Opinion on culvert/corrugated pipe style floating dock

[littleape]

So I'm looking at picking up a new floating dock. One builder is using those large corrugated culvert pipes as floats instead of the common small rectangle floats.

Any negatives using those large culvert pipes as floats, especially when left over winter with ice? Are these more or less durable than the more traditional small floats.


Thanks

 

[ahicks]

Not sure where you are, but when considering "small" floats, inquire about rodent problems. Here in SE Mich, muskrats LOVE the taste of plastic and/or foam!

Ice, especially if your place is on an open area of the lake, would be a concern to me as well. Ice can turn anything into something resembling a pretzel.

I use 3 10' section of alum. dock. We're lucky enough to have a fairly sturdy (sand) bottom though.I can pull them or install them in an hour or so without too much trouble, and I'm pushing 70.

 

[Carl1783]

So I'm looking at picking up a new floating dock. One builder is using those large corrugated culvert pipes as floats instead of the common small rectangle floats.

Any negatives using those large culvert pipes as floats, especially when left over winter with ice? Are these more or less durable than the more traditional small floats.


Thanks

When you say "corrugated culvert pipes" I take that to be corrugated galvanized steel as I work in the underground utility and highway construction field. But I have to think a dock builder wouldn't use steel... Must be ribbed HDPE pipes with endcaps to make them watertight? If that is the case, then rectangular dock floats are made of the same material, HDPE. Very durable and resistant to photo degradation. But The rectangular floats are usually foam filled, not sure about your builder's "corrugated culvert pipes"... if those are foam filled or not.

 

[littleape]

Yeah they are HDPE but pretty sure they are empty inside.

 

[Carl1783]

They look legit. HDPE is strong stuff. Is the framing treated lumber? Can't tell from the pics. How long has the guy been in business? Does he offer any kind of warranty?

 

[littleape]

It's not exactly that dock/seller, it was just to show the types of floats. Yes the one I'm looking at is pressure treated and uses floats like those. I don't think anyone here sells anything else other than cedar which is $$.

 

[Texasmark]

Blue food grade plastic drums are really hard to beat. I would if I did.

 

[Carl1783]

If you had ice with problems sealed HDPE pipes, I feel you would have issues with any other type of floats too. I don’t see why the ribbed pipe would be any more susceptible compared to the rectangular floats. Avoiding ice damage is all about your fall/winter dock prep in my opinion. I’ve managed docks on reservoirs with changing water levels and natural lakes that do not fluctuate, and never lost a dock or a float.

 

[Grub54891]

The docks at our marina are floaters, they use the rectangular floats, left in year round. We get ice at least three foot deep. They hold up well, but there are always a few floats that need to be replaced each year. Mostly because a muskrat had chewed a hole in them, or the seam on top cracked and got water in it. Them culvert ones look more durable in my opinion, however I've not seen them up close.

 

[roffey]

I have floats on my dock and reside in Ontario Canada, we get ice, lol. I disconnect the dock and float it into shore where it sits for the winter so the dock does not really get frozen in.

My 2 cents, why not use the floats that are made specifically for docks, tried and true?

 

[Texasmark]

The blue drums get your dock up off the water. When it gets rough that may be to your advantage.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I think the corrugated pipes look like an interesting approach. My concerns would be the integrity of the seals where the end caps meet the tubes and whether the corrugations would give purchase to ice and increase the chances that ice might tear the dock away from the shore when the ice recedes in the Spring. (If you plan to pull the dock out of the water in the winter, the latter concern is moot.)

I'd be inclined to give them a try. If they didn't work, you most likely could retrofit either blue barrels or the standard foam billets used in floating docks. Maybe wouldn't hurt to talk to someone with that style of float whose dock has gone thru a winter or two...

 

[cptbill]

There are a few marinas over here on the Gulf coast we go to that use corrugated galvanized pipe with bottom piant on them and aluminum decking, seem to work well and are very stable