While floating docks are most convenient and easy to move around, they tend to be a little precarious in potentially bumpy waters. If you would like your docks to remain in their current position and not detach and float away, there are some accessories you will find quite handy. They help secure your docks and anything you want tied up to them.
Pole Extension Kits
Many floating dock kits come with fasteners to connect the dock sections together, but rarely come with corner poles you can use as tie-down poles. If you could use a few more corner poles on your docks, then pole add-on and pole extension kits are the perfect thing. These kits allow you to extend the corner post poles upward above water, or add poles to the corners or sides of your docks. Plastic or metal braces, bolts and pre-treated wood posts several inches in diameter are included in the kits.
Double, Reinforced Rope Tie-on Brackets
If you do not like the appearance of poles on your docks, you can purchase double-sided, reinforced tie-on brackets. The brackets are O-ring or D-ring brackets several millimeters thick, mounted on platform hardware that you bolt to the sides or tops of your docks. There are a couple of different sizes to accommodate the sizes of maritime rope you may use to secure your boat to your docks.
Gull-wing Tie-down Brackets
Similar to the gull-wing tie-down brackets on the sides of many boats, these brackets can be ordered as singles, pairs or several pairs to a box. They are made of rustproof metal and bolted to the tops of your docks—although you could probably bolt them to the floating platform sides, if you wanted to pull the docks out of the water or climb into the water to secure the brackets this way. Gull-wing brackets are ideal for quick tie-downs and for any boating and sailing greenhorn who has not mastered a couple of effective boater's knots just yet.
Pole Braces for Your Docks
If you want to add both stability and security to your floating docks and you do not care for the gentle swaying sensation these docks naturally have in the water, then pole braces may be the right accessory for you. These poles bolt to the cement embankment on the shore, then extend out to meet the edges or underside of your docks. They help keep the docks very rigid and prevent them from breaking off and floating away in a really bad storm. If installed just right, you can also use them to elevate and moor a dinghy, canoe or other small watercraft.
To learn more about your options, contact companies like Dock Accents.
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