Best type of Boating Dock

[pckeen]

So we just inked the deal on a new house purchase - 2 acres on the lake, with a house, three garages (one heated for use as a workshop), and a private boat launch. We are moving from a small, sand bottom lake, to a large muddy bottomed lake that is part of a chain of lakes. When walking on the lake bottom, we will usually sink in a little. There is a gradual drop off in depth. From 5' out, the lake is probably 3' deep, and at 30-40' out, it is probably 4-5' deep.

The house has the remnants of a dock, including a wooden crib in the lake that is filled with rocks. That dock is very old, and has essentially disintegrated. There are several such docks on the lake in that area.

We have a boat lift on our existing property that doesn't have wheels. I can move that to the new lake. We like having the boat in the water, as it is much easier to use it when we want.

So we need a new dock. Here are our options:
1. Roll in aluminum dock that is adjustable - we like the look of Floe docks.
2. Replace the crib and put in a new permanent dock.
3. Install a cantilever dock - one that can be raised up.
4. Install a crib on the shore and install a floating dock.

As for the boat itself, our options are:
A. Use our existing boat lift, and install wheels for ease of raising and lowering.
B. Install mooring whips on a dock.
C. Tie it directly to the dock

So what is your advice? Which options would you pick?

 

[wahlejim]

I see you are in Northern Ontario, get the rolling dock if you have the room to store it in your yard (with 2 acres I am assuming you do). That is one regret that I have from buying my lake house last year, I did not get a roller.

One other tip with a mucky bottom, Bridge your legs on your dock with a 1 ft wide section of plywood. It will act like a snow shoe and will keep your dock on top of the muck for easier removal when the time comes in the fall.

I would use your existing boat lift as well. Typically with muddy bottom lakes, the water is not as clean. Your hull will suffer if stored in the water at all times. Plywood trick works on the legs of the lift as well.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would drive pile and build a permanent dock with a permanent boat lift. the problem with mud bottoms is they slowly suck in the roll-in docks and lifts

 

[roffey]

I am in eastern Ontario on a lake with a muddy bottom. I have a boat lift and dock as well. My advice for the dock is a floating dock connected to a deck style platform on dry land. On my lake the water levels go up and down with the season so floating is the only way. My boat lift gets stuck to the bottom every year. I have wheels on it but still have to work to get the lift out. I have a winch anchored to a tree and I can slowly pull the lift out of the mud over the course of a weekend. In my area it is not an option to leave docks or boat lifts in the water over winter.

 

[pckeen]

I guess I should have mentioned that we get up to 4' of ice during the winter....

 

[JASinIL2006]

We have a place on a small lake (with a mud bottom) in Northern Ontario, too. We also have to pull the dock over winter due to ice. We have a floating dock attached to a large crib dock on shore and it works very well. We aren't up there enough to require a lift, so we just tie up to the floating dock. Whips would be nice, but we're in a slightly protected cove, so they aren't really needed.

Our floating dock is pretty simple and I made it myself. It's a wood frame with layers of pink insulation board providing the buoyancy. I added a wood skirt to it so it looks just like a regular wooden dock. The floating part itself is two 12'x5' sections that form a finger that sticks out from the main dock on shore. It works very well, was quite inexpensive (compared to other floating docks we priced, esp. in Canadian dollars) and has proved to be quite durable. One key seems to be anchoring it sufficiently on the free end. We sunk several 5-gallon pails of concrete on other side of the end of the dock and use heavy chains in a criss-cross pattern to eyebolts on the end of the dock.

We pull the dock up on shore each fall using a couple of rails laid into the water. Very easy.

 

[roffey]

Every thing comes out of the water come fall. Its a sad day when we look at the lake and all the docks are all out. You know boating season is over for another year. However we are at the start of the season now and a long weekend is coming up :canada::fish2::very_drunk: