How-To Guide: Easy Way To Install A Dock
If you have just bought yourself a brand new boat, you may be thinking about how to dock it correctly at your waterside property.
The easiest way to ensure the safety of your boat is with boat dock installation.
The initial installation is a big job, but it’s a necessary one if you want to ensure that your waterside property can handle a boat, and it also works to ensure that your boat is moored securely and safely while you’re not using it.
Streamlining your dock installation is important and you want to ensure that you get this right.
So, you can choose to get a company out to install your dock for you, or you can look at dock installation do it yourself tips – which we have for you below!
How To Install A Dock
Equipment Needed
If you decide to go down the route of building your boat dock from scratch instead of using a popular prefabricated kit, you have to know that the material of the dock matters.
This is the case for all dock styles, and the top surface of your dock is going to take a bit of a beating over the years from the weather and the constant loading and unloading of your boat.
Choosing the material that won’t be damaged due to wear and tear is important, and you want material that is rot-resistant.
If you choose a wooden dock, you should consider cedar boards to avoid rot and you need that in a moist environment.
Pressure treated pine is also a good option if you can’t get cedar. Composite decking is a great option for your dock and composites won’t rot!
There is every chance that you have to hire in some heavy machinery to get your dock installation complete, including a piledriver and an excavator. These aren’t cheap to buy or to rent, but they can be your only option.
The wooden cribs that are designed to support crib docks are huge so they need heavy machinery to lift them into place. You might be able to get them into the water yourself but machinery is always the better option.
An excavator is a must here, and the right chains will get the job done. If you are installing a pile dock you will likely need a piledriver as these will pound them into the waterside to secure your boat.
Installing Your Dock
There are some steps to undertake to install your new dock and it’s best to have a team with you to do it rather than doing it single-handedly. Let’s take a closer look:
While you’re on the shore, you should install the brackets, foot pads and posts. Its easiest to leave dock accessories like cleats and dock ladders to the side and out of the way closer to the end of the project. The excavator can help with the posts and you need to ensure that these are as deep as possible to be solid.
Slide some styrofoam logs under the far end of the section and then float these into the right position.
Walk out to the locations of the brackets and loosen the bracket adjusting bold. The pipe should slide right down to the lake bottom, and then you can tighten the bracket adjusting bolt again.
Level the dock from the shore before drilling holes and installing the locking L pins.
Check Out This Easy Step-By-Step Guide
Conclusion
Once you’ve do it once it will be a life long skill and ability that you’ll have to offer the next time you install your own dock, or help a friend with theirs. The key take away is to plan plenty of time to do the job right, and make sure that everything is solid and safe. If you’re in an area prone to freezing temperatures, make sure to remove the dock for winter so it does not warp when the water freezes over.