INSTALLATION TIPS

Keys to Easy Assembly:

Overview

Dock Installation has a well deserved reputation for being the most hated chore a cottage owner has to tackle each year.  Those who hate it always have the same situation - a heavy all pine dock that requires 100% auguring.  You know the drill, call some buddies, buy a case of beer, and plan on spending several hours working and cussing.

We talk to dozens of customers each year who in frustration decide they will do or pay almost anything to eliminate this back breaking work. They look at rolling docks only to find out that they are mega-expensive and don't work nearly as well as advertised or some other expensive Rube Goldberg design that has obvious flaws like eliminating the bolting but weighing a ton.

Most of these people are unaware that a properly designed conventional 40 foot dock can be installed in about 10 minutes without any auguring or heavy lifting, even in muck!  The fact that they can save thousands of dollars while retaining the flexibility of nearly any configuration is icing on the cake.  Here how it works......

LIGHTWEIGHT SECTION

No matter what style of dock you have, remember that if it's not light it's not easy.  Old splintery, hot, all wood sections often weigh 200 – 250 pounds, more if they're wet.  Our inexpensive Cedar sections weigh only 73 – 120 pounds.  Our original all aluminum sections weigh 70 – 105 pounds.  Our new Series “B” sections are as little as 46 pounds each. In shallow water you can often just leave the uprights on and store them upside down in the winter. For a wide 8' X 4' anodized aluminum section with bottom plates this means 2 people carry a light 85 pound section out to the lake, flip it over and fasten two bolts. Figure about 2 ½ minutes per section.  The uprights should be about where they were the year before.  If any minor adjustments are needed it will only take seconds with Alumispan's exclusive “Super Clamp” (Pat. Pend.).  Still too heavy?  Try our Series “B” (Pat. Pend.) sections.  A 5' X 4' wide “B” section weighs only 65# including the supports, 3' wide sections weigh even less.  With Series “B” each section simply snaps into the one behind it so there is no bolting,  Average installation time – about as fast as you can walk from your shore to the lake ( 1 – 1 ½ minutes per section )........and you were going to pay what for a clumsy rolling dock? ----TIP---- A kid's hard foam float, usually 4' X 4' X 5” is cheap and can really be handy for taking parts or whole sections out to the lake.

ELIMINATE AUGERING

OK you say, but that's for a dock with bottom plates and I have a 25' pontoon boat that I tie directly to the dock in high winds.  I have to auger, don't I? ....... In most cases you don't.  You can simply install our inexpensive permanent augers.  These rugged units are designed to be left under the ice all year creating a permanent underwater base for our regular poles to fit into.  It's just as fast as bottom plates and gives you the added option of dropping fully assembled supports into the bases first.  With these supports standing up in the water, it's a simple matter to lay the deck sections on them and fasten the bolts.----TIP---- When installing a large party platform use our light weight trusses with large bottom plates or Perma Augers.  Once again this allows the trusses to stand independently in the water while you fasten the deck sections and its much faster then using blind uprights under the deck like our competitors.  A large 9 section platform (12'X24') can be disassembled and stacked neatly on shore in about 25 minutes).

You say that's fine for beach conditions but what about heavy muck, that can't be easy?  Wrong again!  Alumispan's famous Big Foot system makes it easy.  These units work just like Perma Augers but they are designed to push down into muddy bottoms.  Once installed they form a permanent underwater base that not only facilitates installation but also gives you something solid to stand on when you're in the water.  Additional advantages of both permanent systems are that they place the dock for you perfectly every year and you never have to adjust anything.  You can also put the farthest section in first and build back to shore since you know exactly where it will go.

P.S.    If you absolutely insist on conventional auguring, just use a few right where you tie your boat.  The rest can be bottom plates.

WATER DEPTH

The deeper you go, the tougher it will be to put in.  Look, we love to sell long docks but 3 feet is enough for any lake boat and that's about waist high.  You will probably be putting your dock in while the water is still cold.  Waders are generally nice and warm but if you go up to 4' and add some waves your waders might not be warm any more.  In 3-3 ½ feet of water, the uprights will be short and stable and you probably won't need additional diagonal bracing. If you can't go straight out and still have enough room for you boat, try using an “L” design so the boat can sit parallel to the shoreline. ----TIP---- If your party platform is going to sit at the end of the dock in deep water, reverse it, that is, have the platform near shore and the dock sections out beyond it, i.e. Less sections to put in deep water. 
Remember that in deep water you can't keep the uprights on, you will have to lift higher, and if it's over your head your going to have to work on floats (much harder). Keep it shallow!

INITIAL INSTALLATION

Once your new dock is set up it will be very easy to re-install but the first time requires some sub-assembly.  Every experienced installer seems to have there own favorite method but here's a few things to consider.

Dock with Bottom Plates
 
You will receive a “kit” of parts.  The first thing to do is mount all of the bottom plates (BP) on the end of the uprights. Unless you're on rocks leave about 2” of upright sticking out of the bottom of the plates as it will give you more stability.  Next mount two stringer brackets (SB) loosely on each cross arm.  It's always more efficient to do them all at once then to individually assemble them as each section goes out.  Do not mount the black plastic caps until the end.

Using an upside down section as a “fixture”, take one of the XA subassemblies you made and put it on the end of the section as if you were going to mount it upside down. You can put a couple of 1” bolts in the stringer holes loose if you want to at this point.  Next mount the uprights with BP’s sticking up on each end of the XA by loosening the outside bolt on each 300C Super Clamp.  The upright should just slip through the opening.  Adjust each upright height by first measuring the water depth and adding about 10 inches.  This total should be the distance from the end of the BP to the 300C clamp and allows for about one foot of clearance between the water and the bottom of the stringer.  If you want more than one foot clearance simply let the upright stick out a little further.  You can now tighten the outside clamp bolts. Next you will tighten the stringer bracket caps to the XA but before you do, make sure that the uprights are sticking up perpendicular to the section.

 You have now completed what we call a Standard Assembly.  If the uprights are relatively short you can now tighten the stringer brackets to the stringers using 1” hex bolts, carry the whole section to the lake, flip it over and bolt it to the last section.  If the uprights are longer or if you are using heavier pine sections, this will be impractical and the procedure is as follows.

  Take the deck section only out and rest one end on the previous sections SB's.  Put two 1” bolts on that end and prop up or hold the other end while the standard assembly is fastened.----TIP---- Many people use a foam float with some type of spacer to hold one end of the dock up at the exact height they want and then simply “wheelbarrow” the section out to be fastened onto the last section. After this they can easily attach the uprights since the dock is obviously level........As each section is installed it is a good idea to level them as it's just a little easier at this point then waiting until the end.  With the super clamps this is very fast since about 1 ½ turns of a 9/16 wrench allows the uprights to slide.  You don't need to over tighten.  Just tighten the outside bolt of the Super Clamp until the two sides touch, then maybe a ¼ to ½ turn more.  Some people like to use a plastic level to help them but many mark a stick or board and simply hold it to the top of the water to adjust their uprights.  With wave action this is a little more difficult.

The second to last thing you will do is put the plastic caps in the tops of the uprights but before you do, you may want to level the tops of the uprights by cutting them off evenly. Note:  If you are auguring you can't do this since you would cut off the auguring holes, but with BP's or Perma augers you can.   Hacksaws don't work well and take forever.  A tube cutter works much better and faster.----TIP----Right at the end of the cut go easy so the metal doesn't bend inward too much, this will make the cap installation much easier.----TIP---- you don’t have to be perfect on these heights.  If the uprights are within 3 or 4 inches of each other it will look quite acceptable since you are really looking down at them most of the time.  Finally you can put the vinyl caps in.  Simply set the caps on top of the uprights to start them and pound them in with the flat side of a 2X4 that is about 2' long.  A couple whacks is all it takes (much better then a hammer). 
One of the last things you do is check to see that all bolts and nuts are snug.  If you get on the dock and it's wobbly, you will probably find some bolts didn't get tightened.  If after that there is still some “sway” particularly where you may have used long uprights, a diagonal brace should take care of it. For uprights that are in water that's over your head you should probably use galvanized steel for more stability.

Finally, and this is important, mark your sections and standard assemblies in some way so that the following year you will be able to put them back in exactly where they were.  A sharpie works well for this.

Docks with Augers

 One popular way is to first take the clamps off of the XA's and then fasten the XA's to the section without fully tightening the stringer bracket caps.  Prop the section in place as described above and position the augured uprights vertically about ¼” from each end of the XA.  Next, auger it in.  We usually recommend about a foot of upright plus the auger going into the soil.  If it's soft you may have to go in a lot more, if it's really hard sand you can probably do less.  Remember that how hard its turning is an indication of how stable the upright is going to be regardless of depth.
If you have watched dock installers do this with a ½ “ turn rod it looks like child’s play.  It's not! These guys are really strong.  We recommend you consider one of our Post Ratchets if you have many of these to do.  Yes, the installer next door will think you're a sissy, but after he watches you, he'll want to borrow it.
Once the uprights are augured in, you can now level the section and tighten the clamps.

PROFESSIONAL INSTALLERS

Putting in a properly designed dock is usually pretty easy and a fun thing to do with the family but there are situations where a qualified installer is the way to go. Just remember that they are not all created equal.  Don't use inexperienced dock installers or kids who say they can do it for $5.00 a section. It won't be level or straight, they will forget to tighten bolts, they will throw the sections around putting big scratches in your beautiful new dock and you'll come to the lake for your first big weekend only to find that those kids you thought you hired are having an even bigger weekend.
A good installer will make sure your dock is straight and level.  He will neatly stack your dock instead of tossing it in your yard and if he ever sees any dock damage or lake site problems he will inform you of your options. The interest alone on the money you saved over purchasing some of the expensive contraptions that are out there will almost pay for ongoing installation. Most Alumispan dealers can recommend quality installers or have their own. 
We hope you will enjoy your installation experience and please call us if you have other questions.