On Apr 19, 10:48 am, mark wrote:
I am going to build some floating docks but before I re-invent the
wheel I would like to get some opinions. They will be 16' long by 3'
wide and at either end I would put a plastic barrel under it, inside
the frame. The frame would be 2X8 rough sawn Juniper and the decking
would be 1 1/4" X 3 . First of all would this be stable or want to
roll, should I put a 3rd barrel in the center? If the barrels were in
a framework but free moving could they act as rollers to help when
pulling the docks out of the water. The beach is very gradual. I am
doing this on the cheap so I am not buying any floating dock hardware,
brackets, plastic floats etc...Any other ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

Mark,
I'm doing the same thing this summer. I've been looking at www.techstarplastics.com
for floats but they are $325 each from a local distributor. I've found
an interesting step by step dock building site at:
http://www.canadianfishing.com/dock/index.htm, fyi.
My dock will be 2 sections of 10ft wide x 16ft, so I'm looking at ways
to cut costs as well. I want the dock stable for 4-6 adults at the end
of the dock, sitting & enjoying a beer!
Some guys on the lake have 6ft wide docks with barrels and they rock a
fair amount. I would think a 3ft wide dock would flip over!
If you find any more info, please post/email.
Thanks,
---davr