By: Stefra
Submitted: 2010-02-26 20:21:07 | Word Count: 542
Prior to 1873, Standing docks were constructed in order to provide for large ships to dock themselves. But these systems saw many a drawback in the form of flooding, freezing, usage of ladders to get onto the boats or ships and load other materials onto the boat.
The loopholes left in Standing Docks were spotted by Edwin Clark and John Stanfield, of the Clark Stanfield fame, and they decided to construct a buoyant and stable platform to dock large and small ships and boats alike. What conspired out of the idea and plan was a system that protects boats from natural disasters like hurricanes, high tides and fluctuation of water.
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A floating dock is made up of following parts: Deck, A Vertical Pole, Rollers and Floats. Its accessories facilitate many actions and the list of accessories includes Ladders, a lift, toolboxes, fishing kit, awning and cleats. Anchoring paraphernalia like poles, cables, stiff arms and ramps put together by the designers are such that they can be used in many combinations. This helps provide a modular structure to the system. The elevation provided by billets helps distribute the entire weight evenly throughout the structure. The maximum weight that these structures can handle is slightly over 200 pounds. This also helps in the mobility of the dock.
There are various types of Floating Docks that can be assembled. These types depend upon the material that is used in their construction. The quality of the material used will determine the years of service it can provide. The floating dock types include Wooden Dock, Floating Polydock and Steel Dock. Of these, the wooden dock is the least expensive while the Floating Polydock is the most convenient option. This is so since it is all about connections. All the pieces therein can be joined together and rearranged as and when required. The Steel dock is made up of galvanised steel and that makes it more long lasting, corrosion free and economical. This material helps the Floating sock to last 15 years with minimum repairs.
A special kind of floating dock that is fast gaining round is the Dry Dock. It boasts of the ability to drain off water after flooding it. This also helps conduct maintenance and repair activities.
In spite of such a commendable design, there are a few considerations that go into the design and operation of a floating dock:
1. Water currents and pressure play a major role on the orientation of the objects floating on it especially when these objects (floating docks) carry many other things on them.
2. During winters, water freezes and this might result in bending of the vertical poles that are used for anchoring the dock. Dismantling the dock during winters needs to be given a serious thought as well.
3. Permissions to be sought before building your own dock.
4. Place of building the Dock and its proximity to the water boundary.
5. The location of the Dock.
Taking into perspective these considerations, a certain set of guidelines need to be adhered to. These instructions, rules and regulations and classification of Floating Docks have been put together by the inventors themselves.
Thus, Floating Docks are a gainful proposition as against the previous one –Standing Docks. Its stability, alignment, design and applications make it a good investment.
