In article
,
kyle wrote:

Ok.. so in our Canal, we don't have the luxury of space to build a
traditional 4 piling boat house. instead, we were thinking about
building half a boat house, at a slight angle, with some strong base
supports for the pilings.M
so we have 60 feet to work with..... here is something i was just
tinkering with... i was wondering if anyone had any idea on what we
are really trying to accomplish: cover a 24ft boat and a 15ft boat
without building a 4 post boat house/lift.

... = shore
~~ = water
|| = piling (15ft above water)
\\ = structure supports (at an angle)
MM = lightweight siding
.................................................. ............................
..........................
||~~~~~||~~~~~~||~~~~~~||~~~~~~||~~~~~~||~~~~~~||~ ~~~~~||
\\MMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMMN\\
\\MMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMMN\\
\\MMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMM\\MMMMM\\MMMMN\\

The boats would be under the MMMM's

if you were looking at the supports from a different angle, it would
kind of look like this
//
//
//
//
//
||
||
||
||

Just to make sure I'm understanding you properly: you're basically
interested in making a cantilevered roof/awning over the water from a
single line of piers?

As far as I can see, it should be theoretically possible to do what
you're suggesting, but probably neither particularly easy nor
particularly inexpensive. You'll need to drive the piers far enough so
that they can withstand the constant torque applied by the roof part
without tilting over, and likewise a fairly sturdy structure to hold the
roof (likely some sort of truss arrangement). It may be helpful to
provide some sort of additional support on the shore near the piers to
help keep the loads on the piers more vertical--perhaps a few wire ropes
running diagonally from the tops of the piers, similar to those used on
some telephone poles. (Bear in mind that it's not just the weight of
the roof that must be managed, but also wind and possibly snow loads.)

I'd strongly suggest talking to a local architect or similar
professional. They'd be far better able to get a feel for what would be
involved in creating a structure that will work properly and safely.

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot