SAFETY




DOCK SENSE
By Derek Kuhn



You just slipped your ski on, feet in the 
water, sitting on the dock, rope in 
hand, "Hit it!", you cry in anticipation 
of a great ski and  ... OUCH!  Skiing 
off the dock.  A great many of us do it 
and many of us have terrible docks.  

	A dock, by definition, is a place to 
moor your boat and access the water.  
Whether you have a tournament ski 
boat or a family runabout, the dock is 
where most of us leave our boats - 
which represent major investments, 
after all - unattended.   The dock is 
also where most of us centre our 
water sports, including swimming and 
skiing.   Be honest now, how many 
times have we put our foot through a 
rotten or thin plank, got a sliver while 
skiing off the dock, or caught a wet 
suit or bathing suit on a sharp corner. 
So it only makes sense that we take 
care to ensure these structures are 
safe for people and boats alike.   

	 Here are some of our best sugges-
tions, often learned the hard way, for 
having a very skiable dock.

1.	Don't have large gaps between

The ultimate dock - as designed by the author.
		planks to save wood. This is
		uncomfortable on the feet.
2.	Don't use rotten, scrap or dam		aged wood.
3.	Don't paint the surface of the
		dock as painting will make it
		slippery.  You'll also have to
		repaint it every year.  Stick to
		stains and sealers, and do it on
		shore.
4.	Don't use fibre board, press
		board or chip board.  Any com		pressed substance will degrade
		quickly with the exposure to
		water, wind, sun and ice. 
		Compressed boards could also
		attack your clothing.
5.	Don't make the dock less than 1
		metre (3 feet) wide.  The dock
		should be wide enough to allow
		two people to pass or one per		son to walk with two gas cans.
6.	Don't use single planks to
		attach docks to the shore as
		they could break or, at the very
		least, move.  The result could
		be a fall and no more skiing.
7.	Don't put ladders at the end of
		your dock.  Put them on the
		side so they won't interfere
		with your skiing.
8.	Don't use floating docks in
		areas with excessive current
		and wave action as this causes
		unwanted stress on a traditional
		wooden structure.
9.	If you are in a position where
		your dock must be removed in
		the winter because of the des-
		tructive force of ice, construct
		docks of smaller sections easily
		bolted together.  Your back, and
		the friends that help you, will
		thank you. 
10.	Use only stainless and galvan-	
		ized metal hardware. The as-		sembly and upkeep will be
		easier and your dock won't
		have problems with rust.  
11.	Fibreglass and aluminum docks
		are popular, but beware of
		upkeep problems and initial
		capital costs.  
12.	Consider commercially-made 
		dock fenders.  You may think
		that the cost is prohibitive, but
		the new products on the market
		far outperform the firehose or
		rubber tires you may be using.
13.	One of the best ideas we've
		seen is to carpet the end of the
		dock with a remnant of outdoor
		carpeting.  This makes it easy
		to ski off of and won't scratch
		your ski.  
14.	Sanding down the edges of the
		dock can also make a differ		ence.
15.	A poor connection means a
		floating dock becomes a floating
		island.  The more permanent
		the connection, the better.  If
		you have a sand beach, drive
		steel posts into the sand to
		anchor the dock.  If you have a
		rock or stone waterfront, use
		chain or mortar in a steel eye to
		attach the dock to.  

	
Derek Kuhn is an engineer with Totten 
Sims Hubicki Associates Ltd. and a direc-
tor of Stowaway Watersports club.