Do It Yourself – Build a Boat Dock
Boat docks are not just practical for docking boats but can also be utilized for other activities. In some ways they can provide a decorative touch to a property that is expansive enough to include a lake or any other body of water. Once you are considering building a boat dock, your main concern should first be its overall strength and then how it looks. A well constructed boat dock ensures that you and any other user will not need to worry excessively about any minor or major accidents that may occur because of loose or rotting boards. Hence you should be meticulous during the process accurately measuring and laying your boards. You should be able to accomplish this undertaking if you have a basic understanding of carpentry and are fairly useful with your hands.
Required Tools
Lumber
Screws
Required Materials
Hammer
Drill Screw Driver
Instructions
To begin you need to determine what kind of dock you will likely be constructing. There are two primary types these are floating dock or free standing dock, the one you choose should depend on what you have deemed more convenient. You will also need to decide on the size of the dock that you will be using. For water that has enough depth a shorter dock may be fine. If the section is noticeably shallow then a longer deck will be required to allow proper docking of the boat. Basically you will need to first consider functionality above all else.
The next thing to determine will be the space you will like to use for entertaining. If you are someone who views the dock as a secondary entertaining spot then you may want a fairly wide lounging area complete with a section for boarding. This information along with the actual measurements you have determined beforehand will go towards the construction of your plan. You may make these plans yourself if you are highly proficient, however, you can obtain plans from a hardware, print book or using the internet. Search for those that are similar to what you need and desire. Much of the success of your dock will be based on the strong fundamentals of your plan.
Get your equipment from a hardware store. Essentially you should acquire the appropriate amount of lumber required. These should be a combination of 2 by 6 and 4 by 4 boards. Ensure that these are treated pieces of wood. While you will be able to apply varnish and other post treatment coverings, pre-treated wood will add longevity to the newly bought lumber.
The first area that you will have to build is your lounge area. Position your support pieces and then drill and screw the boards in at each of these sections to safeguard the structure. This is not very hard and will go much more quickly if you get the assistance of a capable worker. You will repeat this process for the boarding part of dock. In addition to doing this you will need to attach bumpers to the edges of the boarding dock to make it safer for you and your passengers.
This part of the process is a bit more tricky. You will have to get your large sections of wood in the water to anchor the structure. These are there to ensure your dock will not move around. This step may best be left to a professional if you are not confident enough to do it.
Now you can position your lounge area and boarding area into the water and anchor it to your large posts that are already in the water using a combination of hammering and drilling to hold the structures in place. It is best to use eye bolts and screws for this task.
Tips
Get help if you can, moving these large pieces especially from land to water will be quite difficult.
Be sure that all your pieces are properly positioned before using your dock.