I have just got a deal on 1200 BF of 1 X 6 X 5'2 rough cedar. $.12
/ bf.

I have 10 plastic oil barrels, with as many more as I can load in my
old cargo van, at 10 per trip, 15 bucks each, used for poly b, a
wetting agent used by a local concrete plant.

I have a bunch of plastic coated ss clothesline, A couple of
moorings and an old 50 foot dock in ruins in my front yard. 20 feet
beyond the rubble, the water drops off to 60 feet deep.

I have built one 5' x 5' dock skeleton for 3 barrels, all in cedar,
just for eyeballing. Cedar splits very easily.

My riverfront is tidal, with a 2 foot range, and it freezes as hard
and deep as only a canadian could love.

I need suggestions as to how to engineer the most dock for the least
additional money.

I was thinking, since the cedar is lightweigh and a little fragile,
that I might need to buy some heavier structural lumber and use the
cedar for topping only, but I need to yank the docks for the winter,
and I want to be able to do it with only one helper.


I was thinking to run a cable between the moorings and dock the boat
to the cable, leaving the lightweight, more or less free floating
dock to be a gangway to the stone rubble dock ruin, which could be
used to support a deck over the really rough part of the dock ruin
out towards the end, which is a couple of feet underwater at high tide.

I am thinking patio block footings amongst the rubble, and seek
advice as to the most efficient (read cheap) engineering approach
and, er, free designs (ahem!)

TIA

Terry K