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1/3 acre pond for some time. We wanted something small and low profile that would also last a long time. Mostly the dock is for swimming and viewing. But, you can also tie a boat up to it.
Our design was to use 2" diameter threaded galvanized pipe for the frame. The we laid incense cedar deck right over the frame. It just lays into place and is not fastened so we can easily lift it off for maintenance.
When the water was drawn down four feet for maintenance last winter, it was an opportunity to pour some concrete footings and embed the pipe in the concrete. Then I went to the local plumbing store where they thread pipe to custom sizes. Several trips were required as I would build a stage and, then measure up the next stage. The pipes show in the pictures. The vertical pipe sticking up is so you have something to grab getting out of the water. Not shown is that he pipes under water that make a ladder for entering and exiting the pond.
The wood was incense cedar. We have a lot of it available here in the Sierra Nevada. It has excellent resistance to rot, better than coast redwood according to those that know. There are some old incense cedar fence posts here that had been in the ground maybe as long as 80 years. They had no rot in them. The bugs don't like it. We finish all our cedar with Superdeck. It's about 60% linseed oil looks great and weathers well.
You can't find incense cedar in the lumber stores. If you want to use that wood you have to find a band saw miller or you can take a trip to Kubich Lumber in Grass Valley, CA. They have a boutique business in incense cedar. They mill it on a big old buzz saw so you get the saw marks in the lumber, great if you like the rustic look.
The picture in the upper right is one of the dock panels flipped upside down so you can see how it's built. Each of three panels just lay on the pipe; you don't need to fasten it making it easily removable. The side rails hold it together and keep it from slipping side to side. You can also see the land footing with the 2" pipe set right in it. The only fasteners were some 3 1/2 coated screws for decks I got at Home Depot.
