Alternatives to Boat Docks

• Boat docks are a common way to secure boats, but several alternatives also are used. Buena Vista Images/Photodisc/Getty Images

  Boat docks are made of wood or metal, and extend out into a body of water to allow people easier access to a boat to board it or to tie it up when it is not being used. Boat docks can be expensive or difficult to construct, so a number of alternative boat-storage methods also are used.

Anchoring

• Boats don't necessarily need to be stored onshore or against the bank of a body of water. A boater can stop the boat near the shore or in a relatively still, shallow area, and drop some anchors off the front and the back of the boat to hold it in place. As long as the anchors can reach bottom, the boat will not drift. Those using the boat will have to swim or be transported from and to the boat, but no dock is needed.

Boat Lift

• Boats often are lifted out of the water when they are not being used, to help preserve their hulls from the natural wear and tear caused by water. Boat lifts can be operated with manual cranks, lifting the boat with wires and chains, or by a powered mechanism, which will automatically lift the boat out of the water with a flip of switch. Lifts often are installed at boat docks, but they also can be installed off a shoreline to lift the boat out of the water without having to build an entire dock.

Boat Trailers

• Boat owners often store their boats miles from water and transport them via trailer to launch them in some water body when they wish to use them. The boat is launched from the trailer, which the owner backs down a ramp into the water until the boat floats and can be gently pushed off. This is an inexpensive way for a boat owner to store, maintain and transport a boat without needing to rent dock space or purchase a lift.