What parts do you need to keep your dock stable?
How does the bottom of the lake affect your dock?
Alumi-Span Docks has solutions for any lake bottom conditions you may encounter. From nice sandy bottoms to knee-deep muck, our products have a way to make your dock stable. All of their parts are quality cast aluminum parts and engineered in-house. Cast aluminum parts are much stronger than the thin metal stampings or extruded parts some systems use to cut corners. Unlike those, cast aluminum parts are not going to slip, break, or bend, ensuring your dock is supported throughout the entire season. Keep reading below to find out about some of the different ways to support your dock on the lake bottom.
- Standard Bottom Plates: The standard bottom plate is great for solid, sandy lake bottoms on docks over thirty feet long. This 6”x6” plate fits around both a 2” OD pole or a 1.9” pole. The advantage to using bottom plates is you can leave your entire leg set together when taking the dock out each year. This not only makes installation easier, but it also minimizes levelling of the dock from year to year. These plates can also be moved up the pole a bit for milder muck situations .
- Augers: Augers screw down into the ground and are ideal when the dock needs to be anchored. This can be because a boat is being tied directly to the dock, it is a shorter dock, or the dock stays in all year round. Often a combination of augers and bottom plates can be used to keep installation easier or both can be used in milder muck situations .
- Large Bottom Plates: The large bottom plate provides added support and is used for a variety of reasons. These 12”x12” plates are ideal for supporting party platforms. They not only add stability, but they make installation of a platform easier as well. This is because they allow the truss to stand on its own in the water as sections are added to it. These larger plates are also helpful when muck is an issue (up to a foot and a half of muck). The plate can be run up the pole, so that the leg set can be jammed into the muck and still have something stable on which to rest .
- Bottom Plates and Treated Boards: For more extreme muck conditions (over a foot and a half), a treated piece of plywood with a hole in the middle can be used in combination with a standard bottom plate. The upright poles of the leg set go through the board, while the bottom plate rests on top of it. The board creates a stable surface on which your dock can rest. It also gives you something to stand on while doing the install.
- Permanent Dock Base: Alumi-Span’s Perma-Auger is a great way to get an augered dock base, without the work each year. Designed to stay under the ice line year-round, these are installed one time. Regular 2”OD uprights simply drop into them. A large vinyl funnel makes it easy to put in the post even if visibility is restricted. They should not be installed in areas so shallow that the ice can freeze around the unit. Leave 6-10 inches of pole sticking out of the lake bottom to avoid sand getting in the tube.
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No matter your lake bottom conditions, Alumi-Span has a solution for you! Call 855-523-2444 or submit a contact form. to get our advice on what boat dock parts would work best for you!