New Bulkhead Question

J

Jbender5

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Joined
Jul 16, 2007
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27478
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62
We live on a lagoon in Normandy Beach and are getting our bulkhead replaced. I was wondering how many pilings I need to get for a 23 foot Boston Whaler Outrage. I was thinking that we need five but I was not sure of how you do the math to decide how many you need. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
You cant have to many piles if you are in a storm area. two pilings near the mid area of the hull to lay against when docking then two more ahead and behind the boat for bow and stern lines far enough away to allow for tides. on the other outside a bow and stern would be good as well to keep the boat off the dock.
those big bumper strips are a big improve over naked piles.
 
The lagoon is very protected from the open bay. It does not get much storm activity. Also how far would you space them apart?
 
I live in Toms River and just had my bulkhead replaced. The pilings on mine are spaced every 8 feet and the dock is 80 feet long.

Bill
 
Do you dock parallel to the dock? or do you nose/back into a slip? I dock broadside and have a 34 footer that has 3 pilings. One at stern, midship and bow. I am 3 houses from open bay and get plenty of weather. Those 3 are more than adequate. With the exception of some black streaks nothing beats old tires hung on those poles when a storm approaches.

The most important aspect if pilings is the height, in my opinion. You want those poles as tall as possible. The vast majority of boats wrecked in hurricanes are boats that got slammed on top of the pilings. talk with your neighbors and see if anyone knows the highest tides recorded in your area. Then make sure your pilings are high enough so that they dont go below the rubrail of your boat.
 
I dock paralell to the bulkhead. So do you think three is enough. How far apart should the pilings be.
 
contact the engineer your contractor is using and discuss the issue with him/her. the size, lenght and spacing of the piles is determined by the depth of the water, height of the sea wall and the soil conditions both in the water and behind the seawall. anyone who is telling you how many to install without considering the engineering is shooting from the hip.
 
Don't you need the town to sign off of the build out of the wall?

Don't you have to submit plans with that as well when you go for the permits?

Your engineer/builder should be telling you what the code is and what is needed.
 
We are getting one of those new Vinyl composite type bulheads that do not require any pilings. The pilings are being put in so that the boat rub rail does not get caught under the bulkhead. Therefore, the pilings have no structural relation to the bulkhead they are used to just keep the boat from hitting the bulkhead.
 
I guess i shot from the hip, but I didnt think you were asking how many piles you needed to support your bulkhead, just the boat. I think 3 is more than enough...I am not an engineer. My opinion is based on my little canal off of the great south bay. i grew up 3 houses down, so i have almost 40 years of recollection of storms and tides in my area. In a worst case scenario you want those piles to keep your boat from floating into your yard and you want to make sure those piles are tall enough so that they don't wreck the boat by pounding under the rubrail.

Actually as we speak Long Island is being hit by high tides. According to my wife the water is at the top of my bulkhead and will probably go over. High tide is at 1:30 pm.. I am at work and am resting easy with those 3 piles.
 
I dock alongside my 50' bulkhead. The bulkhead was existing when I bought the property, but there were no pilings.
I had three installed for my 30' boat just to keep the boat off of the bulkhead. They are slightly away from the bulkhead and have no structural relationship to it. When the guy came to install them he had two older ones along with my three new ones on his barge. He had just removed them from another dock, and offered to install them for me as extras for free. He figured it would take less time and effort to just install them for me than it would be to cut them up and dispose of them. I had him put them at either end of the 50' and now use them to secure my bow and stern lines. I wouldn't have thought to do it, but I'm glad I have them now. It's especially nice when a storm is forecast. During those times I put extra lines on the boat and I secure the extra lines to the cleats on the dock and to the pilings at either end of the bulkead.
My philosophy now is to put in as many as you can get without them being in your way. Also, I had mine installed so that they stand up about 6' higher than the dock so I don't have to worry about exceptionally high storm tides. If things get so bad that my rubrail ever gets to the top of my pilings I'll have bigger worries than my boat.
 
zane & JVM225,

You may have seen me posty on the LICC board. I need to have some poles droped on my bulkhead. Can you guys tell me who you used?

Thanks, Andy
 
i used doug from aalbatross. thats how he spells it...2 a's. bit of a character.your usual salty south shore type of guy. honest and good prices. he's in the book. i will have to look for his number.
 
I used Gregg and Tommy. The name on their crane and truck is Great Neck Creek dock building. I think Zane's descripion applyies to all these guys. Gregg can be a little slow getting around to you sometimes, but he will get to you, his prices are fair, and from what I've seen and feedback I've gotten, their dock work is excellent. He did a great job on my poles. I also use Gregg to lift my boat up and block it up on my property for the winter. He does lots of boats on my canal.
Gregg's number is 631-884-9700.
If you call, tell him John Miller with the Sea Ray gave you his number.
 
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