By: Stefra
Submitted: 2010-02-26 20:02:59 | Word Count: 556
A floating dock is a great substitute for a standing dock, especially in areas having deep waters and a strong current or undertow. The major difference between a standing dock and a floating dock is their anchorage. A standing dock is secured tightly to the riverbed, and has to resist all the forces directed at it. This means that standing docks take quiet a battering and aren’t very durable. Whereas, floating docks are only loosely anchored to poles placed on the bed, and are allowed to rise and fall with the water (since they float on water). This greatly reduces the stress on the dock (floating dock) and increases its life.
So, a floating dock is much more stable and durable than its standing counterpart, and is a great option for anyone owning a small or medium sized boat, or a personal water craft (PWC). In fact, floating docks have always offered a lot of convenience. And with the recent developments in technology and techniques, they are no more the primitive wooden platforms floating on barrels and Styrofoam billets. The new technologies have made floating docks an easy piece of equipment to install, maintain and use.
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But, how did the floating docks come into being?
In 1873, John Stanfield and Edwin Clark invented and marketed the floating dock. It was nothing more than a wooden platform with empty barrels under them to provide buoyancy and anchored by long poles to the corners of the riverbed. This simple design proved to be very effective and has been used till the 21st century. It is only recently that new innovations have revolutionized floating docks. Use of polycarbons and plastics are quickly becoming the norm for floating docks (although their main principle continues to be the same).
The use of floating docks has completely eliminated the use of conventional ramp and trailer arrangement to get boats on and off the dock. You can just push the boat off the floating dock and just steer it back onto it when you want to. One disadvantage that had been associated with floating docks was that you still required trailers to pull the boat out of water and perform routine repairs. But, with the invention of floating dry dock, that is no more a problem. In fact, with floating dry docks, it has become even more convenient to conduct repairs.
A floating dry dock, besides being a traditional floating dock, also has the added advantage of being a dry dock that you can use to examine and repair small or medium sized boats. A floating dry dock comes equipped with tanks on either side along with pumps. These tanks act like floodable buoyancy chambers, and can be flooded or emptied using the pumps to raise or lower the platform. The tanks are filled with water and the platform is sunk below the water level so the boat can float above it. When the tanks are emptied (water is pumped out), the dock floats up to the surface together with the boat, enabling it to be examined and repaired with ease. The floating dry dock also performs all the functions of a standard dry dock.
With so many advantages, floating docks are here to stay; and since they are affordable and easy to install, they are the preferred choice for boat owners everywhere.
