Dock Repairs
 

Looking for a person/company who does dock repairs on Lake Winni. Our dock was destroyed this winter. We had an aerator under dock, but found out to late it was not working. Thanks

We've always had good luck with Winnipesaukee Marine Construction Co. in Gilford.

Depending on what you had for a dock and what you need for work there are 3 options that I would suggest.

Watermark Marine
Diversified Marine Construction
Island Support

Having dealt with all of them if you can provide more information to your dock/damage I can make a suggestion as to which way to go. Each is good at certain things and prices accordingly. I have had plenty of experience in the last few years with docks, DES, etc and am glad to help.

You may want to hire a company next year to monitor your aerator. Depending on if you are on the mainland or an island I can make a suggestion for this as well.

I would also try Lakes Region Marine Construction, I am using them in the spring for my Breakwater and I know they have some open capacity right now. 603-253-7272. The biggest problem I had was getting the others to get back to me. If you want the work done ASAP LRMC is your best chance in my opinion

...my two cents
 

Here's a thought and I'm hoping that someone with experience will comment. Use a floating dock, built with lumber and those large black plastic air chamber plastic floats, and it can be left in all year without the need for a water circulator.

Sure, it will get frozen in but it will not get damaged. Water expands in volume by ten percent when it turns to ice. A wood dock should survice because the expansion force is equal inside and out of the wood frame. As a floating dock, it has no vertical lake floor supports.

Anyone be doing this or seen it?

Damage to docks due to ice
 

Plastic Floats
 

A manufacturer of these floats claims that they won't really freeze into the ice but instead will be pushed up on top of it as it freezes. If that is true pressure of expanding ice wouldn't matter. If there is a lot of ice movement, from wind and current as the ice breaks up, that could still cause problems, possibly pulling the dock away. I don't know anyone who has used them in this climate so I don't know if the claims are true. I like the idea but I don't like the looks of them.

As I understand it, these black plastic, large rectangular, full-of-air, floats get tucked away under the dock section and are not too visible.

My dock is a 30', all-aluminum, oldey dock & 10x10'boat lift and using either two or three of Lowe's sixty-four dollar, 1/6hp-2amp utility pumps, made in Taiwan, has done a good job so far. (None of the local Wal-Marts stock any pumps.....ahem.) Much to my surprise, no burnt out pumps, yet! They just run and run and run! In the past few days, I've been able to go from three to two pumps and the size of the open water has got a lot larger! It seems like the cold has left and things are starting to warm up, a little.

Black floats and pumps!
 

back to the original question. Lady Key if you are at northern end of the lake Center Harbor Dock will do repairs

It won't help you this time around but if you set up a web cam you'll be able to monitor the aerator and we all get another view of the lake.

Floating docks
 

I have a place in NJ on Lake Mohawk that must have more than 100 of these types of docks. Everyone either pulls them out or uses a bubbler water circulator - I haven't seen any left in without this type of support.

Maybe I was drunk when I thought I saw that, or something, but I thought I saw a Cattle Landing dock that survived all winter without too much damage that was all lumber built.

Slightly off-topic....anyone know where I can buy a 1/2hp ice-eater water circulator cheap, a used one is fine, plus the thermostat-timer control. At Heath's it costs....ouch.....$575. Got to decide...this winter....will it be prop taxes....food....or an ice-eater.....something has to go without?

Maybe a little more imagination is in order?
 

You left out choice number four...perhaps a secondary (or primary) job?

Sam Walton always has a place for his biggest fans! :)

Having lived in Vermont on Lake Champlain I can tell you leaving floating docks in the water is not a good idea without a circulator or bubbler..... what gets done at the marinas on champlain is that the disassemble the docks and raft them all up as close to shore as possible that way they don't have to circulate the water in as big of an area..... As for home owners they all pull their floating docks.... some even have clever wheel arangements so they can pull them out at the local boat ramp.

What happens in the winter with the ice is that they either caught in the ice because of the anchor lines, and then get crushed, or they get caught in the ice and then disappear out to sea in the spring durring the melt because the ice breaks the mooring chains and then sometimes they just sink do to holes in the floats from the ice..... In short just like a tradition dock the ice tears them apart if they are not protected.

I have often thought of using a floating dock system when my current dock is no longer functional.... however I have found that the expense in trying to make sure they are properly anchored for rough weather is just too much.....and pipe docks work just fine......