Floating Dock with Barrels (UPDATED)

This is a floating dock that's easy to make and works beautifully.
Here is quick parts list of everything I used:

4 - 2x8" pressure treated lumber. 8 feet long.
7 - 2x4" pressure treated lumber. 8 feet long.
17 - 1x6" pressure treated lumber. 8 feet long.
4 - 4x4" pressure treated posts. 8 inches long.
4 - 55gallon plastic Barrels
100ft of Rope
16 - Screw in Eye Hooks
10 to 20 - L shape braces
Galvanized screws and Nails
Drill/Screw Driver
Hammer
Silicone Caulking

UPDATE
Here are the parts for the ramp/walkway I added (Step 7)

1- 55gallon plastic Barrel
2 - 2x8" pressure treated lumber. 12 feet long.
2 - 2x8" pressure treated lumber. 3 feet long.
2 - 2x4" pressure treated lumber. 12 feet long.
3 - 2x4" pressure treated lumber. 33 inches long.
4 - Screw in Eye Hooks
6 - L shaped corner braces
1" steel pipe...length depends on water depth.
Rope...screws...hammer.......

Step 1 Build the Frame

So once you have your parts head out to the body of water you want to place the dock in. Get as close as you can as your final product will be quite heavy and you don't want to have to move it too far.

Luckily I had a relatively flat area near the lake I was placing mine and I could keep things pretty level.

Lay your 2x8 boards out in a square and screw them together. Make sure and keep two sides of the square on the inside of the square effectively making an 8'x8'4" square. I used the pieces of 4x4" posts in the corners as a right angle. I didn't screw these in yet incase I needed to make adjustments.

At this point you can also ready your barrels. Make sure the plugs are tightened and then apply a layer of silicone caulking over the plug to ensure a good seal and prevent leaking. I did not fill the barrels with any sort of ballast but some people suggest doing so for stability. But my final product was quite stable so no worries.

Comments

[Omannn]

I assume you pull out the floating dock in the winter?

[Omannn]

I'm wondering if there would be a way to rig up something so that the floating dock is primarily kept at the end of another pier in a semi permanent position - maybe even connected to some non moveable posts but then when we wanted to move it out to deeper water on weekends we could easily move it. Any thoughts?

[jarren.horrocks]

I have helped make multiple floating docks before, and we actually use 3 barrels on each side. But that is aside for the point, we use heavy concrete blocks that we lower to the bottom of the pond and anchor it with a chain (stainless steel of course).

[Schnappi]

Very interesting. i just built a platform myself (12x15') and put it on 6 barrels (3 on each side) The pass-way is connected to the platform. When I walk the pass-way to the platform, the platform swings down on the side of the connection. Does anyone know how to flood the barrels in order to have a more level and stable platform? or any other advise how to stabilize?

[jim.w.h]

You can put some water in the barrels and that will stabilize them a bit but they will hold less weight on the dock, no big deal really unless you plan to have a lot of people/equipment on the dock. I used fence railings in the water so that the dock can ride up and down the posts without flipping.

[greyrooster]

I'm currently making a 12' x 12' using this design. I'm now mounting the barrels. I decided to use plastic coated wire to mount the barrels. Instead of eye hooks I am drilling holes. The wire works great for me and I can twist it tight much easier than using poly rope. I was surprised how quickly this dock can be made. I'm 70 yet slapped it together in a few hours. It actually took me longer to purchase the materials at Home Depot than to build it. I used 1/4" lag bolts to put it together as they won't pull out later as nails will. Also easy to correct mistakes. I'm going to place a railing to keep the grand kids in. I'm also going to build some benches with a place for fish food and fishing poles inside. I went with 5/4 deck boards which will be screwed on. I plan to hinge the ramp to the platform, then bolt the ramp to 4 x 4s sunk in concrete.

Now for the big problem. I have four more ponds on the farm.

[greyrooster]

I forgot to add that I fabricated the dock on the railings of a 16' x 7' flat bed trailer. Sure made it easy to have a raised flat surface to work on. No bending over and should be a snap to back it up and slide it in the pond.

[pilx]

Sounds great. If I ever live back on the water I'll have to try out some of your updates.

[darrenstruve]

Hello this design is awesome but im trying to make a more portable and lighter one. I want to build it as a raft to float down the river. I was thinking of cutting the platform in half and adding heavy duty hinges at all the circles indicated and then splice plates on the 2x8's with lag bolts. We plan on disconnecting the barrels before taking to the river so it would be lighter and easier to transport but not sure if it would be strong enough. We would transport by truck so folding in half would be easier. What is your input?

[greyrooster]

Your river had better run real slow. A good current and a bump with a log or boulder will send you and your barrels in separate directions. Or worse, with this much weight it wouldn't take much to punch a hole in the barrels. Who knows what would happen then. For slightly more you can purchase an inflatable raft that's easy to transport and gives more to prevent punctures. Plus you can patch it.

[evilgenius32]

Great idea, I want to make one and might do it your way.

[batonas]

great project but it can be made cheaper by useing plastic bottles in a net plus it would be a recycle for the bottles at the same time. with enough bottles you can literally make islands :D

[arcticman]

I just built a larger model, 16' x 8', using 15, 30 gallon plastic barrells. Five rows of three barrells. Tied them in with three continuous lengths of braided poly-rope, running through eye screws and over the middle of the barrels.
Did a rough weight-displacement calculation and 15 barells should do nicely.
Other than the 16' foot length and more-smaller barrels, I employed your design so THANKS for the that !
With the 30 gallon barrels and the 2, 16' 2x4 stiffiners, I had about an inch to spare for each barrel. If you can't be smart, be lucky! (I did actually measure beforehand and knew it would be close but thought it should work).
It is now sitting on the ice of the frozen lake in front of our cabin. When the ice goes out, we'll see how she looks.
Thanks again!
JB

[rbhirsch1]

Hello JB,
I have read your comment regarding the floating boat dock. Your ideas sound great. Please tell me how you figure weight displacement of the dock and boat and 1-2 people on the dock?
What is the formula?

Thanks,
richard
[e-mail]

[jim.w.h]

I wound up finishing the dock this summer, first chance i'm getting to send this in...the instructions were spot on and some of the other advice added in was very helpful. I'd like to also say that when making a walkway out to a dock that when it is in the water and before it is secured to something else it is extremely unstable, i fell off it several times, unfortunately so did my electric driver, but craftsman makes a fine product and it still works great. I used fencing poles with one end in a bucket of concrete and the pole bolted onto the frame of the dock to keep it steady. It is able to rock up and down because the pole is in a loose fencing bracket, so there is no excessive stress on the pole or the frame. I would recommend making a good housing for the barrels because when you flip over the dock the barrels can shoot through the top if not secured in a good housing and tied down well.

[rc jedi]

awesome!

[carlchipsanders]

STOP RELAXING ON THAT FLOATING DOCK AND GET A JOB DAMN HIPPIE!

jk

[jim.w.h]

I am going with this design, however modifying it a bit to make it sort of "U" shaped so i can park multiple boats and fish from different spots. I'd like to add arm rails for safety....how would you do it?

[pilx]

See attached image.

You could make three separate docks and attach them with bolts, make two long ones and one square one and then make them in to a U shape. It would be big but I think it would work.

For the rails, you could use wood and just make a little fence all the way around. Using 1x4s (or 2x4s for a little more stability), 1x1 posts and 4x4 corner posts. Just nail the 1x1's in to the 1x4 boards and then nail it all to the top of the dock.

See attached image.

[ghostmonkeys]

As to controlling the floating dock you could

A) make or buy a 'single' long oar/paddle, create a pivot point at the back middle point then whack your oar in and do sweeping motions, (google one oared rowing this create your movement.

B) use a mast and sail, just be warned that if there is a strong wind and you do not have a keel ( a holding place for a large weight underwater in the center of your boat ) there is a chance that you will flip, there is many times on my boat that without our 'full keel' we would have flipped due to the waves and wind.

[jim.w.h]

yep thats pretty much what I had designed, i'm gonna go another step further and make swinging doors in the rail to get into the boats. I have a fish and ski, a paddle boat and canoe so would park the motor boat in the middle and the other boats on the outside...I eventually wanted to add a roof/bimini top to the deck to keep it from getting too much sun and protect the boats if there is some rain.
2 other quick questions,

I've noticed some lakes have restrictions against barrels...I didn't notice if it was just metal barrels or all barrels..I don't understand why it would be against plastic barrels unless they held some sort of pollutant prior to being used for a dock, which I wouldn't want in the water anyway. Have you seen this type of anti-barrel building codes around where you are?

Also, what program did you use to make the above drawing, I can't seem to find a good one. thanks!

Jim

[jon.bender]

save money on eye screws and just drill holes in the framing to lace you rope through

[Irock148]

would this be able to hold a boat

[bumpus]

Awesome! Just what I've been waiting for. Quick question, what was the approximate cost of such a project?

[pilx]

Like PKM said there are so many different variables in price here but I spent just over $200.
Barrels = $60
Wood = $140
Screws/Nails/Rope/Eye Hooks = $20 bucks or so

[alegault]

Where did you get the barrels? Do they have them at Lowes or Home Depot?

[ztd1212]

You can sometimes get empty plastic water drums from your local water treatment plant (Not the sewage plant) I have built a deck very similar to this one and my dad was able to get 4 55 gallon barrels for free. There are also 35 gallon barrels, if you want a "low rider" dock. You could also get steel oil drums... but i would be leary: steel rusts and oil + swimming pond = icky

[Fyerfytr]

Thanks for posting this, I am heading to Home Depot in the am for the lumber, it will be great on our farm pond.

[PKM]

I wrote out a B.O.M. and then realised... there is already one in the intro. Consult your local provider of all things woody for a quotestimate on those, prices vary so wildly that you are probably better off finding out your own quote for that BOM.

[Philthy.Sohoza]

would it be possible to replace the ropes with heavy duty bungees? you would still have to replace them every other year or so but i think they may last longer(in fresh water at least) just a thought.

[koppes]

I have pontoons that are 24" in diameter, 96" long made of 1/4" polyethelene.
Price $250.00 each.

[Irock148]

I don't know why I added that

[Irock148]

whatdo you think I will be able to harbor here

[bowmaster]

About how much weight will this hold?

[timlivers]

Getting ready to build this over the weekend, and from what I could find online, it looks like the 4 - 55 gallon barrels (empty) should support 1823 lbs. We were considering using empty kegs that were available, but 4 empty kegs would only support 514 lbs using the same math. You would need to include the weight of the dock etc. as part of the 1823lbs. From what I could find..... 1 Cubic foot of air will support 62 lbs 1 Cubic foot = 7.48 Gallons Someone correct me if the math is off :)

[pilx]

Not 100% sure, but I've had at least 8 people on it was just fine. It sat much lower in the water but since it sits so high to begin with this was no problem.

[lakeliving]

Just finished my 2 - 8x16 docks and a 12' ramp. Took only a few days mainly by myself. Built the two sections right side up on top of my old dock and had someone push them into the water as I put the barrels under. I put 7.5 gallons of water in each corner barrel and then decided to put in the middle two barrels and that made it much more stable. Really happy with it but haven't put water in those yet. Should get even better. Cost about $1400 cdn but I used Home Depot heavy duty corner brackets and hinges(quite expensive). I used three cement anchors along one side with chain length adjustment as water goes up and down 9' per year. I used fir 2x4s for the joists and decking as they were only $4 per 16'. I put one barrel under the end of the ramp with 5 gallons of water(for now). Thanks for this perfect instructional.

[trixiesly]

whoops...just checked my receipt and the boards were more like $29/each! just FYI. :)

[trixiesly]

Built one of these this weekend with my husband. We used the synthetic boards instead of wood for the top deck....no splinters, cooler in the sun, maintenance free. Probably a little heavier though. Will probably build one more, run pipes down the side to hold them in place in our pond, then build a ramp out to it. Thank you for this WONDERFUL Instructable!!! :)

[pilx]

I'm glad I could be of some inspiriation. So far the wood is holding up ok...but yeah a synthetic could be a good way to go. Was it expensive? Also your "running pipes down the side" statement just gave me a graet idea that I may have to put in to effect...check for updates if I get motivated enough to get out in the summer heat to work on it.