DIY Dock/Pier Pics, how much in materials

I am building a new dock, I have already made a 50ft x 5ft section. I am planning on making dual slips one for a 20ft Tige and the other for a 18ft run about. Any ideas on how to branch it out and possibly add a deck on top of the slips? How much in materials do you think it will take? If you have any pics they might help.

Chris..

What lake are you doing this on. Come out and take a look at mine

Sean

I can't give you any specifics on material cost, but I built my own dock / boat house 10 years ago, and have a few suggestions. The dock will probably outlast your boat, so make the slips a little bigger than you need; say, big enough for a 24' on one side. This could also help in re-sale.

The other thing to do is go look at a bunch of docks on your lake. Bring a measuring tape and a notepad. When I built mine, I would go look under the dock just to see various construction methods.

i've been researching to build me a new dock also. ive found there are a lot of dock companies on the net. they have both kit docks and dock parts like the galvanized steel parts to secure the wood together at corners and such. the guy that built my dock (i bought it dirt cheap off of his forclosed house) just used parts from home depot. some of them are ok but some oof the parts are just cheap. it shows when my boat goes up and down on the lift or when theres any kind of weight on it. the whole dock flexes like crazy. he also didn't use enough floatation. what rich said is right on. check out other docks. check out places on the web, build it bigger, and if your dock will take rollers from the lake u might want to consider using other materials instead of wood, ie. aluminum or galvanized steel truss. u can find kits from different companies on the web. www.tigerboatdocks.com/ is one.

I am on a constant level lake, so I was able to build a fixed platform on steel piers. I had a guy w/ a pile driver drive the piers, and I did the rest. A floating dock is a whole different story.

Talk to the neighbors; they can steer you clear of pitfalls. Having one built by a pro is expensive - it's a specialized, seasonal business. You can save a bunch DIY, and it's a fun project.

I would highly recommend plastic/pvc decking like brock dock. It may cost extra now, but will be well worth it down the road.

Sean- I would like to come out and see yours some time in the next couple of weeks or when it is convienient for you. I am building it on Cedar Creek Lake in E. Texas.
I am resurching the brock dock also, it does seem expensive but like you said Karl it will last much longer than wood. As far as the dock kits, it seems like a rip off to me, you just have to spend more time looking for the materials.