How to Install a Floating Dock Kit

What do you need before you start?

The pallet unloaded, the tools out, the anchoring parts on site, and at least one helper for launch day.

• Delivery: the kit comes on a 4 by 8 ft pallet on a semi-truck, and the carrier calls ahead. If a semi can't get down your road, you meet the driver where it can park. Note any damage on the paperwork before you sign. The truck can't lower the pallet, so you and a helper unload it piece by piece into a pickup or trailer: about 10 to 25 pieces, none over 50 lb, in 5 to 15 minutes.
• In the box: the frames, floats, decking, the 8 ft ramp, four piling sleeves, and the bolts and hinges that join it all, plus a few extra bolts on purpose. Check it against your packing slip.
• Not in the box: the anchoring (pipe and augers, or chain and weights), extra sleeves or floats, plywood, rope and stakes, and life jackets.
• Tools: a cordless drill, a rubber mallet, gloves, #2 and #3 Phillips drivers, a 3/8 in Allen key (9 mm), and sockets or wrenches in 3/8, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16 and 23/32 in, or 10, 14, 15, 17 and 18 mm. Many basic sets lack the 15 mm and 23/32 in. Also have a tape measure, a level and a marked depth pole.
• Anchoring: have it on site before launch day. See our anchoring guide.
• Permits: a private stock tank usually needs none, but lakes run by a river authority, a city or the Corps of Engineers usually need a dock permit. Check any HOA rules too.

How does your shoreline change the job?

The bank decides how you launch.

How do you assemble it?

Build each section where it will slide into the water, with the decking off.

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1. 4 by 4 ft deck panels, two per section
2. 4 by 8 ft aluminum low-profile frame
3. Two 24 by 48 by 12 in floats on J-bolt hardware
4. Side stability floats, premium kits only; not a step
5. Piling sleeve; bolts to the 4 ft end of a frame or the middle of a long side

1. 1

   Lay out the parts near the water

   On level ground at the water's edge, on the line you'll launch along. Build sections, not the whole dock: Patriot calls assembling the entire dock far from the shoreline one of the most common mistakes, and suggests building larger docks one section at a time.

2. 2

   Bolt the frame

   Hand-tighten every bolt first. Measure both diagonals; when they match, the frame is square. Then tighten with a wrench. About 30 minutes per frame.

3. 3

   Attach the floats

   Two under every 4 by 8 ft frame, fastened with the J-bolt kit as Patriot's manual shows.

4. 4

   Add side floats and sleeves

   Premium side floats bolt along the outside edges; they're not a step. Bolt the piling sleeves where your anchoring plan puts them: our anchoring guide shows a typical start.

5. 5

   Leave the decking off

   It goes on once the dock is floating, tied off and in position, so you can set the far anchors from the deck. Until then, don't stand on the bare frame rails.

How do you launch it?

By hand, one section at a time, letting the water take the weight as early as you can.

• Carry it. Patriot puts a finished 8 ft section at about 150 lb with its decking, and calls a single section manageable for many homeowners. With the decking off, it's a carry for two or three people.
• Slide it on plywood over gravel, rock or a long haul, moving the back sheet to the front as you go, so the floats ride on wood instead of stone.
• Never drag the floats across rough ground; put tarps or blankets under them if you have to.
• Let the water help. Once the floats reach the water, it starts carrying the load; float the section the rest of the way.
• Go early. Patriot's example: a launch that takes half an hour on a calm morning can get frustrating in strong afternoon wind.

How do the sections go together on the water?

Far end first. Bolt each new section on at the water's edge, where you can stand, then push the dock out.

1. 1

   Hinge or bolt each joint

   A hinge where the ramp meets the dock and about every 16 ft after; the other joints bolt rigid with the 4 in bolt kit.

2. 2

   Square up any platform

   Patio, T-shaped and double patio frames bolt side by side. They're the far end, so they go in first.

3. 3

   Set the ramp

   Hinge the 8 ft ramp to the first section. Its shore end stands on two short adjustable legs: set them on firm ground and adjust them so the ramp sits level side to side. If the first section rides low under the ramp, add an extra float under it (not in the kit).

How do you hold it in place and anchor it?

Tie it off, lay the decking, then anchor it from the deck.

• Tie it off with a line from each side of the far end to a tree or stake on each side of the bank, so wind from either side can't push it off line.
• Check the spot: depth under the first float, distance from shore, and room for your boat. Moving it now is easy.
• Lay the decking. Work out from the ramp, standing only on panels you have already set and locked. Set the 4 by 4 ft panels and lock them the way Patriot's instructions show for your decking; poly and aluminum have their own sheets, linked above.
• Anchor it, then remove the lines. Set the shore pair standing in shallow water and the far pair from the decked dock or a boat, never from bare frame rails or deep water. Our anchoring guide covers both systems.

How do you finish it?

Walk the dock with a checklist.

Before anyone uses it, check that:

• Every bolt is tight, except any set screws on the piling sleeves: leave those loose
• Every section is connected
• Hinges and the ramp move freely
• Each sleeve slides freely on its pipe, or each chain has slack
• The temporary lines are gone
• The dock sits level

How long does it take?

Bolting is quick; launching, connecting and anchoring take the time.

Would you rather have a crew do it? Our custom docks are engineered for your site and installed for you.

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