Do you know why the weather is the enemy of boat docks? Harsh weather conditions can have devastating effects on your boat dock. Rusted frames, broken bolts, and rotten or damaged decking are just a few of the many side effects of bad weather.
Can you prevent weather from destroying your boat dock? Even though you cannot control the weather, you can take measures to protect it from the following outdoor elements:
- Snow
- Wind
- Earth shifting
- Sinkholes
- Ice
- Water fluctuating
- Temperature
Apart from the boat dock, the weather will also affect any boat and dock accessories you have. This includes launches, PWC ports, ladders, slides, and more. To take any preventive measures to protect your boat dock, you need to know the factors that affect floating docks and stationary docks.
Floating Docks – How Weather Affects Boat Docks
Floating docks are designed to handle rough weather conditions. Even then, they are not completely spared by the weather. A floating dock slightly sways in water and is just as prone to rusted frames and rotten decking as its counterpart.
How can you combat poor weather conditions if you have a floating dock? You need to ensure that your floating dock has been built and installed by a reputable and reliable company supplying quality boat docks. High quality floating docks featuring hot-dipped galvanized steel with thick-shelled floats weather- and resistant materials are designed to handle inclement weather.
Do not go with wooden docks with cheap and low-quality floats because when the weather gets ugly, your dock takes a beating. The maximum weight capacity of floating docks is measured by the buoyancy under the decking and frame.
The recommended buoyancy level of live load per square foot should be around 95 pounds. Live load refers to the ideal buoyancy level of the floating platform on the water. Over time, buoyancy level will decrease, resulting in your boat dock losing its freeboard.
You measure the freeboard from the top of your boat dock to the water line or vice versa. Measuring the freeboard of floating docks depends on how to use it or the type of boat you will be docking to it. Your freeboard should measure 5-inches to 40-inches.
Stationary Docks – How Weather Affects Boat Docks
Stationary docks are designed and installed by anchoring or driving pilings, poles, or supports into the surface of the lake. This type of installation method stabilizes the boat dock. Ice shift or land shift is one of the biggest problems that stationary dock owners face.
If the pilings and anchors settle or shift due to land or ice movement, it will cause your stationary dock to become unstable. You can overcome this by performing core samplings of the soil. You need to take all the required actions to ensure your boat dock does not become unstable.
If the weather has taken a toll on your boat dock or you are in the market for a new boat dock, contact 800-654-8168. EZ Dock Texas serves the residents of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Call today for your quote.
