How to Build a Small Wooden Dock on a Small Lake

Build a dock so that you can get into your small boat without having to "bottom out" on the shallows near the shore. The dock also serves as a nice spot to survey fish or to go fishing. This project, a 2-by-8-foot dock, can be completed in two days once all of the materials are gathered.

Things You'll Need

• One box of deck screws
• 13 8-foot 2-by-4s
• Two 20-by-7-by-48-inch Styrofoam planks
• Four screw eyes (see Resources)
• Four sections of galvanized chain (two of them 2 feet long and the other two the depth of the concrete anchor)
• Two giant auger stakes
• One can of Rhino-type coating

Instructions

1. Cut the Styrofoam planks in half from 48 inches long down to 24-inch sections. Put these 20-by-24-inch sections aside.

2. Use two 8-foot 2-by-4s to frame the sides, laying them 2 feet apart from each other on their thinnest edge.

3. Cut five 22-inch sections of 2-by-4 and lay them on their thinnest edges starting at one end. Keep these sections 2 feet apart to act as cross braces. Use a galvanized bracket to secure each of these cross braces in place. Use deck screws (also galvanized) to screw everything together.

4. Cut 2-foot sections of 2-by-4 to lay across the top of the dock as rows of planking. Screw the first one in place at the front edge (which will stick out farthest into the small lake). Use a deck screw as a spacer to measure between that board and the next one, which is then screwed into place. Repeat the process, adding planks to the dock toward the shoreline.

5. Slip a couple of 8-foot 2-by-4s under the dock on each side. Slide the dock on these 2-by-4s down into the water; don't get trapped in the water by the dock. Make sure that you do not do this alone and that the weight of the dock is mostly on the boards. As the front end slips into the water, slide a 20-inch-by-24-inch piece of Styrofoam under the dock so that the dock traps the Styrofoam underneath. Make sure that the 24-inch section steadies the deck by laying it side to side between the 2-by-4 boards. Don't allow the dock to flip.

6. Twist two galvanized screw eyes into two separate corners at the end of the dock, where they will rest in the water. Leave the far end of the dock on the shore for now.

7. Pour concrete into a 5-gallon bucket and add two screw eyes into the sides of the bucket and deep into the concrete. These two screw eyes should be embedded into the concrete deep enough to stay in if they are screwed into scraps of wood or metal embedded into the concrete. Make sure that the teeth of the bolt are wider than the smooth part of the shaft leading up to the head of the screw eye. Allow the concrete to cure and form the anchor.

8. Take the anchor to where the end of the dock will be. Pull the dock toward the anchor and add more squares of 2-foot-by-22-inch Styrofoam underneath the dock as it slides toward the anchor. Pay careful attention to the dock to prevent it from tipping, and get out of the way if it does tip. Again, never do this work alone (always have a spotter). When the dock gets to the desired location, use screw links to attach a chain to each screw eye in the end of the dock and in the anchor. Make sure that the screw links are in different holes and that the chain does not cross over itself, but is tight. It is better to have the chain extra tight and have the dock sink in the water a little so that there is less need to shorten the chain if the water level goes down to keep the dock stable.

9. At the shore end of the long dock, screw the screw eyes into the sides of the dock and use screw links to hitch the end of the dock to a chain. At the other end of the chain, use a screw link to hook the dock to the ground so that it stays anchored at the shore side as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Build the deck out of treated lumber on site (at a gentle slope on the shore). Hand paint a layer of Rhino-type coating onto the dock to lock out moisture and create a nonslip surface. Do this before sliding it into the water and putting Styrofoam under it. Cover the hardware too.

• Make sure that the dock is sufficiently anchored and stable to prevent it from tipping over with or without a load. If in doubt, add more anchors to stabilize the dock. To prevent a boat from scraping on the anchors, bury them into the ground under the deck. If the Rhino-type coating is ever scuffed off (even though it's unlikely) just add another coating.

Resources

• Auger stake example
• Screw eye examples
• Screw link
• Rhino Linings
• Styrofoam Planks