Tom
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- Jan 13, 2005
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When we purchased this small/modest 2,500 sq ft "future retirement home" (circa 2000), we also bought a new 51 foot boat that didn't fit the standard 30 foot x 8 foot dock. We side tied the new boat on the 'outside' for a few years, but I got tired of sitting up in the middle of the night, watching the lines stretch in the wind; I had the boat tied to a couple of pilings as a precaution, and I was worried that something would give way, and our boat would take out several neighbors' docks and boats.
We hired a dock contractor and they brought in a rig with a barge, crane and pile driver. The local Fed office (who issue permits for docks and manage the levees) said we could extend the dock significantly, because we were on a "wide" bay.
The existing pilings couldn't be "pulled" because they were 8 feet in the mud, and the resultant "friction" meant they wouldn't move. They wrapped a heavy duty wire rope/line around each piling, ran it to a roller on the barge, and up to the crane. They assured me the pilings would break 2" above the mud line, but I had an underwater chain saw guy on standby. They all broke off as expected.
The pile driver drove new (40 foot) pilings, and the contractor created a great new dock area for us. I arranged for water and 50A/240V receptacles catty corner. Whichever way we bring the boat in (depending on the wind) we have power in the "right" place.
Meanwhile, the docks are a little more busy nowadays, since Chris has a small "fleet" back there, and I have my bass boat. But we still have sufficient side tie dock space for Chris' clients to bring in their boats for her to work her "Custom Yacht Interiors" magic, and when friends visit.
We've had 65/56/51/42 foot boats back there, sometimes more than one at a time.
We hired a dock contractor and they brought in a rig with a barge, crane and pile driver. The local Fed office (who issue permits for docks and manage the levees) said we could extend the dock significantly, because we were on a "wide" bay.
The existing pilings couldn't be "pulled" because they were 8 feet in the mud, and the resultant "friction" meant they wouldn't move. They wrapped a heavy duty wire rope/line around each piling, ran it to a roller on the barge, and up to the crane. They assured me the pilings would break 2" above the mud line, but I had an underwater chain saw guy on standby. They all broke off as expected.
The pile driver drove new (40 foot) pilings, and the contractor created a great new dock area for us. I arranged for water and 50A/240V receptacles catty corner. Whichever way we bring the boat in (depending on the wind) we have power in the "right" place.
Meanwhile, the docks are a little more busy nowadays, since Chris has a small "fleet" back there, and I have my bass boat. But we still have sufficient side tie dock space for Chris' clients to bring in their boats for her to work her "Custom Yacht Interiors" magic, and when friends visit.
We've had 65/56/51/42 foot boats back there, sometimes more than one at a time.
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, I stepped aside from boating for a couple years, and we really miss it. Wife and I are looking into purchasing a houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake in TN. This just made me more than just looking into it. Enjoy 
