Building a dock

I’m building a dock/lift in Houston, Texas. Our summers can be pretty brutal (temperature, sun) My question is on the lake I’m building on, a majority of the docks have a roof over them with sides exposed ( we can’t have an enclosed boat house on my lake) . The back of my house faces west (setting sun) and that is where my boat will be on the lift. How much of an effect will the sun have on my gel coat over the years with the sun beating down on it? I would have the boat on the lift year round and put the cover on it during the down time. But the boat would be exposed. The boat is an 04 supra, so the gel coat is brand new. I want some dock area so people can be out on the sun , so extending the roof way out (over the dock) is not an option. I’m only looking to build a simple U-shaped dock, with the lift in the middle.

What color is the boat? I'm guessing that you are concerned about fading?

Hey Adam, I'm just about 4 hours North of you. I built my dock 10 years ago, and if I did it over again, I would have a higher ratio of covered space vs. sunning area. When people are relaxing on the dock, they head for the shady spots. If you build a "hip" roof, you can extend a little farther over the back of the boat and get a little more protection. With the tower up, you can't raise the boat enough to get it out of the sun.

The other thing I have seen lately, are these heavy vinyl drapes that go inside the boat house and drop down around the boat; looks like a big box. I'm assuming it's pretty pricey. Somebody will probably have a link.

Michael, the boat is white and navy...see my profile pic. I'm concered about fading. My cover only comes down to the rub rail.

Rich, what kind of lift do you have? Is you dock floating or fixed?

I'm open to ideas, but am on a budget. I have 12k to spend on the dock and lift. One other crazy restriction on my lake is that no single section on the lower part of the dock can be wider than 8 feet.



(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on January 04, 2006)

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on January 04, 2006)

Adam,
I used to build docks for side work around Disco Bay, and your dock configuration, from what I understand, has a standard setup: one 8ft side one 4 ft side and a 10 ft. berth (assuming it's floating)
Can you use a canvas canopy over your berth?
If so they make side sunshades or you can buy the material at Lowe's and sew them yourself, make sure you stow them if the wind is coming.
A new lift is the best way to go since many in the last 2 years have started using poly tanks not fiberglass and configuring the tank attachment points above the water line to prevent electrolysis.

Adam, my dock is a fixed dock on steel piers, with an overhead lift. The boat sits on a cradle.

My roofline also runs East/West. The biggest exposure you will have is on the South side; not in the summer, but all the rest of the year. For example, if you can design the roof to extend 4' past the sides of the slip instead of just 2', it will make a big difference. It still won't completely shade your hull all the time; that's why I mentioned the vinyl canopy. With one of those, you don't even need a cover.

What about an awning of sorts? We can't even have a roof over our dock, so I am a bit jealous of your set up!

Adam,

Sunscreens or a sunshade like material would be the way to go IMO as well.

You can have a seamstress / awning shop probabaly custom make it for you or head to Home Depot or Lowes, they have rolls of it I believe.... Its a material that is thicker than a typical window screen, will let some wind thorugh but blocks 80% of the sunlight. Sew some heavy duty velcor straps on it or maybe some washer / hooks so it can be taken down at your leisure...

http://www.lasvegassolarscreens.com/

This is the type of material I am talking about, you can see them on many homes & I have seen it used on awnings as well.

good luck

Arrron, thanks for the link. I sent the company an email. The houston boat show is this wekeend and will shop around the ideas. Keep the ideas coming. I'm paying interest ont he money and want to start building ASAP, but don't want to regret the dock I build. here's a picture of what I have to work with.

Adam, Would a double decker be out of the question money-wise? We had one out at Cedar Creek and the upper deck was a perfect place to hang out, get some sun, drink some beverages, etc. and offer protection for the boat. You could extend the upper level to shade the boat. If you can't do that then the awning is probably the way to go. And yes, Take it from a fellow
Texan the sun will beat the gel coat (and interior) down over the years, even if you wax regularly. I learned with my first boat, now i keep my current boat (95 SN) in a fully enclosed storage facility and the gelcoat and interior look BRAND NEW.

TR, that is the norm on this lake (top deck) but money wise I don't think I can afford it. In order to close the loan on the hosue before year end I had to get a rough estimate from a dock builder.....came out 12k...so that's what got rolled into the loan. I don't know how willing the lender would be to up that amount? Anyone every delt with that? Not to mention lumber prices went up 12% b/c of all the hurricanes that have hit the gulf coast...

You would likely have to refi again to get more money. What about a home equity loan? Changing from a pitched roof to a flat one should not cost more money. Aside from railings it should cost less. You have a very nice piece of property

I believe there is a one year period before he could try to refinance. I have friends in the business, they would know better than i would. You could possibly do a home equity loan depending on the numbers but that may be out of the question since you just closed. Once again my friends would know. I agree with Eric, check to see what the difference would be going from a pitched to flat roof... and a nice view!

Adam, no need to block a perfectly good spot for a slider from the back deck to the water.

I can re-fi after 6 months. I'll have to find a way to make the 12k work. I may end up doing all the decking myself (with the help of friends). I don't know how much it would save, but it's a start.

Kyle has a point. You need to be more focused on a pool in the backyard with a slider into the lake. If you build a dock you won't be able to do that.

I say you should do as much of the work as time/effort permits and put your friends to work as well. Time for friendships dues to be paid up!

Maybe you can build a base model dock right now with the ability to add-on or modify in a few months. I am thinking you should put a hot tub close to the dock. I saw one in East TX a couple of years ago and it was an awesome setup!!! Or splurge and get a pool/hot tub/slider combo.

Andrew/Kyle, I have two open lots next to mine and more than enough space to angle a slider pool out towards the south (from my own lot). Thanks for your concern on how you plan on using my house this summer.
Andrew why dont you come over tonite and you can tell me all about your slider ideas while you help move boxes from the gargae to the attic.

www.touchlessboatcovers.com

anyone know if it's possible to add heavy duty velcro around the bottom of my existing boat cover then add enough material around the bottom (which coudl be velcroed on/off) that would end up covering the whole boat from top to bottom and from the bow tot he back of the platform???

I know it can be done, i have seen pictures of a setup like this. I had my boat cover modified to fit around tower legs a couple of years ago and the guy offered a few suggestions that pertain to your setup. 1. He said he could make a new cover out of Sunbrella that extended far enough down to cover the entire hull, I beieve he quoted $600 for this to be done or 2. He could add HD velcro like you mentioned above to add a couple of feet of Sunbrella material to the existing cover, i think this was $300-$400. I think a new custom made cover with extended sides would be your best bet for the sake of time, effort and money. Adding on to an existing cover with velcro seems like it could be a point of failure at any given time... for instance one of those Houston squalls that come through out of nowhere could take apart even the most "heavy-duty" velcro.

Plus think about how much of an inconvenience it is to put on a cover even without velcro bunching up when you roll it up. Ok, not an inconvenience, maybe i just hate messing with covers on a dock.

I also like the touchless boat cover mentioned above. However It looks pricey and i know you are working with a budget.

(Message edited by biz on January 18, 2006)

I also keep my boat outside during the summer as I did with my past two boats. I did not have a full side cover on the first boat left outside, the gelcoat started to lose it's shine after about 8 years in the California sun, but looked pretty good up to that point. Once it started to go it looked pretty bad after 10 years, at 12 it was chalky and would only stay shiny for a month or so after buffing. My previous boat had a dark sunbrella full side cover and spent five years outside for about 6 years. It shined like it was brand new when I sold it, the full side cover is definately the way to go. Make sure it fits snug and that it does not puddle water and you should be fine. My cover ran about $1k, the going rate in California pricey but worth it.

(Message edited by mikeski on January 18, 2006)

Looks like you have a nice flat piece of property. Have you thought about using a marine railway that gets the boat right out of the water? You can even get them with a remote control. If you want to cover it you can get a portable shelter for $200 or so that covers the whole boat (saw one at Costco last night).

I had a touchless cover priced for 4500, installaton and tax included. This was for a high one so that it will fit over the boat (X-Star) without having to put the tower down.

One last minute question. How long shoul dmy actual slip be? My boat is 23'10" with the platform . I was thinking 26'...but maybe it should be 28'??

26' should be plenty unless you think you will ever get a bigger boat. One other minor tip - when you frame in the slip, rather than just a rectangular footprint, fill in the corners next to the bow. I didn't do this at first, and was always leaning out over the corner to put on the cover or wipe down the boat.

You can make it somewhat custom to the lines of your boat. To keep the boat from drifting under the joist, I put vertical pieces of Sched 40 1.5" PVC driven down into the sand and bolted at the top, spaced a foot apart.

You can spend a fortune on vinyl dock trim, but it does no good if the boat gets under the edge then gets pushed up.

I will be having a boathouse built by summer. My boat is 25' with the platform and the slip will be 28' I want the whole thing easily under the roof.

Adam, looks great. I really like the glass h20 in the last photo.

Yeah that looks good! Did you end up going with the flat roof? I also like the looks of the front corners having the angles filled in...but you have a nice dock and nice property for sure!

Eric

I ended up going with a 4 on 12 hipped roof (I think that's what it's called) I'm going to try and have the builder fill in the triangles. He made a mistake in the slip length. HE told his guys 25 feet (ended up being 25' 2" ) and it should have been 26'(per the plans) so he owes me. I'll get more pictures posted up as they progress.

Rich --- what is sched PVC?

Schedule 40 refers the the thickness of the vinyl, not the outside dimension of the pipe. Sched 40 is fairly rigid. I drove it down into the lake bottom with a sledge hammer. Get it a Home Depot, etc.

To fasten it to the dock, I cut off a 45-degree angle piece at the top of the pipe once it was flush with the decking, then used a lag bolt on the inside edge of the pipe; the 45 cutaway gives access and a place to hide the fastener. You don't want a bolt head catching the rubrail.

the dock looks good.

i would be sweet if you did a little flagstone path down to the dock. Before you do it, you can bury the water and electric lines, then throw the stone over it.

Thought about that, but flagstone doesn't feel as good as cold grass on your feet in the summers.

The dock is finsihed, here' a link to all the pictures from start to finish.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/acurtis_ttu/album?.dir=dfd4&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http% 3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Looks awesome finished Adam!

Man, can you send some of that rain up here?

Pictures turned out good. Look at all that butta!