On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:22:53 -0800 (PST), Two meter troll
wrote:

if you do not strap the barrels to the dock then the punctured barrel
sinks out from under the dock. this may cut down on the flotation of
the dock but it wont have the effect of pulling your dock down.

The water in the barrel does not pull anything down. The full weight
in water is only a few pounds, that of the empty barrel. The lack of
bouyancy will cause that part of the dock to sink. It's not a downward
pull, it's the loss of an upward push. Water in water weighs nothing.

Casady