How to Make a Floating Dock
Building a floating dock is somewhat challenging, however, a floating dock is beneficial to any boat owner. A floating dock rises and lowers with the tide, allowing it to stay at the same water level as the boat attached to it.
Things to have on hand:
- Drill
- Spiral nails
- Tape measure
- Galvanized screws
- Galvanized steel corner brackets
- Plastic foam billets
- Galvanized carriage bolts
- Galvanized nuts and washers
- Eight two by ten inch pressure treated boards
- Two by four pressure treated boards
- One by six inch pressure treated boards
- Saw
- Cut the two by ten inch pressure treated boards to the size that you need for your dock using the saw. This creates the frame of your dock.
- Bring the corners together using the galvanized steel corner brackets. You will need to mark holes on the wood where you need to attach the brackets to the wood.
- Secure the corners by bolting them.
- Place a block of two-inch wood as a spacer and then repeat step one through three to make a double frame.
- Put the plastic foam billets in the frame by putting one in the middle and one on each long side of the frame.
- Measure every sixteen inches; this will be where you will place the crossties.
- Put the cross ties in place by screwing each two by four board along the sides of each foam billet. This is the retainer.
- Place one retainer on each side of the foam billets in the middle and one on each side of the side billets to hold the frame in place.
- Cut the one by six inch boards to the exact size you will need for your dock.
- Nail the boards onto the top of the frame using the spiral nails.
- Nail the boards onto the cross ties.
- Slide the dock into the water.