Year Two Day Fifty Seven - Finishing the Floating Dock

Dear all, 

We are pushing on with the dock and wanted to get it all finished before we left to head back to Collingwood. Darren started off by drilling through the main deck and fixing two attachments to the front where the ramp would eventually lie. 

He then started work on the floating dock. We have the dock, but nothing to attach it to the ramp so Darren started on attaching the hinge brackets to the floating dock. He first removed the front too slats from the dock in order to reinforce the front of the dock ( the force of the ramp would be significant).

He then measured and fitted a 6-by-6 block of wood into the framework of the dock and then drilled through the block and through to the front of the dock which could allow him to push through some long , long bolts ( see below).

Once the hinge brackets where attached, the slats could be replaced and the floating dock was ready for action!

The weather was starting to pick up at this stage with quite a strong wind whipping around the island. This was a minor concern as we would have to paddle the dock around to the deck in order to attach it and the potential for some serious drifting was huge. The last thing either of us wanted was to end up across the other side of the lake on a windy afternoon, paddling a massive dock.. 

We managed to get the dock floating again ( the water is dropping inches daily - it is amazing to observe), mounted the ramp on the dock, braced ourselves with our paddles and we were off!

Darren had previously made a couple of anchors out of cement and they came with us for the ride ready for their inaugural swim and key role in the positioning of the dock. 

Darren instinctively managed to get a rope from the boat which was initially very useful in keeping us in position. The wind was really picking up at this stage with considerable wave 'movement' - not the easiest conditions to deal with when assembling a ramp.. but we persevered. 

We dropped one anchor in order that I could hold the floating dock in place while D fixed the ramp onto the hinges. It was quite a formidable task, especially with the wind but Darren did an amazing job. 

Once the ramp was attached to the deck, the second anchor went in and was attached by a long chain to the dock. D crossed the anchor lines to maintain a safe port for the boat and to allow the floating dock to remain in position even in seriously inclement weather conditions. 

Now to the other end of the ramp - this being much harder as we were over deep water and the dock was crashing up and down on top of the waves. Needless to say, Darren displayed amazing skill in getting the dock attached to the ramp and before we new it, we had the ramp and dock in place!

Now for the boards - we had removed them during the assembly as as I shuttled them over from the cottage, Darren nestled them in place on the ramp. 

Here is Darren putting the final touches to the ramp ( they are quite heavy so this was not the easiest task either but Darren finished it off in no time)...

And here it is!!! The floating dock is in!! HURRAY!!!!