Bubbler .vs. Circulator

[camp guy]

I live off the water at this time, but I, too, struggled with the question of what to use, and I did, in fact, try both over time. This thread comes up each winter, and the usual comments are made, and, as has been the case in the past, the comment is made that it isn't so much during the winter that problems occur, it is when the ice breaks up and 'goes out'. Well, this is true, but it is also true that during the winter there can be major problems. I had to completely redo my pilings because the ice had formed tightly around them and due to some shifting (I can't explain the technical process) of the HUGE ice plate the pilings were actually lifted up and left the decking totally askew. In the spring, when the ice was breaking up, both my wife and I spent hours out on the dock with long poles (think pieces of strapping) pushing the ice aside so as to miss our dock during is travel. The wind is critical to the survival of your dock during ice out. It doesn't take much wind to create a large amount of momentum which can easily damage a dock.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by camp guy

"...I had to completely redo my pilings because the ice had formed tightly around them..."

The dock pictured below is fairly new—certainly far newer than my 25-year-old piling dock that I've had to repair about every other Spring.

This new one has a breakwater made of boulders facing the worst of the wind-pushed ice floes.

I've long admired the "bulletproof" appearance of supports embedded in the boulders of the breakwater; however, one side has broken off, most likely during last winter's ravages. (It could also have been due to a bad location of a wood-knot in the beam).

In years past, we spoke of temporary docks and permanent docks. I'm now convinced there is no such thing as a "permanent" dock....