Ladders for Boat Dock and Marina Work

Ladders for Boat Dock and Marina Work

A dock is a deck built over water, and everything about ladder choice changes when the ground under the ladder is a floating plank. DFW has more of this work than people expect between Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Texoma and the smaller lakes north of the city.

Why Aluminum at the Lake

Steel and cheap plated hardware rust solid in a season on a dock. Aluminum does not, which is why every ladder that lives at the water should be aluminum rather than fiberglass with steel feet or a painted steel ladder from a big box store.

Our Werner Type IA aluminum extension ladder is $250 in the 16 foot size and $300 for 20 feet, light enough for one person to walk down a dock and set against a piling.

Clean and dry the feet after every lake day. Sand and lake water in the shoe is what turns a good ladder into a rocking one.

Working Under the Deck

Dock repair happens underneath: joists, stringers, float bolts and the underside of the decking. That is a low, wet, awkward space where a plank between two supports is often the only way to work.

Our 7 foot aluminum plank at $129 is the piece most dock crews ask for, because it spans between joists, does not absorb water and does not rot in storage.

Set the plank on firm bearing at both ends and never on a single nailer. A plank that walks off a stringer is the most common dock injury there is.

Boat Lifts and Piling Caps

A boat lift canopy sits eight to ten feet above the water, and the work is overhead and awkward. A rolling unit on the dock gives a platform at the right height without leaning a ladder against a lift frame that was never built to take a side load.

Our Baker and Perry scaffold unit at $229 fits on most docks that are four feet wide or better, and it rolls along the lift instead of being dragged.

Add the set of four outriggers at $87.80 when the dock has any give in it. A floating dock moves, and a scaffold with a wider footprint moves less.

Loading and Unloading a Floating Dock

Everything has to come down a gangway or over the side, so weight matters more than it does on land. A fiberglass stepladder weighs more than the aluminum equivalent and gets heavier every trip.

Keep the dock kit small: one aluminum extension ladder, one plank, one Baker unit with outriggers, and a step stool for the boat itself. That is a one-trip load on a hand truck.

Strap the ladder to the truck, not to the dock cart. A ladder that slides off a cart on a wet ramp takes a knee or an ankle with it, and the truck bed has tie-downs for exactly that reason.

If the job runs several days, leave the Baker unit on the dock and take the casters off the deck each night. Theft off a marina dock is common, and the frame is the cheap part to lose.

What We Stock in Rowlett

We keep aluminum extension ladders, planks, Baker units and outriggers on the floor, so a dock job can be outfitted in one stop instead of three.

Tell us the dock width and how high the lift canopy sits and we will put the list together.

Everything ships from 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, and local crews can pick up the same day. Call 972-331-1090 and we will tell you what is on the floor right now.