There are now assists on every dock

BNC staffer Brad Donovan holds assist that was pre-fabbed on shore

Assist is pushed under side stringer and lifted until bottom brace meets bottom of decking

Top brace is attached and bolted through decking to brace below.

Close-up shows bracing above and below deck

Finished product. A second assist was added to left side of dock

We succeeded in installing dock-assists on all the crib docks this summer making these handy devices available now to all guests in every cabin.
The dock-assists and dock tying rings are positioned so that when the boat is tied up, boaters can step onto a seat in the boat and, holding the uprights in each hand, pull themselves up onto the dock.
They have been universally welcomed by everyone, even those who don't have knee, hip or back problems although the latter group is who we were trying to help out.
We made them for all the floating docks last year and it took some head-scratching to invent ones for the crib docks this summer.
The photos show how we accomplished it. By bracing the assists both under the dock and from above, they are super-solid.
Although the bracing does extend onto the walkway of the dock, no one seems to stumble over them, even when the braces from assists on both sides leave only a foot or so of room in the middle.
These crib docks are four-feet wide, decked with rough-sawn, two-inch planks and with log (jackpine) stringers.
We used conventional two-inch pressure treated lumber for the assists, 5/15 lag screws for fastening the units together and 3/8-inch bolts to tie the top braces through the dock decking to the bottom bracing. The assists are also fastened to the log stringers using 5/16 lag screws.
I would estimate each assist took two hours to build and install and cost $60-$70 in materials.
Click to go back to our website
 Click to see the latest on the blog