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Old 06-06-2004, 06:41 PM   #1
Rattlesnake Gal
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Question Dock leveling question

Mr. Rattlesnake Gal wants to know if anyone has a trick for equipping a dock so it can easily be leveled in the springtime. We have the standard wooden lift-up dock and the ground is covered in rocks and boulders, which seems to have moved over the winter. In addition, every time the dock is lowered it hits a different assortment of rocks. He wants to find a way to level the dock when it is too cold to go into the water. (About the end of August.)
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Old 06-06-2004, 08:31 PM   #2
madrasahs
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Lightbulb Use a "Farm Jack"

I use a mechanical "farm jack" to raise the walking surface relative to the vertical posts.

All-steel farm jacks are available for $40-$50 from Northern Hardware, Trailer Supply or Harbor Freight catalogs or retail stores. The model you will need has a "foot" that can be moved to the top or bottom of the jack, so that it will lower or lift the dock's surface (the part that you walk on).

You'll need to drill holes in the posts for different heights, and move pins to adjust the height relative to the water level. You'll need to add a place on the post to hook one end of the jack to if the vertical posts are longer than four feet (the full length of the jack) above the walking surface.

The jack has a three-ton capacity, and with it, you can raise the dock even while standing on it. You could use a portable cable hoist ("come-a-long"), but the farm jack seems made for dock height-adjusting.

This is the technique I use to level a Florida dock whose posts have a way of sinking into the bottom of the lake, occasionally making the 120-foot dock look like a roller-coaster along its length.

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Old 06-08-2004, 02:15 AM   #3
Cow-Birds
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Default Dock Leveling

Many years ago I worked for a couple that loved to have the dock in just after ice-out. After a year or two of this, no amount of money could get us kids in the water to level the dock. As we still wanted the cash, we found some old trailer jacks, the part that goes on the tongue and has a pad instead of wheel, and bolted them to the inside of the legs. Pull the pin that connects the crank handle to the screw jack. a small piece of pipe coupling can now go over this spot and be drilled to pin it. A section of gavanized pipe is now threaded into the coupling, a hole was drilled in the dock deck, just inside the uprights. All you need is a small t-handle and you can raise any leg as required, then unthread the pipe. When the water warms up, level the dock's own legs and remove your jacks as they cannot take the exposure.
A couple of years ago I had a flash-back to those times when I saw the jack pads in a Home Depot, they now cost from $20 to $30 ea.
What we wouldn't try to earn enough for another 6 gal. of gas+oil and 6 cans of Finast store brand soda (don't forget the can opener).
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Old 06-09-2004, 08:27 PM   #4
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Default Thanks

Thanks for the advise on leveling. I think we are getting close now. It looks like moving one small rock might do the trick.
For those with winch-up docks, be sure your cables, chains and pulleys are up for the job. The previous owner of our place used items that were grossly under rated. Could have had catastrophic results. A pulley let go and the dock came crashing down. Shame on us for not double checking.
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