It’s common for watercraft to hit the dock’s structure while going into their slips. While these incidents may only involve simple bumps, significant collisions can also happen and cause damage to the boat or deck. For example, the piling may scratch the watercraft’s hull, or the boat may crack the post.

You thus want to prevent these incidents while maneuvering your watercraft to avoid damages requiring dock piling repair. You also want to keep your water vessel in good condition and ready for your next boating trip.

So, read on for some helpful tips to avoid watercraft and deck piling collision damage.

Installing quality and durable parts is crucial to make a structure last long without sustaining significant damage. So, select piles that can withstand a forceful impact to prevent damage caused by watercraft collision. Metal, concrete, and composite piles are excellent considerations.

You must also install posts appropriate for your marine structure’s environment. For example, steel posts are unsuitable for beachfront docks as seawater is more corrosive to metals than freshwater. So, choose concrete or composite posts instead.

Install an additional layer of protection to your piles to keep their integrity for a long time. Standard piling protections include wraps and sleeves, which you can use to cover each post from top to bottom.

Pilings with no protection are prone to rot, corrosion, boring organisms, and other harsh environmental elements. Thus, making the posts easy to bend or break upon impact.

Always inspect your marine structure’s foundation at least once a year to keep it in good condition.

It helps you spot signs of damage immediately and perform simple repairs if necessary. This step prevents minor problems from becoming worse after some time. Thus, helping the pilings withstand harsh elements like an impact from your boat.

Fenders are soft materials that cushion the marine structure from hard impact from a watercraft.

Typical examples are old tires you can hang at your deck’s edges to prevent your boat from bumping on the structure. However, you can also use piling fenders that you can cover around the piles for the same purpose.

Moreover, installing sufficient bumpers around your watercraft prevents damage after bumping on hard objects like decks, rocks, or other water vessels.

Carefully maneuver your boat when docking to avoid crashing into the structure. While it’s challenging to guide your watercraft properly, these points can help you:

A boat crashing into a deck can cause significant damage to both objects. Thus, remember the tips above to avoid such an accident and keep your piling in good condition to withstand impact.

However, accidents may still happen despite how careful you are with your watercraft and marine structure. That’s when you must repair the damage immediately and ensure it won’t happen again.

Hiring professional dock piling repair contractors helps you fix your dock and protect the structure from future damage.

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