Inclement weather wrecks dock floats. Harsh weather conditions can cause your boat dock’s frames to rust, decking to rot, bolts to break, and more. If you plan to get a boat dock, you need to understand how weather damages boat docks and what you can do to prevent it from happening.
Weather Conditions that Cause Damage to Boat Docks
When you get a boat dock, consider the different weather conditions that can damage your boat dock. The weather conditions include ice, temperature, water fluctuation, earth shifting, wind load, snow load, and sinkholes.
These weather conditions can also damage your boat dock accessories. The accessories that you also need to protect from the weather include PWC ports, boat lifts, ladders, slides, and more. We’re going to show you the negative effects of weather on floating docks and stationary docks.
1. Floating Docks
Floating docks can handle inclement weather better than stationary docks. However, a floating dock can also succumb to weather. Floating docks sway gently in the water, hence making them as prone to damage as stationary docks. Its decks and frames can also rust and rot.
You need to choose a floating dock made from galvanized steel with thick-shelled floats and weather-resistant decking, as they can endure inclement weather better than wooden boat docks with low-quality floats.
Floating docks also have a maximum weight capacity. You can use the buoyancy under the decking and frame to rate the maximum weight that the floating dock can carry or support. Most floating docks have a maximum weight capacity of 25 to 95 lbs. of live load each square foot.
You need to maintain the buoyancy as per the live load across the square footage of the part of your floating dock that will remain on the water. Consider the floats because they’re responsible for maintaining optimal buoyancy.
When the floatation loses optimal buoyancy, your boat dock will lose its freeboard. Freeboard measures the distance between the water line to the top of the boat dock. Measure the freeboard based on how you plan to use your boat dock or the type of boat you plan to operate.
2. Stationary Docks
You use pilings, poles, or supports to anchor stationary boat docks to the lake’s bottom. This creates a stable foundation. With stationary docks, you’ll run into a few problems. Unpleasant weather can cause the pilings or anchors to settle or shift with land movement or ice.
This will create an unstable boat dock. You can combat this issue by adding water attenuators, bubblers, or install shoreline stabilization. You can avoid this issue by inspecting the soil and then taking measures to prevent your boat dock from moving out of place during inclement weather.
EZ Dock Texas will inspect your area’s weather conditions before installing the boat dock on your waterfront property. You can contact us for a quote at 800-654-8168 if you live in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
