# Boat dock help!



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

Ok, here goes...I will try and paint the picture....

I have about 200' from my property to the water. I am building a 4' walkway down to the water as the ground is BOG.

I need to put in a dock that is 20-25' long. I will NOT be able to drive down to pull the dock out. That is not an option.

I need some ideas as to what I could do for a dock that I can get out of there or if there is a permanent dock system that will not be damaged from ice. Anyone have something that they use in this case?

Any and all ideas would be appreciated!!!

Thanks,

David


----------



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Do you have access to a 4 wheeler or a tractor, you could just use the roll in docks and do it that way.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

I can not get a 4 wheeler down there to do that. I do have a 4 wheeler though. I can NOT drive on it at all.


----------



## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

you could put in a permanent dock and in the winter put a small bubbler or aireator to keep the ice thin around the dock? Hauling docks in and out by hand is a TON OF WORK not going to lie to you. You can only entice your buddies with beer for so long and then they figure it out.


----------



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Is there a tree that you could attatch a winch to. That is the other thought I had. Or like he said, buy lots of beer!!!!!


----------



## Turner (Oct 7, 2005)

Just thinking out loud here. Could you take metal 55 gallon drums and push them under the dock (in pairs) every 5 or 10' and strap them to the dock, you would probably have to do a group of 3 or 4 in a couple spots so the dock doesn't flip over due to being top heavy. Over the winter the only thing that would take a beating would be the barrels.

Just a thought


----------



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I would build three 8 foot sections ( standard length wood ) that would be floating with two 55 gallon drums under them then design a method of bolting them together and drag them out there one by one.

A 8 foot section would be manageable from a weight standpoint and 200 feet of rope would enable you to pull them out before winter. You could build a simple little sled to slide them in and out across the soft stuff on with your four wheeler from the hard ground in the fall and with a strong boat in the spring.

then drive some stakes in the bottom of the lake to anchor them in position or use heavy block and just leave the blocks out there in the winter. I had a pier like that in Wisconsin when I was a kid it worked great.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

Bobm,

I think that you might be on to something here. Please folks keep the ideas coming. I appreciate this greatly!

David


----------



## fargojohnson (Oct 17, 2005)

Is this dock going in a Minnesota lake? If so you will need a roll dock. 20'-25' that will be like two sections. Floe make a great easy in-out roll dock not to heavy. Make it easy on yourself (2) two sections.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

It is going into a Minn. lake. Why a roll in?


----------



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I was reading about this last night and all the recommendations I came across said that the end of the floating pier should be wider for stability so you will probably have to build some additional sections to bolt together to stabilize the end toward the lake.

Ours was T shaped, I guess to accomplish that stability.

I also found several sources for styrofoam floats instead of barrels, on the internet.

Our dock used the drums, I was just a kid so I wasn't involved in the actual construction or design.


----------



## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

You can buy pre-made floating dock sections. Just call
around or check on the internet. Many of these are used
in the resort communities of Walker and Brainerd areas.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

I was thinking of the styrofoam floats. That way I would not have to pull it out. I could just leave it in the water. Yeah, the foam might take a beating but the ice will not crush it. Plastic 55 gal. drums might work too. What do you think?


----------



## MOB (Mar 10, 2005)

A light weight aluminum roll in dock that could be pulled in over your walkway for the winter would be the best. Winch it out in the winter with a winch on the truck or 4 wheeler and a long extension cable or rope.
A roll in dock will be more stable than a floating dock, but will initially cost more.


----------



## Canuck (Nov 10, 2004)

Look at the plastic floating modular docks. Piece together any size or configuration you like. Light and easy to put in and pull out. Here's a link.

www.candock.com/eng/products.htm

They can be a little bouncy but if you anchor the corners well it a good solution.


----------



## 2labs (Jul 3, 2002)

Can you weld? Weld up some frames for the dock sections with post attachments on the corners. The posts can just be standard pipe and weld a plate on the bottom so they don't sink in. The poles are adjustable with brackets you can buy (Fleet farm) or weld up but it takes time. If welding is not an option you can do the frames in wood as well. Once the frame is done to your specs make removeable dock sections. We made ours in 4 foot by 36" sections. They drop into the frames and after you place the frame sections in the water with waders on and 1 buddy who likes beer...you start dropping in the dock sections as you work your way out on the frame. It goes fast and the sections can be wood, plastic decking whatever the budget allows. In the fall just reverse the steps and pile them up on the shore far enough back from the shore ice. We cable tie the dock sections to the frame to prevent HUGE waves from knocking them around. I know others who screw them into the frame etc. I like the ties they are fast and easy.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

Canuck said:


> Look at the plastic floating modular docks. Piece together any size or configuration you like. Light and easy to put in and pull out. Here's a link.
> 
> www.candock.com/eng/products.htm
> 
> They can be a little bouncy but if you anchor the corners well it a good solution.


Wish that they were a little closer then 1500 miles away! I would like to see those things.


----------



## fargojohnson (Oct 17, 2005)

Why a rool in? There way easy to get in and out. Your just going to have troubles every year with the dock out there in the winter. The ice seems to move a lot on MN lakes more then lets say Lake of the woods. I mean with two sections of roll in what 30 min to much work?


----------



## bjertness07 (Jan 4, 2005)

I read through all the previous posts and they're all great ideas. The best would to be to pick through and piece together a contraption using all the ideas. Recently I helped a neighbor put together a dock he's going to use at his new lake. He bought a used military trailer (heavier than a son-of-a-gun...) and cut down the bed, welded a box frame around the rails to make a square platform that's 12'x12' and made it so portions of that would fold up like wings on a cultivator. From there, he added attachment points to the end of the trailer where he could hook his dock...which were made of metal stringers on posts. We covered all that with 2"x12"s to make a "T" looking dock. That way he has a platform for grilling and whatever, then the extensions out onto the lake that you could make out of light drums/pontoons/or styrofoam. When he needs to move it, he piles the light dock on top of the trailer and drives out. I know you can't drive down there, but if you got a small, light trailer (like a snowmobile trailer) you could make a smaller version and pull it out at a distance using some chains. Hope it helps. Great ideas by the way guys.

* And for the record- you need a permit to run an aerator in MN lakes from the DNR


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

bjertness07 said:


> * And for the record- you need a permit to run an aerator in MN lakes from the DNR


In Minnesota you need a permit to do anything above farting in the water!

I think that I have this figured out now and I appreciate all the input...

FargoJ,

I am familure with hard work and no, it is not too much for me but I am thinking of when I am much older and not able to do a lot of heavy stuff. See, when I build, I build for the future, not just what gets me by right now.


----------



## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

Just a thought but why can't you tow your floater to the local boat launch and have it pulled onto a flatbed then delivered to your property for winter storage Might have to pay the flatbed owner a few bucks but it'll work


----------



## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Hey there! We use a T-shaped dock with a metal re-inforced pressure treated lumber frame. Float it with 55 gallon ABS plastic drums and chain it to the bottom of the lake with 5-g buckets filled with concrete. The ice doesn't seem to crush the barrels, and the dock has been in existence for 7 years now. We have the same problem....feet of black muck, and no way to get the dock out. For what you would pay for a pre-fab dock system you may also want to consider having some rock hauled in, or have a slab poured as well. Would be very expensive in the short go, but it would add tremendous value to your property and make it much easier for you to get to your dock. GOOD LUCK!


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

I am only allowed 400 sq. feet of fill and I am going to use that to make a path out to the walkway I am building. The path will be 4' wide and 100' long. Then I have to build a walkway that is also 4' wide and 100' long, and THEN I can put in the dock section. A long ways to go but this property was only 65K for 266' of lake shore and it is 5 acres big on a great fishing lake! This is also the retirement spot for me and the wife.

*Has anyone else made a dock that stays in year round? I am leaning this way and need some more information please!*

I will have a lake party this summer maybe to show my appreciation for the help. Brats and beer!

Any other help out there?

David


----------



## fargojohnson (Oct 17, 2005)

Nice find. Good luck on your project.


----------



## bjertness07 (Jan 4, 2005)

check out www.recreationalsalvage.com they have some good looking dock sections that could be fixed w/ just alittle tlc.


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

bjertness07 said:


> check out www.recreationalsalvage.com they have some good looking dock sections that could be fixed w/ just alittle tlc.


Thanks...another buddy of mine recommended that site too.


----------



## Jack Ryan (Mar 26, 2007)

I've been seeing a few docks built out of old pontoon boats. They take about everything but the deck off them and you can get a "junk" pontoon boat pretty cheap.

You could just "anchor" the pontoon platform and would just need a light walk way from the bank to the floating platform and you could move it in and out of the lake every year pretty easy just by towing it to the nearest ramp and putting it on a trailor like you would a boat with a dead motor.

I know if I needed a dock it's one of the first things I'd look for. These were in a river and I just thought it looked great and the water flowed under them better than barrels or other gerry rigged stuff.


----------



## scott (Oct 11, 2002)

If I were still there I could help you with this. I am not only gods gift to recruiting...I am an awesome welder. If you go with wood it will be heavy as hell and judgeing by how gray you are getting your days of tromping around in a pair of chest waders are getting numbered. Dalton Sports makes some pretty nice aluminum docks. Thats what you want to go with buddy. Light weight and I am sure they could custom build you something that will work for your situation.


----------



## lvmylabs (Jan 23, 2006)

Do you need to take the dock out? Are you on a lake where the ice moves a lot? My buddy leaves his dock in year round. I used 4" steel pipes that he had pounded into the lake bed (something like 48-52", I am not sure exactly then he place concrete down the pipe, and around the base of the 6 pipes. The dock is constructed out of a powder coated metal frame with wood decking. He spent some money on it, but he never has to take it out, and has never had any poblems with it. But he also lives on a protected lake so the wind doesn't move the ice very much, and it does heave along the shoreline. Just a thought.

I hope you get it figured out, good luck

Jim


----------



## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

lvmylabs said:


> Do you need to take the dock out? Are you on a lake where the ice moves a lot? My buddy leaves his dock in year round. I used 4" steel pipes that he had pounded into the lake bed (something like 48-52", I am not sure exactly then he place concrete down the pipe, and around the base of the 6 pipes. The dock is constructed out of a powder coated metal frame with wood decking. He spent some money on it, but he never has to take it out, and has never had any poblems with it. But he also lives on a protected lake so the wind doesn't move the ice very much, and it does heave along the shoreline. Just a thought.
> 
> I hope you get it figured out, good luck
> 
> Jim


Jim,

The ice moves very little if any. Ice from this past year didn't push at all on the shore.

I don't have to take it out and the boat launch is on the other side of the lake so towing it there could propose a problem and I can not drive to the edge of the lake to get it out because of the marsh/bog.

Does anybody have, or can anybody get, a picture of a dock that can be left in the water through winter? I probably can get away with a 20' section from the end of the walkway out deep enough for my boat.

Thanks to all that have helped. This is really kicking my butt!

David


----------

