Dock Jack

Each year we have to take the dock out of the lake in the fall, and put it in again in the spring. 

One end of the dock has some large wheels, so it is rather like a massive wheelbarrow.

The wheels tend to settle into the mud to some extent, but never the same extent. This demands an adjustment in order to get the dock level. The vertical poles that the wheels support have an adjustment bolt so that the height of the dock can be adjusted to do this.

The problem is, however, that the dock is rather heavy once the wooden decking has been added, and this makes it extremely difficult to hold the dock at the right height while loosening the bolt, moving the vertical pole, and tightening the bolt again.

This year, one wheel sank into the mud so much that the dock sloped about 3cm from side to side. I did not feel like dismantling the whole thing, plus, this year we are growing a crop of tomatoes on the end of the dock to maximize the sunshine they get.

I had an old Come-Along winch with a broken cable so I decided to attach the broken cable to a length of pipe that fits into the top of the poles that support the dock.

I drilled a hole through this pipe and inserted a bolt so that the pipe only goes into the dock pole for about a foot.

Once inserted into the dock pipe, the lower end of the winch can be hooked onto the dock frame. It is now very easy to lift the dock, and hold it at the right height so that I can tighten the bolt. Once I have finished I remove the winch assembly and stow it for the next year.