Great Northern Docks carries two brands of dock flotation.
Our own roto-molded polyethylene Drag-On floats are available in two sizes, 10″x24″x36″ with 300lbs of displacement, and 10″x24″x48″, with 400lbs of displacement. The walls are a minimum of 0.15″-0.18″ thick.
The most unique, patented, feature of the Drag-On float is the ability to attach a skid without perforating the sealed cavity. Tubes pass through the body of the float so you can run long carriage bolts through the float and the skid. Skids are used for sliding or dragging floating dock sections in and out of the water. They are also helpful in tidal locations where they limit the damage to sea-life from a bottomed out floating dock at low tide.
Drag-on floats also feature nesting nubs for easy stacking, transportation, and easy locating on the dock. They also contain two conduit channels running the length of the float allowing you to run your utility lines under the headers at the hinge joints of your dock instead of having to drill holes and compromise the structure. The air filled cavity makes them easier to patch and completely recyclable. This may not be important in your lifetime, but we believe in protecting the environment for the next generation.
Drag-on floats are excellent for repairs to floating docks in the water because they will hold themselves by the nesting nubs while you secure them with lag screws. Other floats are harder to hold in place. Drag-On floats are also popular dock installation tools, as they can be used to temporarily float and level a stationary dock, and then be pushed free after install is complete.
We also carry Permafloats by Cellofoam, for customers who want the security of a foam filled float, and a little extra height. Our stock sizes include 12″x24″x36″, and 12″x24″x48″. A large variety of other common sizes are available by special order, drop shipped to your location. Permafloats are rotationally molded with a thick outer shell of polyethylene, and an inner polystyrene core.
For a list of non-stock sizes that can be drop shipped from the factory to your location, see the attached PDF brochure.