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QUESTION Doug Holden, via e-mail
ANSWER To resolve this labour issue for dockworkers, let’s start from the beginning. Buoyant foam billets are either expanded polystyrene (EPS) – the white granular material frequently used for beer coolers – or closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, often known as Styrofoam BB. Plastic floats are generally made of a high-density polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shell filled with air for buoyancy and sometimes expanded polystyrene for additional rigidity. While there is much debate about the relative merits of foam vs. plastic, closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam is widely accepted as better than EPS which, over time, wicks up water (and possibly oil) and can lose buoyancy. George Crowe, owner of Crowe Dock in Belleville, points out that some of his docks buoyed with closed-cell billets have been in the water for more than 20 years and still float as nicely as a loon in the early morning calm. That said, Crowe advises that billets be snugly encased in wire mesh and/or wood to protect them from gnawing wildlife, which will nibble the underside of your dock and spit out little pieces that end up littering the water. This is not good for the health of the animals or your lake. Advocates of plastic floats like them because they don’t take on water, they maintain their form, and they are available in a greater variety of shapes. Al Dunn of The Prop Shop, based in Mallorytown, Ont., an Ontario distributor of CanDock, a modular docking system whose plastic floats create a finished dock once assembled, adds that plastic performs better in most ice conditions and is unaffected by animals. “They don’t seem to want to bother with it,” he says. Plastic floats also don’t require the additional wrapping foam does. I’ll leave the final word to Max Burns, author of The Dock Manual, who says all floats work well, but prefers plastic or closed-cell foam floats over EPS. He says DIYers will find foam-free, air-filled plastic floats easiest to work with, as they offer modular construction and are designed with mounting slots so they can be easily bolted to the wood decking. Burns advises cottagers to avoid plastic floats with oddball shapes as they might be difficult to replace later if necessary. What’s most important for a long-lasting dock is the quality of the hardware, materials, and design. He recommends buying all supplies from a good dock builder. Better still, he says, “if you find a good dock builder who knows local conditions, go with what he is using.” Steve Brearton Published in the June 2007 issue of Cottage Life.
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