- Why do I want an aluminum dock?
- Is aluminum strong enough?
- Why do aluminum docks bounce too much in heavy water?
- Do you bolt the docks together?
- How do you get these big docks to the lake?
- How do you anchor the dock to the shore?
- Why would the cables get slack?
- Do you have to paint the aluminum so it isn't shiny?
- Are the corners of the aluminum sharp?
- Are the roof panels aluminum?
- Do you need that unsightly roof-to-deck brace?
- Will all boats fit under your roof?
- How much area does the roof cover?
- What roof styles do you offer?
- What size is the walkway?
- What kind of bumpers do we need?
- Do we get a ladder?
- How about tie downs?
- What are the options?
Why do I want an aluminum dock?
No more scraping or painting (painted steel docks require repainting more frequently than a wooden house).
As the original steel dock builder on Lake Keowee in the mid-90s, we painted over a thousand docks. Even when we used the finest epoxy and polyurethane coating available, the paint job was not expected to last beyond seven years. Most dock builders today use alkyd production enamel paint which begins to fail in two years. Metal and paint and water just don't mix. I would think if you left your car by the lake for five years, there wouldn't be any paint on it either. Our marine grade aluminum alloy might need an occasional squirt with a hose over its 30-40 year lifetime.
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Is aluminum strong enough?
This question is usually raised from steel dock builders not yet in modern times, and we hope NASA or Boeing Aircraft doesn't hear this.
Actually, our marine alloy is 70% the strength of steel size for size. It would then make sense that if we took the 2" roof posts used on steel docks and increase the size 150% ( x 70% = 105%), we end up with a 3" roof posts rated at a higher strength than 2” steel. One must be careful since ,size for size, some aluminum alloys are 40% weaker than our marine alloy. Airplane wings are made of aluminum, not steel, because aluminum is much more foregiving and can flex more than steel before failure. Detroit has found aluminum cars perform better than steel cars in crash tests and you don't have to paint aluminum docks.
Aluminum is the most common and most recycled metal material on earth.
A recycled soda can is frequently back on the shelf in as little as one month.
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Why do aluminum docks bounce too much in heavy water?
When we first introduced aluminum docks in 1995, we used a lightweight, bolted 6" frame with aluminum decking. Today our heavyweight 8" frame with structural bracing and hardwood decking is dramatically beefed up to control objectionable flex; it weighs 50% more than the 6" frames. We also re-engineered our flotation systems and our aluminum extrusions to make them stronger and stiffer. Our corners are twice as strong as the industry standard.
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Do you bolt the docks together?
We found that the harder stainless steel bolts would eventually elongate the hole in the softer aluminum causing the dock to squeak. We now weld all our dock sections together after we put them in the lake. If the dock is purchased through one of our authorized dealers, rest assured they have been trained on our installation techniques and become fully qualified in all aspects of lakeside assembly, welding, and anchoring.
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How do you get these big docks to the lake?
We load them on trailers, take them to the closest boat landing, and launch them like a boat. We then square and plumb all the sections and weld them together to give a much stronger foundation than a dock that was bolted together. We then build the roof system, attach the walkway and push the dock to your property. Dealers either pick up their docks at our plant, or we deliver them to their location. In either case, the process is the same.
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How do you anchor the dock to the shore?
The strongest connection is to run cables from the back corners of the dock to the shore at a 45 degree angle. The cables are attached to steel and concrete anchors buried in the ground. The walkway is mounted to the ground with a pivot swivel so it cannot dig into the ground but pivot when cables are slack; this helps eliminate some of the hassle of adjusting winches every time the lake level changes. In certain instances, the site might require spud poles or underwater anchoring.
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Why would the cables get slack?
When the lake level drops, the angle of the walkway changes and pulls the dock closer to shore (a 10' drop with a 40' walkway will pull the dock 16" closer to shore). If Duke power is pulling or adding water to Lake Keowee, for instance, lake levels can rise or fall up to 2 feet in a matter of hours. TVA lakes such as Lake Cherokee or Norman in Tennessee have been known to rise or fall up to 40’ over the course of a season. Nobody is going to adjust winches that regularly which makes your dock system vulnerable to wind damage. Additionally, most homes on these lakes are not permanent residences, so the docks are unattended most of the time. If a walkway is simply dropped on the ground, the weather will force it to dig into the ground. This stiff mounting will hold the dock in place up to a certain force and then the whole system will snap violently until the cable becomes taught. Typically, with this amount of force, something usually breaks: the cable with 15,000# bursting strength when new, the feeble 1500# winch, or the anchor pulls out of the ground; worst of all, the walkway can snap off the dock at the hinge. Our pivot eliminates all these potential headaches.
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Do you have to paint the aluminum so it isn't shiny?
If you paint aluminum, you've lost the principal reason for buying the product - no maintenance. All of our extrusions have ridges covering the surface which reduces the shine, hides dirt and makes the product stiffer and stronger.
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Are the corners of the aluminum sharp?
We design our own dies to have a safe and comfortable radius on every exposed edge. Other suppliers buy stock materials from their distributors that probably only have a product with a sharp edge available.
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Are the roof panes aluminum?
The roof panels are actually steel coil that has been rolled into a corrugated shape to give it strength. Our roof panels are a galvalume substrate which has been dipped in both aluminum and zinc to galvanize it for maximum corrosion protection. The panels are then primed and silicone-polyester top coated to your choice of seventeen colors; our standard color is dark green. The roof coating system is warranted for 25 years.
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Do you need that unsightly roof to deck brace?
You might add that they are cumbersome and potentially dangerous, too. We do not use diagonal braces in our system except in very rough, exposed, big water areas.
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Will all boats fit under your roof?
We can build roof structures of any height, but our standard roof fascia clearance is 9 ½ feet above the water at its lowest point. Clearance is unobstructed once under cover. The only boats that have required us to build taller roofs are pontoon boats with cabins, some boats with T or wake board superstructures, and some cruisers.
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How much area does the roof cover?
The standard roof covers 4' of decking around the three sides of the slip. If desired, we can expand the roof to cover a greater area and provide more shade.
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What roof styles do you offer?
Our standard roof is a two-sided gable with a 2:12 pitch and a continuous ridge vent. A four-sided hip roof style is available. All our roof systems now have a structural fascia beam under the roof panel which can carry the roof load from one end of the dock to the other; we have eliminated the roof posts that awkwardly sit four feet from the edge of the slip inside the wide section of the dock thereby providing a completely unencumbered area. We can also mount a cupola with a weather vane on the roof. We only use metal cupolas to match the roof panel so as to eliminate future maintenance of untreated wood requiring paint or stain.
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What size is the walkway?
Our standard walkway is 40' long by 4’ wide with a structural and decorative arch in it and two structural handrails for safety. We can build walkways from 10' to 60' clear spans. All walkways longer than 20' have a float and brace attached underneath the walkway at the dock end to remove weight and reduce wear friction on the dock hinge. We know of few other manufacturers that include this important structural and safety component.
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What kind of bumpers do we need?
Our standard specification calls for rigid 36" bumpers mounted to each roof post and bumpers attached to a 3" x 36" capped aluminum post off the wide side(s) of the dock. Additionally, our standard specification calls for fastening them with stainless steel screws and finish washers. Our heavy gauge "P" shaped bumper strip is attached around the entire perimeter of the deck. All our bumpers are non-marking, black in color to eliminate the mildew and marking of white bumpers as they deteriorate and oxidize.
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Do we get a ladder?
Yes, ladders are standard with any dock. We only use an aluminum five step ladder so your foot is on the bottom rung when you are in the water (less expensive four-step ladders are awkward to climb and are much like the difficult boat ladders). Our ladder has tall pipe style rails very much like a pool ladder. The ladder comes with a pivot mechanism wherein you can pull a pin, rotate the ladder 180 degrees out of the water and put the pin back in for storage. We don't mount ladders to the decking to have a few deck screws take the force; we mount to supports under the deck (which have been tested to 450 pounds).
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How about tie downs?
We put two 8"galvanized cleats along each dockable side of the dock. Cleats are through bolted into the aluminum frame, not just the decking. For those of us that are used to tripping or catching our big toe in cleats when we walk around the dock, we now offer a fold down cleat seat as an option. The cleat can be folded flat into its housing which has tapered sides for safety.
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What are the options?
Probably 70% of the docks we sell are 24' x 28' with a 10' x 24' slip opening for the boat and a 10' swim deck oriented to the side of your preference (sun/shade; better view; sheltered for little ones; etc.). We include everything in our standard configuration to give you a turnkey dock. Options include larger slip(s); larger swim decks (12', 14' or two 10' decks); boat and PWC lifts; or a fiberglass dock box. Sometimes we run a wood skirt around the frames for a wood look effect. In 2004 we introduced our double-decker full and partial Sundeck docks which have become popular on those lakes that allow them.
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