Bestmade Products 4'x8' Dock Guida

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Tip In Dock Instructions

Table of Contents

1. Dock Assembly and Set-Up

1.1 Quick Start

1.2 Installing Dock Legs

1.3 Positioning Hinges

1.4 Installing Foot Pads

1.5 Installing Cross Braces

1.6 Installing Docks into the Water

1.7 Sample Layouts

2. Safety

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Safety Definitions

2.3 Personal, Operating, and Installation Safety

2.4 Mooring and Docking Watercraft

3. Specifications

3.1 Specifications Introduction

3.2 Specifications Table

3.3 Rated Load Capacity

4. Inspection and Maintenance

4.1 Inspection and Maintenance Introduction

4.2 Annual Inspection Requirements

4.3 Storage Procedure

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1. Dock Assembly and Set-Up

1.1 Quick Start

Your Bestmade Docks have been designed to be very simple and straight forward to

assemble. Each dock has an aluminum frame, (2) cedar, Surestep, or PVC deck panels,

and either 2 or 4 dock legs with foot pads. Use this Quick Start diagram to get set up

very quickly.

Image 1

The following tools will be needed for dock installation…

•4 ft level

•Combination wrench - 3/4”

•Combination wrench - 9/16"

•Combination wrench - 1/2"

•Utility gloves

•Marine grade anti-seize (recommended for use on all fasteners)

1.2Installing Dock Legs

The next step is to install the leg holder set bolts and nuts. As we can see in Image 2,

the 1/2" hex nut slides into the leg holder channel and the 1/2" x 1-1/4" long hex bolt

spins into the nut. There are a pair of set bolts and nuts used on each dock leg.

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Image 2

As we can see in Image 2, the dock leg slides through the leg holder and is secured with

the set bolt. To adjust the dock leg up and down, simply loosen the pair of set bolts,

raise or lower the dock, and then re-tighten. Using a 3/4" wrench, a good rule of thumb

to ensure the set bolts are tightened properly is to spin 1 complete turn past hand tight

when the leg has been pushed up against the back of the leg holder.

In most dock systems, the first dock section (closest to shore) is considered a free-

standing section and uses 4 legs. All additional dock sections as the system goes from

shore out into the water use 2 legs, as they essentially share the previous section's legs

by close proximity. The exception to the 2 leg rule on subsequent dock sections is when

dock orientation changes. For example, suppose a system was 4 dock sections long with

the first 3 sections creating a straight dock of 4' wide by 24' long. If the 4th dock section

of the system was turned 90 degrees and centered on the end of the 24' (creating a "T"

layout), this 4th dock section would need 4 legs.

1.3 Positioning Hinges

To connect one dock section to another without getting into the water we will use the

tip in hinge system. The tip in hinge "hook and pin" system (Image 3) consists of (4)

hinge plates per dock connection. There is (1) hook right plate, (1) hook left plate, and

(2) pin plates.

Image 3

All dock systems are installed by starting with the first dock section right at shore and

working out into deeper water installing one dock section at a time using the previously

installed sections as a walkway. If there is a dock connection to be made, there will be a

hinge set to make the connection. Hence, there would typically not be a hinge placed at

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the very start where we first step onto the dock, or at the very end of the dock where

no further sections are to be joined.

For a given dock connection, the hook hinge plates will always be placed on the end of

the installed section closest to shore while the pin hinge plates will be placed on the

beginning of the next section to be joined.

To position the hook and pin hinge plates on the frames we'll use the track system.

Each hinge plate is connected to its frame by using (2) 5/16" x 5/8" long carriage bolts,

washers, and hex nuts. (1) carriage bolt slides into the upper track, (1) slides into the

lower track, and then the hinge plate is secured between the dock frame and the

washers with hex nuts.

Start by ensuring that the dock frame is right side up. To do this, check to see that the

recessed decking area is on the top side of the dock as shown in Image 4.

Image 4

Positioning Hinges on Straight Docks

When placing the hook right and hook left hinge plates, the hooks should always be

pointing upward toward the sky (Image 3). Each hook plate is to be positioned as in

Image 5 with the edge of the hook hinge plate aligning with the frame edge. By taking

care to line up the designated edge of the hook hinge plate with the frame edge, we can

be ensured that the hinge spacing will be correct.

Image 5

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Prior to installing the pin hinge plates, the thumb screws which will later be used when

installing the dock must be placed as shown in Image 6. It is important that these

thumb screws are placed prior to fastening the hinge pin plates to the dock frames. The

end of the thumb screw should be flush with the diameter of the pin, but not protruding

outward.

Image 6

When installing the pin hinge plates, the end of the pin will bottom out on the frame of

the upper track. Hence, by taking care to ensure the pin end is lined up with the frame

edge as shown in Image 7, the pin spacing will always be correct. Because the pin hinge

plates are symmetrical, there is no designated right and left version like with the hook

plates, so orientation is not important.

Image 7

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Positioning Hinges When Changing Dock Orientation - Wider to Narrower

The methods in Images 5 and 7 of positioning the hinge plates works well for all straight

dock connections (for example a straight 3 section dock where all sections are

connected end-to-end) and for when a dock connection does not change width

(example: 4ft dock connected to 4ft dock, 8ft dock connected to 8ft dock, etc.) Working

from shore outward into the water, if the dock system A) goes from a wider dock to a

narrower dock (example a 6ft wide dock to a 4ft wide dock) or B) changes direction

(example a "finger dock" that comes off the side of a dock section) we must manually

measure the placement of the hook hinge plates.

Looking at scenario A first, let's suppose that we had a straight dock system that was 6ft

wide. If for the last section we wanted to add a section that was narrower at 4ft wide,

the distance between the hook hinge plates would have to be set up for use with the pin

hinge plates on the last dock section of 4ft wide dock. When outfitting the end of the

6ft wide dock with the hook hinge plates, we would need to measure the distance

between hook hinge plates to fasten them in the correct position (Image 8).

Image 8

* When connecting from an 8ft or 6ft wide dock to a 4ft wide dock the distance

between hook plates should be 45-3/4".

*When connecting an 8ft wide dock to a 6ft wide dock the distance between hook

plates should be 69-3/4".

Looking at scenario B, the same rules apply. Let's suppose we had a straight dock

system consisting of 3 dock sections 8ft long each (24ft total) with dock1 being closest

to shore, dock2 in the middle, and dock3 at the end. If we wanted to run a 4ft wide

"finger dock" off the side of dock2, we'd need to mount a hook hinge set to the side of

dock2. The distance between the hook hinge plates mounted to dock2 (Image 8) would

need to be set to match the pin hinge plates on the 4ft wide "finger dock".

Positioning Hinges When Changing Dock Orientation - Narrower to Wider

Working from shore outward into the water, whenever dock width goes from narrower

to wider a Tip Adapter must be used.

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Let's suppose we were creating a "T" dock layout using 2 sections of dock, with dock2

being turned 90 degrees and centered on the end of dock1 (Image 9).

Image 9

Image 10

On the end of dock1, the hook hinges would be placed normally as shown in Image 5.

Because the pin hinges would not be able to properly mount to dock2, we need to use

the Tip Adapter. The shore side of the Tip Adapter will get the pin hinges by fastening

the plates via the track system with the back end of the pin being flush with the Tip

Adapter (Image 11), while the water side of the Tip Adapter will fasten permanently to

dock2 via (3) 5/16 x 1-7/8" long carriage bolts, washers, and nuts. The (3) carriage bolts

will slide in the lower track of dock2 and connect through the 3 holes in the Tip Adapter

(Image 11).

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Image 11

1.4 Installing Foot Pads

Image 12

In Image 12, we see the foot pads. On soft lake bottoms, dock legs will begin to sink

under the weight of the dock. To minimize this effect, you will be provided with foot

pads as required. To install the foot pad, simply slide it over the bottom of the dock leg

and tighten the set-bolt. The foot pad has a "ski edge" on each end. This is to allow the

dock to more easily exit the soft material on the lake bottom. When removing the dock

at season's end, the docks are removed one at a time in the reverse order in which they

were installed. To remove a section, the dock hinge is unlocked, the frame is lifted

slightly, and the dock is dragged backward so it can be carried back to shore via the

remaining dock sections. The "ski edge" should be lined up with the direction in which

the dock was installed so it can easily ride up out of the silt or mud lake bottom. For

example, on a straight dock that runs north/south, the "ski edge" should also be lined

up north/south.

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1.5Installing Cross Braces

As water depths get deeper, dock sections can become a bit wobbly. To mitigate

wobble, Bestmade Products provides cross braces as required.

A cross brace consists of (1) aluminum cross bar, (2) tie clamps, and (2) 3/8" carriage

bolts and nuts (Image 13). The cross brace is designed to go across a section from low

to high at an angle (Image 14). When installing a cross brace on shore for the first time,

tighten the tie clamp on the low side but leave the tie clamp on the top side installed

but loose until the dock has been leveled in the water. The reason for this is that lake

bottoms are often uneven. Legs cannot be adjusted independently if both tie clamps

are tight. Once the dock is leveled the tie clamp on the top side can be tightened.

Image 13 Image 14

It's good practice to alternate orientation of cross braces from section-to-section. For

example, if a dock system consisting of 4 dock sections had cross braces on dock

sections 3 and 4, dock section 3 might have the low side tie clamp on the left side while

dock section 4 would have the low side tie clamp on the right side.

1.6Installing Docks into the Water

Before installing your Bestmade docks, the annual inspection procedure should be

followed per section 4.2 of this text. This includes checking for rotted, cracked, split, or

broken members, along with a thorough inspection of all fasteners to check for

excessive corrosion or stripped or jammed threads. The deck panels should also be

inspected for defects of any kind, including broken, split, or unsecured boards, and

fasteners should be checked for proper and sufficient lubrication.

1. Once sections 1.2 through 1.5 have been completed, dock sections may be installed

into the water. For first time installation, all leg heights and cross braces should be

positioned by best estimates based on where they will be on the water. This can be

done on shore. Dock frames should be high enough out of the water as to avoid waves

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