Floating dock

[tazin river]

Hello folks

Looks like I'll have to find a new place to park our floatplane this spring and will have to build a floating dock. Any suggestions for brand? Model? Anchoring device to the bottom (Clay and organic matter)? Any suppliers to recommend in Alberta somewhere?

Recommended size for e Cessna 180?

Cheers

[Adam Oke]

Back in my swamping days, we would build cribs and fill them with rocks. Made a great anchor, and you learned the art of swinging a hammer underwater for repairs.

[North Shore]

^ So *you're* the joker that caused me so much anxiety back in my float days! - looking for semi-submerged cribs with protruding spikes, right in the taxi path to other docks!

[GreenStar]

Back in my swamping days, we would build cribs and fill them with rocks. Made a great anchor, and you learned the art of swinging a hammer underwater for repairs.

Before he can do that, I think Fisheries and Oceans might want to have a say in that one...at least in my world.

[Tips Up]

Lots of unknowns in your post but what has worked very well for me in several spots is a floating L dock from hold on industries with steel posts driven into the bottom. Friend of mine had dock blocks- not terrible. But best thing I started doing at my permanent spots was to set up a double anchor system - have a heavy anchor or any piece of heavy metal like a chunk from a rail line or engine block etc, a piece of 5 ft chain to your secondary smaller anchor and then two good ropes to your front cleats with a small rope and marker buoy from your secondary anchor. Allow enough room for the plane to swing 360 degrees. It keeps it from banging into the dock, easier on your control cables in heavy winds, and keeps curious two footed creatures from peeking inside.....
Two points, make sure you have good chest waders and a small piece of wood to slip your cleat ropes around to make it easy to find them....

[SuperchargedRS]

So I'm kinda in the same boat, what you need is low and sturdy with soft edges, just have 4 poles that go down off the edges and you drive into the bottom, little ramp to the dock, bada bing

This is the best product I've yet to find.



http://m.homedepot.com/p/Tommy-Docks-48 ... /204183179

Ofcourse docking isn't the best longer term way to moore a seaplane, beaching is way better. With my setup the dock is in shallow water, shallow enough that I can partially beach the rear of the plane in the soft bottom and just use the dock to step onto, if that makes sense.

[Engine10]

Exiplast (Jeff Lang) at Centrailia Airpark north of London build the Jet Float dock.
Very versatile and durable.

[Chris M]

At my lake we have a bylaw against any new permanent structures on the lakebed, so no pilings or cribs allowed. What we do instead is fill a few 5-gal buckets with concrete and embed a rebar loop. Toss those out at 45 deg from the dock end and you have a solid, cheap and removable anchor system.

Also, depending on what your section of lakeshore looks like the ice may give you problems. I've seen gorgeous "permanent" dock structures utterly destroyed when the ice starts moving.

Our neighbour had a 3-section dock arranged in a U-shape that he would back his 185 into. Very convenient - full access from both sides and just start up and pull out. The legs were about 20-25x8.

We built a new 30x14 dock 2 years ago with purpose built dock floats - thick foam filled plastic boxes. On top of that is a conventional deck structure. It cost a few dollars (all red cedar) but should last quite a while.

[l_reason]

This stuff looks like it would do the job well, durable, versatile, portable. They may even have a way to winch the plane up out of the water or 1/2 submerge the dock then pump air back in or water out.

http://www.ez-dock.com

[GreenStar]

Maybe a rail system?

float_plane_marine_rail_12.jpg (141.44 KiB) Viewed 3172 times

http://www.dhdocks.com/shore-tracker-ma ... ail-system