Floating Dock Advice Wanted

[weldingisfun]

We plan to build a 4 X 8 foot floating dock on one of our stock ponds. It will be attached to a fixed dock extending from the bank ten feet out into the water. Where the advice is needed is to determine what flotation devices are best. Right now we are looking at 30 or 55 gallon plastic drums, readily available in the area, or styrofoam blocks. Don't know where they may be found but, they have to be available somewhere.

Looking for help in deciding which is the best way to float the dock and if anyone knows where the styrofoam blocks may be found, speak up.

Thanks in advance to all who contribute.

Oh yeah, we will use our tractor in this construction effort. Really, we will.

 

[Soundguy]

both work, including 55g metal drums, painted with truck liner.

the drums can water log.. the styrofoam can shed balls when old.

your call.


have built using all 3.


each has it's drawback.. plastic bbl and styrofoam age poorly .. metal is great untill paint breaks and lets it rust thru. thus the sugestion of derusting fully, paint with epoxy primer, then a good regular paint.. then a rubberized paint like a truck liner paint.

soundguy

 

[Rustyiron]

I used plastic 55's. Get some silicone caulk and slop it around both bung holes and put it under the dock so that the bung holes are 9 and 3 oclock and out of the water.

 

[boggen]

i built 8 by i want to say 11 feet last year using 55 gallon drums. it is more of a diving raft, than a dock though.

previous years, mom old previous boy friend tried to make small little docks like you are suggesting, and they would flip over easily. or barrels would pop out from under them, and just dangerous if ya walked to the edge on them.

a wider dock can be much more stable.

for me, since i live in central, IL, weather gets down below -10F in winter. and i wanted to just leave the dock out on the lake. so i got 1 gallon jugs of antifreeze, and dump half a bottle into each one. with approx another 5 gallons of water as well into each 55 gallon drum. the antrifeeze keeps the inside water from causing any damage to the plastic drums. and the extra water helps get the drums a little bit further into the water. so the entire thing becomes more stable.

i end up using fence staples, and a few runs of electrical fence wire, per drum. to hold them into the bottom of the dock. ((this was mainly to get just to hold the drums in placed. as i picked it up with the FEL, to get the dock near shore line. then used the backhoe to set it the rest of the way in.

i also used some silicon on the plugs err bung hole caps. for me though, the bungs are right at water line.

i had the 55 gallon drums, so i think i used 3 per side, and 1 on each end for a total of 8 drums. err i take that back i had 2 more drums. so i just slide them under at the ends.

i was using old wood an scrap pieces laying around and ended up having to use Two, 2x10's per side, and then Two 2x8's on inside. with 2 layers of some old plywood i had laying around for a top. so the dock is rather extremely heavy! but solid, for diving off of, even a couple folks at a time, and dock barely bounces.

i ended up, using up a lot of different old paint cans up. that been stored up over the years (dumped them into a 5 gallon bucket mixed up and painted). and put a couple coats of paint both underside and top side of everything once it was built. figure by the time, plastic barrels go, old lumber rots away. or paint fades enough. say 5 years. it would of done its job.

================
if i had to redo it, i would most likely do everything the same way, except i might of went with plastic like deck board for the top. and a couple pieces of decking board under the main deck. were drums meet bottom side of deck. to give some added support bracing. so the top decking boards don't bend / bow to much. and then used a water proofing stain on any treated lumber. before putting dock into the water. so it would last 10 to 15 years.

===============
now, if the raft or rather dock for you. you sunk some metal poles around each side of it. the dock would be less likely to flip over but it would still most likely be bouncy.

===============
if i get time this year. will most likely be building, a dock, were it is hinged to the shore, and a few plastic barrels 15 feet out into the water. with a couple metal poles sunk deep into the mud, were i can easily rope the raft to, or paddle boat to.

==================
Styrofoam blocks = DIY, getting 2" hard board insulation ((no foil)) at a local hardware store. and cutting them up to fit size, and then using a silicon or polyurethane to place between the hard board insulation. would suggest running a wire, or rope to hold the pieces in place though. so they don't go floating off on you.

 

[scesnick]

I also built one using plastic drums. It was very easy. This is the exact one I built ( using these plans) it took about 2 hours. I didn't build the ramp. I just push it out in the middle of our pond and anchor it. I have a small trampoline on the corner of it and the kids love jumping off of it... gettign back on it is a bit tricky though.


Floating Dock with Barrels (UPDATED)

 

[somerandomguy]

I built a dock with dad 5 or 6 years a go with plastic barrels five or six years ago. Look closely at the barrels when you get them. The ones we had were seamed at the top and sink over a year. And yes I kept the bungs out of the water. We replaced the barrels after 2 years with juice barrels that were not seamed. Problem solved.

good luck Jon

 

[bindian]

We plan to build a 4 X 8 foot floating dock on one of our stock ponds. It will be attached to a fixed dock extending from the bank ten feet out into the water. Where the advice is needed is to determine what flotation devices are best. Right now we are looking at 30 or 55 gallon plastic drums, readily available in the area, or styrofoam blocks. Don't know where they may be found but, they have to be available somewhere.

Looking for help in deciding which is the best way to float the dock and if anyone knows where the styrofoam blocks may be found, speak up.

Thanks in advance to all who contribute.

Oh yeah, we will use our tractor in this construction effort. Really, we will.

Lee,
Here is a link for foam sizes, volume, weight, and buoyancy. I'll have to come up and see it when Y'all are finished with it.
Marine and Dock Flotation | Universal Foam Products
hugs, Brandi

 

[EddieWalker]

I have never bought anything from this company, but have been looking around and they seem to have the best prices that I've found so far.

Kadco USA - Marine and Garden Accessories

Eddie

 

[texasjohn]

Lee, I've got the same problem...need to build 4 floating devices, one for each stock tank. Have been collecting materials and thinking about how to do so for some time. Even have collected a big trailer load of used Styrofoam, irregular large pieces.

We should get together, think it thru and try doing one... will make some Styrofoam available to you... PM me if you wanna, I'm not far:thumbsup:

 

[varmint]

In the past, I have gotten cumaru decking from a company that specializes in floating platforms and docks. I don't mess with water structures, but I was impressed with these guys: Merco Marine. They are located on the Ohio River, in the top of W. Virginia. You might want to at least look at the stuff they sell, for information?

 

[varmint]

I should have added that I build rain barrels for a nature conservancy, and I am pretty familar with plastic drums. The one piece drums are what you'd want, and if you can find the blue ones, they seem to be molded from much thicker plastic. The only thing that would degrade them over time would be UV exposure, and the blue ones seem to last longer. After they weather for a couple of months, paint will stick well, if they are clean.
Problem solved.

 

[weldingisfun]

Thanks to all for the great information and references. This project may turn into a new thread from all the interst it has generated.
Our goal today is to install the piers for the fixed part. The water level on the tank is so low now we won't have to worry about getting wet. I'll try to remember to take the camera.
If we don't get rain soon we will have a dock sitting in a big dry hole.

 

[20 20]

I have built many docks over the years. Styrofoam would probably work but I never used it for the simple reason it will desinigrate. I have used plastic barrels and have never had an issue, just seal the caps. I did use metal once years ago but would probably not do that again because of rusting metal. We like to swim in our ponds and I'd rather fix a plastic barrel then get stuck in the foot with a piece of rusty metal. I also agree the bigger you make the dock will allow for a wider foot print on the water.

 

[MIkeWard]

We have a vacation house on a lake and I spent months researching the best floating dock to build. All of the barrel docks were very high off of the water and very tippy. White foam floats covered with plastic were OK but the foam would absorb water( open cell ) if the plastic wrap was ripped.
The blue or pink DOW foam is the answer ( closed cell won't absorb water ).

Here are some pics of our dock and one I built for our neighbors.
It is 6 years old and never been taken out of the water. The one shot shows the foam before the 5/4 decking was put on.
The dock is 16 foot square and incredibly stable. Deck is only 10 inches above the water.

They sell dock float billets ( expensive).
I made mine from foam bought at Lowes cut to 2'x8' and glued together with Great Stuff foam ( much cheaper and size adjustable.
Couldn't resist putting up a pic of grandson fishing on dock.
Mike

 

[sld]

I made an 8x8 several years ago. It has held up well. At each corner is a 2ft cube of styrofoam and it is still intact. With several people fishing on it, the dock would sink more than I liked so I added 2 plastic 55 gal barrels under the middle area. It has been this way for 12 years.

It is not the most stable thing but it would never tip over. I used stainless piano hinge to attach the walkway at both ends so it can adjust for the water level. I then tied rope to eye bolts at the corners and anchored them about 20 feet on either side of the walkway. We get so much wind here I thought this would help a lot and it did. The dock hasn't moved a bit.

I have lost count how many kids caught their first fish from my dock!

 

[EddieWalker]

We have a vacation house on a lake and I spent months researching the best floating dock to build. All of the barrel docks were very high off of the water and very tippy. White foam floats covered with plastic were OK but the foam would absorb water( open cell ) if the plastic wrap was ripped.
The blue or pink DOW foam is the answer ( closed cell won't absorb water ).

Here are some pics of our dock and one I built for our neighbors.
It is 6 years old and never been taken out of the water. The one shot shows the foam before the 5/4 decking was put on.
The dock is 16 foot square and incredibly stable. Deck is only 10 inches above the water.

They sell dock float billets ( expensive).
I made mine from foam bought at Lowes cut to 2'x8' and glued together with Great Stuff foam ( much cheaper and size adjustable.
Couldn't resist putting up a pic of grandson fishing on dock.
Mike

Mike,

Did you use the foam insulation that comes in 4x8 sheets and cut them in half? Then layered them until you had the thickness you wanted?

That's brilliant. How thick did you make it and how did you calculate how much you needed?

I'm lost how the great stuff holds it together. Could silicone work as glue, or what about just wraping them with copper wire to hold them in place and building a frame to keep them there when it's in the water?

Interesting. I'm going to price it out and see what the difference is.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[scesnick]

Eddie,

I think the plastic barrels would be cheaper. Some warehouses even give them away.

 

[ding2520]

EZ Dock

 

[Soundguy]

many feed stores also have the plastic barrells with sealable lids for cheap.

6-12$ for various polly bb's at the feed co-op I shop at..

soundguy

 

[jinman]

Lee, I really like the flotation modules in the link Eddie Walker provided. They cost a little more, but you get a consistent product that is ready to bolt together for a nice dock. Also, my neighbor has a dock built by Pond King in Gainesville, Texas. These folks are the Cadillac of docks and can provide everything your heart desires or a small boat dock and fishing float at the end of a floating ramp. Their products are top notch and have a long life. Also they make some awsome pontoon platform boats for cruising around your small lake or pond.