PA Student Diaries

Dock owners have a variety of maintenance tasks that they need to perform on their docks, but those in cold face a few special problems in maintaining the durability of their dock. If dock owners are not careful, moving ice during the winter months can rip their docks to shreds. In fact, it has been estimated that every year ice causes millions of dollars worth of damage to docks across the nation.

Damage from ice to docks can be caused in a few different ways. If the frozen surface of a body of water shifts with the current, the incredible amount of mass behind it can literally crush a dock. Another way that ice can damage a dock is that it causes the pilings to move. As water levels rise, ice that formed when the water was lower pulls the piling up. The last type of damage, frequently the most common, is slabs of ice colliding into the dock as they are moved by currents or wind. The weight of these chunks of ice means that even if they are not moving very quickly, they can still cause a lot of damage.

There are also several options for avoiding the possible damage from ice in the winter months. One of the best options when you have a lightweight, removable dock is to simply bring it in for the winter. If you live in a climate where it ices up in the winter, you will likely not be doing much boating anyway. Another option is a dock bubbler, which requires a compressed air source. A perforated pipe around the perimeter of the dock, secured to the bottom of the lake and attached to the compressed air supply will emit air bubbles and circulate the water, melting the ice by pushing warm water up to the surface. A more effective version of this concept is called an in-water deicer. A submersible motor drives a propeller which constantly circulates the water around the dock. One really useful thing about these units is that they can even be installed after the ice has formed. It is simply a matter of cutting a hole in the ice and dropping the unit into the hole.

It is not practical for most dock owners to run these units around the clock throughout the winter months, so a more practical solution is to have the unit activated by a thermostat, so that the motor only comes on when the temperature drops below a certain value. The units can also be set up so that they deactivate when the temperature rises above a certain threshold. It is important to note that thermostats are usually calibrated based on whether they will be in fresh water or salt water, so you need to make sure you choose the right type of thermostat.

Having a dock in an area where it ices up in the winter need not spell disaster. Taking the proper precautions by installing a mechanism to circulate the water around the dock will ensure that your dock maintains its usability, no matter what time of year it is.