the minority?
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 08:32pm
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Grizz, why do you remove it, ice?
How about adding "links" to the dock, large galvanized flexible joints with pins you can remove. I assume the decking is screwed down, you could unscrew a small part, frame it, as needed to make these joints and you could remove smaller sections. You could also add wheels, maybe anchored to the dock below water line, so as it got closer to shore, the wheels would now roll on the ground. Probably a small, but wide wheel, solid rubber, maybe a bushing vs bearing because a bearing wouldn't live long. Just some more thoughts.
The links alone with quick disconnect pins (tethered with a cable to prevent dropping into water) would make sections smaller and more manageable, wheels may not be needed.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 09:07pm
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Wheels. You seam to have most of the pulling out part down pat. You coukd also pull from a higher point on the sxs kind of like how a logging arch works. A logging arch spaning over the dock could also work.
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Grizz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 09:38pm
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech Grizz, why do you remove it, ice?
Yes, we do remove it because of the ice. That being said, I can't intelligently speak to whether or not it could stay in as removing it every winter is what everyone has just always done both in the family and around us.
If I am understanding you correctly, I already have links on the dock. Each section 15X6 foot "quick connects" together using pins.
Unfortunately I can't remove the top as I took the time to make sure all the heads are screwed below the board then made thousands of "plugs" to cover the screw heads.
In the end, so far, building a "wheel kit" may end up being the easiest. I was going to make a double axle/4 wheel kit then weld two raised "bars" basically running wheel to wheel. As I am removing the dock with my winch, it will be pulled on top of this "dolly" so each section has one at the front and one at the back. I will also add smaller air tires to help movement across the grass.
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spencerin
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2019 11:51pm
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Grizz, I used to own a property with a dock on a 20-acre lake that would freeze every winter. Most of us kept our docs in and mine, speaking for myself only, never got damaged. We had both floating docks and pile-driven docks there.
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 07:59am
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Grizz, my cabin is on a river and we have a floating dock. I use a winch connected to a tree to raise my gangplank like a drawbridge. Then I just have a couple of long chains that I connect to the corners of the dock and back to some trees. This is the way that a number of the cottage owners in my area have done it for years. It allows the dock to move with the ice a bit I guess. Although I watched spring break up this year and I don't think that my dock would've been harmed had I just left it in place. Our river doesn't have much current but I'm guessing if it was windy the ice could have some power.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:43am
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I grew up on a lake and our dock stayed in year round. Lake froze enough to ice skate on, ride my dirtbike on etc. But we didn't get Midwest or north east cold winters. Never had an issue.
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razmichael
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:46am
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My experience: On a small lake but freezes up solid - floating three section dock w some pipes used to steady them. Initially I would disconnect the sections and float them as close to the shore as I could (slope and depth prevented me from pulling them out) then tied them to trees. No apparent damage after 4 or 5 years. Last couple of years I left them in but removed the pipes and added a few anchors to allow for more moment and still no apparent damage. This year back to pulling them into shore due to my beaver issues (damn things using the dock as a lodge frame).
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beachman
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 09:14am
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I will be interested in this thread as I am in NB and have the same issues although I can take off the top and my frame is not floating but on poles. I raise the frame up to get a canoe under it and float it to a place I can physically pull it into the woods. I have an entrance walkway that I currently take the legs off and suspend from the woods. All ideas welcome as I feel Grizz's pain. I cannot use wheels due to the shoreline rocks and no clear area to haul it up. Ice power is mighty. BTW - I would not leave it in.
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offgrididaho
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 10:59am
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How about a metal "track" on shore that you drag the dock onto? Two long rails that go into the water, use your side by side to haul dock up onto the rails and out of the water in the fall, in the spring maybe use purchase at the water end of the rails and a (rated) pulley to haul the dock back off the rails and into the water? Could probably even make the rails out of wood instead, and if you kept the posts above the high water line you should be able to avoid any issues with "environmental" disturbances.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2019 04:14pm - Edited by: NorthRick
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Our dock is not a floating one but on metal posts driven into the lake bottom. The lake ice can get over 3 feet thick. The lake level drops through the winter and the first winter after the dock was constructed, the ice tore off the diagonal supports that extended below the water line. The dock seems sturdy enough without them so I did not replace them and have had no further issues with ice damage.
Below is a recent photo of the dock with ice on the lake.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2019 08:23am
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Ice can be very damaging if there is water flow or a large enough surface area of the lake to allow wind to blow ice around. On a small lake with no current, I wouldn't go to the effort of removal every year.
I build a dock out of an old pontoon boat its been frozen in 15 winters now with no issues at all.
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