ROCK AROUND THE DOCK
So, you want to put in a dock for your boat? Here’s what you need to know.
So, you want to put in a dock for your boat? Here’s everything you need to know about selecting and installing the right dock for you.
Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO for short), a sprawling impoundment built in Missouri in 1929, was the first body of water I was fortunate enough to call home. More recently, a labyrinth of canals etched in a fat, round point at the headwaters of Charlotte Harbor in Punta Gorda, Florida, has become home. I’ve been lucky to have powerboats docked on waterfronts of both, and during that time I learned more than I wanted to know about navigating regulatory quagmires designed to keep the neighbors and bureaucrats happy when building a dock.
Local water conditions—and sometimes customs—dictate a docking system. If your water level fluctuates due to tides or hydroelectric dam operations, you’ll have to allow for water-level changes of a couple feet to 10 or even 20 feet. If you’re in love with your view of the water, the aesthetics of the dock in that view will be important. Hoisting your boat will require power, and safely employing electricity is a critical concern. Finally, a dock isn’t just a place to tie your boat—it becomes a place to hang out, relax and enjoy the water while “sittin’ on the dock of the bay,” as the song goes.
Here’s the rub: All such areas have many different requirements for docks.
BOATHOUSE RULES
In many inland and coastal waterways, the county and municipal governments regulate dockage. On impoundments, the Corps of Engineers is usually the regulating body. Lake of the Ozarks was privately built by a power company in 1929, and while the Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction, Ameren, the current owner of the Bagnell Dam and the land beneath the lake, assumes authority over docks.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS DOCKAGE FOOTPRINT
LOTO may have the most densely developed shoreline of any impoundment, and that makes an extreme model for dock placement. Over the years, rules were developed to keep the peace.
Docks must remain 5 feet inside the extension of their lot line. They cannot extend
beyond one-third the distance across coves under 500 feet wide, and can’t reach more than 100 feet from shore. For coves over 500 feet wide, docks are limited to the lesser of one-fifth the distance across the cove, or 350 feet.
If that sounds confusing, it can be—which is why choosing an experienced dock builder to navigate the rules is essential. In fact, the most experienced dock builders, such as DockWorks located on LOTO and Marine Contracting Group in Punta Gorda, are often responsible for influencing rules promulgated by the permitting authorities. Choose your contractor carefully. The company can save you money and aggravation by navigating those complexities and give you the best bang for your buck.
Floating docks offer vast flexibility for installation— and extreme challenges. “In open water exposed to LOTO’s famous washboard wakes, the turbulence makes
docks rock and roll, and that tears some of them up quickly,” says Mike Hudson, owner of DockWorks. “Concrete decks add stability and resist the wake action, extending the life of those docks.”
DockWorks also uses rot-free poly planks on its docks for attractive, sturdy, rot-free band boards. DockWorks prefers Poly Lift hoists because the company has a long track record in the Midwest. Mark Maasan is the co-owner.
“That wake action has a strong impact on boat
lifts too,” he says. “If you leave them down, the waves work them against the dock, often damaging the dock and sometimes the hoist. Most homeowner or condo associations require boaters to raise their lifts after launching to minimize that. That’s why our Captain’s Call became so popular—it’s easy to raise the lift or lower it with one button tap of a remote control.”
In many areas, you will be limited to your selection of materials used for pilings and docks. So-called “pressure-treated” lumber and piles are no longer approved for use in many areas. Instead, concrete, plastic or composite materials must be used, or if you prefer wood, you’ll need to use a tropical hardwood—like greenheart— that is naturally rot-resistant and doesn’t rely on chemicals for preservation.
COASTAL DOCKBUILDING RULES
Peter Aratari is a sales associate for Marine Contracting Group in Punta Gorda. His company is a Golden Lift dealer, and because he has decades of experience building docks, seawalls and hoists in the area, I contracted him for my project.
Punta Gorda Isles, where I now live, is one of the last canal systems built in Florida before a statewide moratorium on dredging canals and removing mangroves was adopted by voters. The canals host thousands of waterfront homes, and Aratari has been instrumental in helping both city officials and homeowners navigate the complexities of water-access and propertyrights regulations designed to keep waterfront neighbors friendly and the waterways easily navigable.
THAT WAKE ACTION HAS A STRONG IMPACT ON BOAT LIFTS TOO. IF YOU LEAVE THEM DOWN, THE WAVES WORK THEM AGAINST THE DOCK, OFTEN DAMAGING THE DOCK AND SOMETIMES THE HOIST.”
Punta Gorda’s rules for mooring structures are fairly simple. If the outer corner of your dock extends 10 feet from your seawall, it must be set 10 feet inside the extended lot line. In other words, your dock and hoist must be inside the 45-degree angles of the extension of your lot line from the seawall. Your vessel can extend beyond that 45-degree line, but not extend beyond the lot line. Regardless of lot width, your dock cannot extend beyond 25 feet from the seawall. In other areas, local regulation on that last point can be less precise, often using words like “may not impede navigability.”
SIZING UP YOUR FIXED DOCK AND HOIST
I got a big surprise when planning my family’s dock. A small 6-foot-wide-by15-foot-long dock would cost us about $7,000, including the demolition of the decaying dock. But making
the dock 10-by-15 feet only cost an additional $1,000 to $1,500. Why? A big part of the expense was arranging the barge and setting pilings. In spite of doubling the width, there were only eight concrete pilings, an addition of just two. Extending the deck added a little rebar and concrete. Then we found we could double the dock, to make it 10-by-30 feet, for just another $4,000, so we did.
FEES AND PERMITS
Your dock and hoist construction fees should be paid incrementally, beginning with a deposit of 10 percent (in our case), and the balance is due when completed and passed inspection. In some areas, progress payments might be made when the pilings are in, another when the deck is on, and a final payment when the inspection is passed. Your contractor will handle blueprints and permitting, and is legally responsible for the process until final inspection by the authorities.
MATERIALS AND ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR HOIST
Stainless steel is essential around salt water—and by around salt water, I mean within 50 miles of it. In Winter Park, Florida, metal parts exposed to the open air will corrode quickly due to east winds carrying salt from the Atlantic. It doesn’t make sense, but metal corrodes
DEFINITELY GET A REMOTE-CONTROL KEY FOB TO ACTIVATE THE HOIST FROM AFAR. THAT WAY, YOU CAN RAISE IT FROM THE CORROSIVE SALT, PROTECT IT FROM WAKES AND WAVES WHILE YOU BOAT, THEN LOWER IT TO HOIST WHEN YOU RETURN.”
almost as fast 45 miles from the sea as it does near the sea.
The best hoist motors are encased in watertight stainless steel, as are the worm gears that drive the cable winders. Cables should likewise be stainless steel. Golden Lifts uses a new motor it calls a Sea-Drive. It has an enclosed drive mechanism sealed with grease inside. Many favor greased gears over oil-bath gears. If a seal fails in an oil-bath gear, you may not notice the lost lube, and the gear could be damaged before you do. Grease sticks to metals and continues to work whether sealed or not sealed. Further, the leaking residue remains around the motor, making it visible upon inspection.
Hoists operating on 240 volts are quicker than 120-volt systems, so wire for 240 if at all practical.
We didn’t know about some accessories, like remote controls, until we were ready to commission the hoist. Definitely get a remote-control key fob to activate the hoist from afar. That way, you can raise it from the corrosive salt, protect it from wakes and waves while you boat, then lower it to hoist when you return.
Poly Lift’s Captain’s Call system (similar systems are available from Golden Lifts) is popular nationwide. With a remote fob, the tap of a button hoists it to the appropriate height, without needing to hold the button for minutes at a time. It lowers to the correct distance as well.
Cable guards to keep the hoisting cables coiled around the winder should they go slack are essential in shallow areas, where launching may require dropping the cradle to the sea bottom. Without them, when the cables go slack, they unwind like the recoil spring on your lawn mower’s starter. Don’t let that happen to you.
A dock on your property isn’t just a place to keep a boat. Building one creates enjoyable living space on the water, and memories your family and friends will likely never forget.