Dock - Height off the water

[UFG8RMIKE]

Building a new dock on a small ski lake, boats will pass fairly close pulling wakeboarders, etc.

How high off the water would you build finished level of the dock?

A couple things to contend with would be making sure it's high enough to accomodate the wakes but also not needing to climb down a ladder to get in the boat.

I'm thinking 36" is about the max possible.

[nohlan_4]

From surface of the water to top decking usually about 16" if your in really deep water or dealing with crazy waves I would go higher but where I live 16" is fine.

[NautiqueJeff]

I would build it pretty high. The most common problem I see with docks and the newer Nautiques is that the dock is too short to properly contact the rubrail on the boat, meaning the gelcoat on the side of the boat is what contacts the low docks.

[shag]

I would agree with Jeff. 2-3' from NHWE (Normal high water elevation) of the body of water you are on. (surface of water to deck surface). If you are on a lake that is controlled by dam's, that could be a substantial change in water elevation.

[vision]

Will you have a hanging boat lift or floating or pneumatic lift? How deep is the water at the end of the dock? Does the water level fluctuate?


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[bturner]

Any Paragons or G's on the lake that their parents let the kids use to surf? You may want that dock at 4' to avoid the surf rollers.....

[UFG8RMIKE]

Any Paragons or G's on the lake that their parents let the kids use to surf? You may want that dock at 4' to avoid the surf rollers.....

Yes, it’s a large dock, 37x32 with hip roof and 10k lift. The lake is spring fed with an overflow so the water height is pretty steady unless we are under severe drought. I just told the engineer to design the top of deck at 36” off the high water line.

[UFG8RMIKE]

Any Paragons or G's on the lake that their parents let the kids use to surf? You may want that dock at 4' to avoid the surf rollers.....

I’ve really been thinking about going 4’ but man that’s high. The lake really is too small for wakesurfing, but that doesn’t mean people wont try. It’s a sand mine turned into a 37 home community with wave break islands in the middle. The problem is the people who bought the homes don’t have a clue about boating and all built docks really low. I’ll have the nicest boat on the lake by far and will have to dial my wake down. Im certain I’ll be taking some heat.

[bturner]

I’ve really been thinking about going 4’ but man that’s high. The lake really is too small for wakesurfing, but that doesn’t mean people wont try. It’s a sand mine turned into a 37 home community with wave break islands in the middle. The problem is the people who bought the homes don’t have a clue about boating and all built docks really low. I’ll have the nicest boat on the lake by far and will have to dial my wake down. Im certain I’ll be taking some heat.

Yeah I feel you. I boat on a couple smaller, mid sized inland lakes here which is pretty typical for inland lakes in Michigan. The docks I help put in are probably close to 3' off the water due to lake fluctuations and the stupid that goes along with kids and their parents boats but some of the parents are really bad too. A lot of ignorance involved and a good dose of arrogance in a lot of cases as well.

As far as pulling the boat up to the dock goes I honestly couldn't tell you the last time anyone has tied up to one of our docks. We all have lifts next to the dock and the boats go back in them when the boat is not in use. We're also lucky that we have shallow shorelines so anyone hanging around goes to the shore and departs their boat from there. With the amount of traffic we see I would never consider tying up my boat to the dock and expecting it to be unscathed when I got back and don't know anyone else that would as well. All that said I can well imagine deep water situations where this would not be so.

[UFG8RMIKE]

Yeah I feel you. I boat on a couple smaller, mid sized inland lakes here which is pretty typical for inland lakes in Michigan. The docks I help put in are probably close to 3' off the water due to lake fluctuations and the stupid that goes along with kids and their parents boats but some of the parents are really bad too. A lot of ignorance involved and a good dose of arrogance in a lot of cases as well.

As far as pulling the boat up to the dock goes I honestly couldn't tell you the last time anyone has tied up to one of our docks. We all have lifts next to the dock and the boats go back in them when the boat is not in use. We're also lucky that we have shallow shorelines so anyone hanging around goes to the shore and departs their boat from there. With the amount of traffic we see I would never consider tying up my boat to the dock and expecting it to be unscathed when I got back and don't know anyone else that would as well. All that said I can well imagine deep water situations where this would not be so.

True that, we are putting a sand beach in with a retaining wall right next to the dock. I wish I had the boat now so I could run the lake and take a better look at wave heights to plan around. I'll end up with a G, GS or X or XT mastercraft. Waiting for the house and dock to be completed while boat prices normalize a bit.

[vision]

I would suggest 16 to 18” based the parameters stated. A high main deck can make boat onboarding and deboarding challenging, depending on dock design. If you hang a hanging lift the high dech reduces stability unless you run under water cross bracing. If your water shallow, then that is less of a concern since the supports are not as tall. Tougher as well for getting animals and smaller children in and out of the water.


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[markj]

I had this same question a couple years ago when building my dock too. I had a neighbor tell me he wished he would have built his dock lower than 24” so his wife could hang her feet off the side to cool off. I built mine around 17” and have been super happy with it.