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Covered Dock Collapse = "Snow" Fun
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BoatUS Marine Insurance

The Latest in Covered Docks

If you keep your boat on a covered dock in the winter, you're probably well aware of the potential risks from fire and snowload. But you may not be aware of recent innovations that help reduce those risks. If your marina is the old-fashioned type and you have multiple covered marinas in your area, consider scouting out the others to see if any have adopted these construction techniques. Click Below to read the latest about snow and fire protection at marinas.

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The Latest in Covered Docks

New technologies make it safer and more pleasant to keep your boat under cover.
By Charles Fort
Snow Protection
Photo of Bohemia Bay Marina damage
In December 2013, a storm that dumped heavy snow and ice on a covered marina on Lake Lewisville, Texas caused part of the marina to collapse, damaging dozens of boats and sinking several. One owner who was sleeping aboard had to be rescued from the mangled metal roofing that once covered the boats.

Wet snow — the kind that's typical in places that aren't in the frigid North — is heavy. A one-foot by one-foot section three inches thick of the wet white stuff can weigh five pounds. Multiply that by thousands of square feet of marina roofing and you can see why many structures just can't handle the weight and collapse.

Photo of heavy-gauge galvanized steel roof structurePhoto: Dissen & Juhn Co.

For fixed docks, there's a way to prevent even the worst storms from collapsing the roof and damaging the boats underneath. After the wicked back-to-back snowstorms in the mid-Atlantic in 2010, several covered marinas collapsed in the Chesapeake Bay area, including Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbour in Chesapeake City, Maryland. The owners decided that an engineered, extra-strong roof system offered the best protection for the money. The system uses a heavy galvanized steel pipe foundation, driven into the seabed, along with a heavy-gauge galvanized steel roof structure. Much stronger than traditional timber construction, this approach virtually eliminates snow and wind load concerns. The substantially heavier equipment needed does increase the cost, but the structure will outlast conventional roof systems — and protect the boats under them — for many years.

Fire Protection

Photo of a marina fire

A marina fire is the stuff of nightmares, but it can be even worse when docks are covered. Once a fire gets going, the heat trapped under the roof turns the whole place into a super-heated oven that will ignite anything under it. That scenario actually happened at a marina in Gig Harbor, Washington a few years ago, and dozens of boats were destroyed.

Photo of marina fire protection polycarbonate panels in roof

One innovative solution is to install polycarbonate panels in 50 percent of the roofing. That way, if a fire starts, the panels quickly melt, allowing heat to escape and greatly lessening the chance of the entire marina going up in flames. In some parts of the country, those melting panels are now required by local law. The polycarbonate panels offer another terrific side benefit: Because the panels are clear, the normally gloomy covered marina feels light, airy, and welcoming. 

— Published: January 2015 Seaworthy Magazine


Winter is here in full force, so we want to remind boaters significant snow and ice can cause damage even when your boat is "safely" tucked away in storage. Without proper coverage, a weather-related accident could leave you responsible for the cost of salvage and repairs.