Will EZ Docks Overstress Carbon Fiber Hulls?

Not all EZDocks have rollers. Here is one we got a deal on and installed at the canoe club…


This one is good for those wide rec kayaks and canoes. My 24" beam solo gets a little unstable coming off the “V”. It’s better just to launch and recover from the floating dock.

The docking systems without rollers should be suitable for all kayaks.

We are fortunate to have a Club with 600-700 members and a number of people with time and connections to state government and supportive government officials that finally recognize the value of expanding recreational opportunities tor their constituents.

What the car top boating communities really wants is reasonable access to the water and parking. A port-a john is another reasonable request. All we need is a beach or firm bottomed launching area 10 - 20’ wide. It’s often not that expensive in terms of initial setup or maintenance compared to the plans that they come up with that they think are required. It’s a shame to see money wasted of projects put on hold because of numerous unseeded features. A beach area access is not that much more difficult for most disabled persons to use when you consider that most will require help to get the boat to the water in the first place.

The key is attending planning meetings for water access and letter and email campaigns. Emphasize the economic benefits to their constituents and local businesses such as restaurants, bars, tourist related businesses, and outfitters. Mention the relative low cost of accommodating paddlers. Keep in mind that a tiny fraction of their constituents ever contact them about anything. It does’t take all that much of an effort to get yourselves noticed. The most resistance, aside from available funds, will come from local residents that want to keep water access to themselves. Pull up the drawbridge!

Sure, but if you don’t clear the dock as you launch and stop moving with the pointy bow or stern still up on the dock you’d better be ready to brace…or swim a narrow boat. Don’t ask how I know…but the good news is that my Subaru key fob appears to be waterproof.

I too prefer a beach. We requested one at Exchange Island, a local city paddle destination, and they provided one.

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That instability is an issue for new paddlers/ users but not once you get used to it. Our floating dock was designed for motor boats and as our lake has wakeboard generated roller waves we appreciate the stability of these dock accessories when getting out in our old age. Ours is similar to yours that you pictured. The shoreline is a rock dropoff of six feet ; were it a beach we would just use that. The floating docks rock and roll with boat wakes when the wakeboard boats are out.
The half roll while holding a painter works well when the water gets warm though. Our water has finally reached 61 degrees so no aid necessary…

Very nice. The dock at Bandemer Park is exactly like the one you show but it’s attached to shore (not floating). Seems perfect for most paddlers and kept my brother from falling out of one of my solos once.

A properly designed kayak launching dock will have a trough that slopes down to the water and will be long enough and narrow enough so that you can still hold onto both sides until your boat is fully on the water. Many of these docks are designed for short wide flat bottomed rec boats.

The one you pictured above would be fine if it sat lower in the water and sloped more. You want the boat to still be fully floating when you can first grab the side rails to pull yourself up to land and the opposite to launch.

I’ve had the experience with trying to launch off of a sloped flat dock in a long skinny boat.

I think NC must have gotten a deal on them - or an aggressive sales person - I’ve been on a couple there and another in Maryland. I LOVE them when paddling my plastic boats; after seeing the oilcanning on my Eddyline, I didn’t put that down the rollers a second time. I’m getting older; getting out of my boat off a beach often requires a swim as my legs don’t work as well as they used to!