A few years ago, the Club determined that it would be better to replace our aging dock system rather than continue to build three or four new sections every year as old ones wore out.
After a winter of looking at docks during boat shows, specifications were developed and bids sought.
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After careful consideration, Schneider Fabrication of St. Johns was selected as our dock manufacturer of choice. Meetings were held to refine the design, resolve financing issues and work out scheduling details. |
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The dock sections are aluminum frames with PVC decking for long life and very low maintenance. Above and at the right are the frame pieces before assembly. At left are the assembled frames.
The first part of the dock is to be four, ten foot long by six foot wide "fixed" sections on adjustable legs. The remaining sections are twenty feet long and floating. |
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Decking pieces, shown on the pallet in the picture to the left, are three feet long by approximately one foot wide. They interlock to form at light weight, but strong deck system. Holes are designed into the decking to make them light and to help assure water runs off quickly. They also offer a non-slip surface. |
At right are several sections with decking installed in the frames and floatation attached. One float is at the end of the twenty foot section and the other float in the middle. When linked to another section, the result is a dock that can easily support the traffic LSC has during active use such as Sunday race days. |
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A bumper, shown at right in the box it came in, surrounds the entire dock, providing a soft surface for boats to "bump" against as they are launched, tied off, leave and return, etc. |
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The bumper is screwed into the frame for easy replacement should it be damaged. |
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The bumper covers the entire vertical surface of the dock frame so no hard surfaces are exposed to the boats. |
The anchoring system is believed to be a unique design. The anchor chain is led through a "cross" shaped hole - then pulled down to lock it in place. A "peg" permits any excess chain to be easily stored in the anchoring system compartment. |
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At right is a picture of chain having been led through the hole and locked in place with the excess ready to be looped and held in place on the peg. |
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On Saturday, September 29, 2007, the Schneider Truck arrived at the Lansing Sailing Club with a trailer holding our new dock in tow. |
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A Loadall, also brought on the trailer, made the task of getting the dock sections off the trailer a breeze. The Loadall also made it easy to move dock sections down the ramp and into the water - although LSC will use a Schneider made "dolly" for this at docks-in and docks-out.
One important goal was to make docks-in and docks-out much easier than with the old dock. |
Here, sections of the "fixed" portion of our new dock are given legs. The legs are adjustable to permit easy adoption to lake bed changes from year to year if necessary. |
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At right, the first floating section of dock has been attached to the four "fixed" sections. |
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And here is the new dock, fully installed. |
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John Kolstoe was sailing with a friend and became the first official user of the new Lansing Sailing Club Main Dock. |
As a result of replacing the main dock, there are barrels that will be disposed of. |
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For winter storage, the dock sections will be placed on the driveway, overlapped so that they don't become "springboards" that someone might get hurt playing on. The first section can't be overlapped, so hat is suspended on blocks. |
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