Winter Dock Maintenance Tips for Massachusetts

Massachusetts enjoys warm and humid summers, making it a prime destination for splashing in the water on the expansive waterways. However, being located on the northern latitudes and along the Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts experiences cold, icy, snowy and rainy winters that have worsened in recent years. The extremely cold winter temperatures in Massachusetts result from the rapid warming in the Arctic.

Boston’s winters may be extremely irregular. They are often characterized by more rain than snow and are generally warmer than the southern region. These irregularities make it harder for residential and commercial property owners along waterways to prepare their docks for the cold season. Preparing your dock for the winter is extremely important as it ensures the safety of people as they enter and exit the water.

The Importance of Dock Winterization

Dock maintenance is an essential part of the nautical lifestyle. It involves ensuring the dock is sturdy and safe for everyone to access the water by minimizing risks, like trip and fall hazards.

It’s especially important in the winter when ice starts forming on the water’s surface. These changes can also result in higher water levels, which have different impacts on your docks and vessels left out on the water during the winter.

Winterization is a series of preventive maintenance steps carried out before the winter to prevent damage when the temperatures start falling. It’s necessary for both permanent and portable docks to increase life span and your property’s resale value. It also ensures that your dock is usable for winter boat storage, occasional winter fishing or ice boating.

Failure to prepare your dock for the winter presents the following challenges:

• Fluctuating temperatures: Temperatures rise and fall throughout winter, making wooden docks expand and contract. This movement damages the dock’s structural integrity by causing warping, splintering, breaking or heaving. However, polyethylene dock materials do not shrink or expand with temperature changes.
• Changing water levels: Water levels fluctuate as the water freezes and thaws, impacting your docks in different ways. For instance, when the water rises and freezes, it may make permanent docks inaccessible, and when they thaw and fall, floating docks may scrape the lake’s frozen surface.
• Ice buildup: Floating ice formations crush against floating and permanent docks, scratching, scuffing or causing structural damage. The pressure during ice formation, expansion and contraction may cause expensive damage to your docks.
• Creating hazardous conditions: Icy or wet docks are slippery and dangerous for all dock users, especially children, older adults and people with mobility concerns. Docks become a prime spot for slip-and-fall accidents that may cause catastrophic injuries and fatalities.

General Dock Winterizing Tips

Winterizing your dock should start before the temperatures start freezing. It’s even better to start planning for it in the summer by gathering all supplies and weather forecast information, ensuring you’re not caught off guard. It may take a few days, and the step-by-step process you follow to winterize your boat depends on whether you have a permanent or portable dock.

Here are a few dock winterization practices that are standard for both permanent and portable docks:

• Inspect your dock: Conducting a thorough visual inspection before and after the winter helps identify any issues that may exacerbate winter damage. Check for cracks, rotten boards, signs of wear and tear, or loose screws, planks and boards. Make repairs before storing your floating dock away or leaving your permanent dock out for the winter. It helps to take photos before to compare to the condition it’s in after the winter.
• Clean your dock: Wipe down dock sections and accessories to minimize your de-winterization tasks. Wipe them dry or allow them enough time to air dry before storing them away to prevent corrosion and water damage.
• Perform regular maintenance: Before storing your dock or leaving it to weather the storms of winter, perform regular upkeep measures like tightening loose screws, lubricating moving parts, and replacing worn or damaged components.
• Check your owner’s manual: Your owner’s manual is a great resource for the best dock winterization practices for keeping it in optimal condition before and after the winter.
• Consult local dock regulations: Every local government, homeowners association and municipality dictates the acceptable dock winterization measures. Consult these to check if dock removal is mandatory or when you’re expected to complete winterization.

How to Winterize Your Floating Docks

Floating docks consist of durable, weather-resistant polyethylene, making them simple to winterize. Ideally, they should be removed from the water and stored in a dry place. However, if you must, you can leave them on the water, and they’ll perform better than permanent metal or wood docks when the temperatures drop.

When on the water, the air-filled flotation chambers inside the floating dock’s durable construction allow it to move with the water, reducing the risk of ice pressure-related damage. Nonetheless, removing your dock from the water before the temperature drops is the best way to protect your investment by minimizing structural damage and avoidable wear and tear.

Here are the steps to follow when maintaining floating docks in the winter:

1. Remove the Dock From the Water

Plan to disassemble and remove your dock from the water before the temperatures hit freezing. EZ Dock floating docks are easy to remove by unfastening the dock and withdrawing it from the water. EZ Dock couplers — the system that connects floating dock sections — make it easy to disconnect the individual sections when dissembling.

Disconnecting the rubber coupler system involves removing the bolts from each section in the same way it was installed. Use a coupler installation tool and ensure the dock sections are stable and uniform to prevent misplacing or losing coupler pieces. You can always refer to your owner’s manual for more instructions. Consider labeling each coupler piece, bolt and dock section for easy reassembly.

You also want to remove every floating dock accessory, from storage containers, gangways, ports, launches and tie-up cleats to handrails, benches and slides. Your goal should be to remove as many items as possible to minimize shoreline damage and erosion.

2. Use Wheels to Move Your Floating Dock

Protect your floating dock from damage, scratches, and wear and tear during transportation by investing in EZ Dock polyethylene dock wheels. These wheels prevent you from dragging the dock across rough or rocky terrain as you move it to secure storage. They come with durable steel frames that hold your floating dock sections, making transportation fast and stress-free.

In addition, wheel kits protect you from injury because dock pieces can be heavy. Asking for help from a friend or family member will also make moving floating dock sections for storage easier and safer.

3. Store Floating Dock Sections and Parts in a Dry Place

Dock sections should be stored in a dry and secure area during the winter. The storage space should be close to the shore to make transportation easier. You can opt for indoor storage, such as a shed or boathouse, to minimize exposure to dirt and dust. Our floating dock sections are weather-resistant and can be stored outside, even in winter.

When storing your floating dock sections outside, covering them with a weighted tarp can minimize wear and tear caused by environmental conditions. Here are some additional tips for storing floating dock sections:

• Store individual sections with the walking surface facing upwards or stacked along its edge.
• You can stack the floating dock sections on each other because the polyethylene material won’t scratch.
• When you store the sections onshore, mark them with flag markers to alert snowmobilers and winter sports enthusiasts. It will also help you locate the dock after a major snowfall.

How to Winterize Permanent Docks

Winterizing permanent wood, metal or concrete docks is more involved because they can’t be removed and stored seasonally. You leave them out during the winter, but you can take measures to prevent damage to your dock. Here are the steps to follow to winterize your permanent dock, protecting it against wear, tear and damage:

1. Remove Accessories and Fixtures

Remove as many dock accessories and fixtures as possible, such as storage boxes, benches, ladders, furniture, railings, lights and lamps. Store these close to the shore on a raised surface that will not easily flood to prevent water and environmental damage during the winter. Uninstall pipes and piles that may bend or break due to ice pressure when left out.

2. Conduct Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance before leaving your dock system out for the winter minimizes wear, tear and damage. Maintenance involves tightening screws and bolts, replacing worn or damaged fasteners, and lubricating any moving surfaces. Sanding and staining your wooden dock protects the material from moisture exposure, wood rot and warping.

3. Install Deicing Systems

Deicing is the process of redirecting warmer and denser water at the bottom of water bodies to the surface to melt existing ice and prevent ice formation. Installing bubblers and deicers aerates the water and creates movement to prevent ice formation around the dock. Strategically place flags and lights to warn other boaters of the aerators near your dock.

4. Secure Your Dock

Tie your dock to a tree or another permanent structure on the shore using a chafe-resistant rope. This attachment prevents the dock from coming loose during a storm or as the water freezes and thaws. Tie the rope high to protect the dock even with continuous water level fluctuations and high tides. You can also protect your shoreline from ice-related erosion and damage with regular landscaping by professionals.

Benefits of EZ Dock Floating Docks During the Winter

If you’re looking for a new dock system perfect for the harsh Massachusetts weather, EZ Dock floating docks are an excellent option for homes, businesses, government and industrial waterfront properties. We have floating dock options for ponds, lakes, reservoirs and rivers that make your property ideal for all kinds of aquatic outdoor activities all year long.

Several features make EZ Dock floating docks ideal for the winter:

• Customizable: Our modular docking systems are customizable to your Massachusetts property, ensuring they suit your waterfront needs. We offer many accessories and add-ons that enhance the usability of your docks.
• Flotation system: EZ Dock floating docks comprise linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) with air-filled chambers that allow them to float and move even in turbulent waters. The extra thick and heavy walls ensure the dock sections remain stable despite fluctuating water levels.
• Ultradurable: Our docks are designed to withstand the strongest snow storms, ice pressure, wind-blown ice and ice flows without getting damaged. They can also withstand hurricanes and serve you well during the hot summer.
• Corrosion-resistant: Our floating dock sections are joined using heavy-duty, rust- and corrosion-resistant nuts and bolts that withstand the harshest winter conditions.
• Safe: Our floating docks have a slip-resistant surface that’s safer than wood, concrete and metal dock surfaces. The nonslip grooves on the surface prevent the formation of slippery puddles on rainy winter days.
• Warranty: EZ Dock floating docks come with a 10-year limited service and repair warranty that covers them for storms, freezing and other winter-related concerns.
• Environmentally friendly: EZ Dock floating docks are made using nontoxic recycled rubber and polyethylene, which don’t release chemicals into the water when left out all year round. Our docks are also free of common floating dock components like foam-filling and treated wood products. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are some of the most commonly asked questions concerning dock maintenance in Massachusetts.

Do Aluminum Docks Need to Be Removed in Winter?

Aluminum docks are anchored to the ground permanently, which makes removing them during seasonal changes difficult. However, they are durable and designed to withstand the harshest weather conditions, so they can stay put during the winter. You must winterize your dock to minimize wear, tear and damage.

Can Floating Docks Stay out in the Winter?

EZ Dock floating docks are designed to withstand the harshest conditions, including icy and wet winters. If you leave your floating dock out for the winter, secure it to a tree or permanent structure to allow it to move freely without floating away and sinking through the ice. Don’t forget to mark your dock using lighting and signage to alert other people using the water.

Can EZ Dock Floating Dock Systems Withstand Ice?

The floatation system on EZ Dock docking sections allows them to move on the water, preventing ice-related pressure damage. However, the pipes and piles on the system are still at risk of warping, bending or breaking when they freeze. Additionally, when the ice moves the dock toward the shore, it may cause shoreline damage.

Check out EZ Dock All-Season Floating Docks

Are you looking for a dock system you won’t need to worry about all year round? EZ Dock durable and weather-resistant floating docks and accessories withstand freezing winters and hot summers. Use our online tool to design your ideal dock for your Massachusetts commercial or residential waterfront property today.

We use the highest-quality materials to ensure longevity, eco-friendliness and minimal maintenance for our clients. Contact us with more questions about our all-season floating docks and waterfront accessories.