How To Get Proper Float When Building A Portable Floating Dock

You need a new floating dock or want to add to an existing one, but money is tight so you are considering building your own. The cost of a finished dock includes the following:

• The cost of manufacturing the spring parts.
• The cost of transporting the parts from the dock to the final location.
• The cost of assembling the parts on a finished dock.

It’s easy to see that building a floating dock yourself can save you the cost of paying someone to assemble it for you. This article will show you how you can save money on both parts and shipping, too, if you choose the right dock floats.

Custom dock floats

Dock floats are what keep your dock afloat. There are many companies that sell floats specifically designed for docks. Some floats are made of polyethylene plastic and may or may not be foam filled. Other floats are made of plastic-coated Styrofoam.

A common dock float sold with dock kits is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and one foot high. This float has a polyethylene shell and is filled with foam. The main function of the foam padding is to make the float stronger, otherwise the shape of the float would cause the plastic to collapse on itself. The foam will absorb water over time, so if the plastic housing is punctured, the spring needs to be repaired immediately, as there is no way to dry the foam once it is wet. This particular float costs around $ 260 excluding shipping, weighs 110 pounds, and displaces 1815 pounds of water. A 20 x 8 foot dock would normally use three of these floats for a total cost of $ 900, if we include only $ 40 shipping per float.

When it comes to shipping, floats like the one described above are pretty lightweight, but they’re also quite large and take up a lot of space on a truck. So depending on where the floats are made, shipping can add significantly to the final cost of the float (often much more than $ 40).

55 gallon standard plastic drums

Standard 55 gallon polyethylene drums have been used as dock and houseboat floats for at least 20 years and have proven to be extremely reliable. 55 gallon plastic drums cost around $ 40-60 new and are used in large quantities in the food industry. When used for food storage, the FDA typically does not allow drums to be reused. This is great for the dock builder because reconditioned drums in excellent condition are available in most communities for $ 5-20 with little shipping cost.

Due to their round shape, the 55 gallon drums are extremely strong and do not need foam padding. This makes them significantly lighter than foam filled floats. And if they are ever damaged, the water can be drained completely and the drum can be repaired “like new” without the worry that the foam inside has flooded.

A typical 55 gallon drum weighs about 22 pounds and displaces about 480 pounds of water. A 20 x 8 foot dock would float on 12 of these drums. Even at $ 20 each, the total float cost would only be $ 240 compared to $ 900 for the custom dock floats we discussed earlier.

There is at least one company that has started manufacturing aluminum spring kits that are designed to use standard 55 gallon polyethylene drums for flotation. These kits completely enclose the drums in an aluminum lattice structure and are designed to work with any common deck material. The truss structure is so strong that polyethylene dock wheels or even a road-safe axle can be added to the finished dock to make it easier to get in and out of the water. Additionally, these piers can be registered and insured as US Coast Guard approved vessels.In some areas, this can be advantageous if pier permits are difficult to acquire.

We hope you found this article informative, and if you decide to build your own dock, you will better understand your options for floating it!

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