The last thing a boat owner wants to see at the end of the season is their boat stranded on its lift. At the end of each summer, Lake Minnetonka’s water level can drop dramatically, leaving boats unable to be taken off their lifts. It is an all-too-common sight for brothers Dan and Jesse Johnson, co-owners of Fineline Lakeshore Service. Dan and Jesse's work with Fineline seeks to make the process of putting in and taking out your dock as easy as possible to avoid that terrible fate.
The process of taking down docks can be “very labor intensive,” says Jesse. Fineline uses two barge crews to remove, store, and set up docks. The first crew takes in accessories like canopies and boat lifts, while the second then takes the dock itself.
Fineline’s barge crews work throughout the fall, taking in docks and storing them on customers' shorelines over the winter before reversing the process come spring.
“It takes more time to install a dock than Fall removal. Spring is more of a rush. Fall is more relaxed,” says Jesse about this perennial cadence. While boaters are impatient to get their docks installed at the beginning of the season, the fall doesn’t come with that same sense of urgency.
Outside of October, that is.
October is the busy season for taking down docks, with crews eventually having a long list of customers’ docks that need to be taken in before the first winter snows.
“Your name gets put on the list, and we get to you when we come around the lake,” usually within 1-2 weeks, says Jesse. ”We make our way around the lake, pulling out docks along the way.”
Jesse recommends scheduling a dock removal “as early as possible.” In August and September, Fineline’s barge teams can be at your dock in a matter of days.
These early removals have become more popular in recent years due to the regular end-of-summer drought that can quickly drop the water level of Lake Minnetonka.
During the pandemic, however, many families worked to prolong the boating season even if just by a few weeks by extending docks due to lower water levels. “With Covid, all people could do was use their boat,” says Jesse.
Before scheduling with Fineline, however, several things have to be done to prepare the dock to be taken down.
“Of course the boat goes first,” explains Jesse. Boats must be stored before Fineline comes to remove the dock.
After that point, ensuring that the lifejackets, coolers, and whatever else has been left out on the dock all season gets put away so that Fineline crews don’t have to move it while dismantling the dock.
As Fineline’s barge teams break down docks, they make note of rot, malfunction, and other issues that owners might not be aware of. A particular blind spot is the underside of dock decking. While a boater might tromp over the top of a dock all summer, “We get to see the underside of the dock section which shows a lot,” says Jesse.
Jesse sees the winter as an opportunity for repair, replacement, and upgrade during the off-season so that boaters don’t have to miss a single hour of summer sunlight.
Common upgrades over the winter include new decking, complete new dock system, new boathouse frame, and replacing worn-out canopies.
“These are all great things to order over the winter so everything is ready for spring install,” advises Jesse.
A popular upgrade Fineline has seen over the past few years is the boathouse canopy that covers your slip, stopping rain and hail from falling onto the boat. A nice benefit beyond the increased protection is that the canopy then stabilizes that dock. “It really stiffens up the dock. There’s no wobble after it’s installed, as it connects both sides of the dock slip.”
Another popular shift is to replace wooden decking with plastic like the brands PolyDeck and ThruFlow. While dock frames are usually galvanized steel and last a lifetime, decking, especially wood decking, has to be replaced regularly, which has led some to move away from the material.
So whether it's upgrading the boat lift to accommodate a bigger boat, replacing your dock’s long-ignored decking, or simply changing the color of your canopy, Fineline Lakeshore Service seeks to make the process of putting in and taking out your dock as easy as possible, no matter the season.
Fall Dock Removal Checklist:
- Schedule your dock removal early
- Take boat out of water and place into storage for the season
- Clear dock of any items, including lifejackets, coolers, water toys, etc.
- Check for needed dock repairs, replacements, or upgrades over winter
- Fineline barge teams come to break down docks
- Schedule your dock installation as ice out approaches for spring!!