have you ever built a dock on a pond?

Question

what worked?
what did not work?
was it stable or floating?
big or small? what did you learn from the experience?

Answer 1

Yes, It was fairly big, built with telephone poles and 2X8's. We put down 4 old tires in the water, filled them with concrete, and set our metal bracket (the kind you use for scaffolding) in the concrete. It is a special kind that hardens underwater. Once that had set, we bolted the telephone poles to the bracket (leaving about 5' overhang past the bracket), the other end of the poles rested on the shore. Obviously, you have to measure everything out beforehand to make sure it will be level. We then nailed the 2X8's to the poles.
It was not hard, but you have to be careful to measure everything carefully. As long as you are careful and deliberate, you can get a dock that will stand the test of time.

Answer 2

Yes I have. We built it when the water was low. We dug almost 3 foot deep holes with a post hole digger and then put 8" diameter cedar posts down in it. We put two on the end, two in the middle, and two on the bank side. We ran 2x6 stringers and 2x4 top deck. The deck is 4 ft wide and about 16 ft long. It has held up for 6 years now and is strong enough for us to drive a 700 pound four wheeler (plus my 250 lb weight) to the end.