Staining the docks

One of the tasks of a marina guy is to maintain the docks. This includes replacing worn board (I have replaced about 25 this year) and staining the docks. Replacing the boards is a matter of using a crowbar to rip up the old one, then screwing down a new one. Not hard, except on the knees. Staining is simpler – just use a roller to apply the stain. The only hard part is to do it while keeping the docks operational, which means doing only half the width of the dock at a time and carefully planning how to get to the boats and the gas pump at all times without stepping on wet stain. I started with a “test patch” – one of the small finger docks – then moved on to the rest after the marina manager approved.

Because it can only be done in the “down time” when there is no other activity, staining the launch dock took almost two months, start to finish, with almost 7 gallons used.

As Jett would say, “A good job done.”

I included the bottom photo just because it shows how beautiful the marina can be on a perfect day.