Dock & Piling Cleaning in Golden Beach, FL

Golden Beach docks take tide and oysters rather than wake. That means heavy, even growth on pilings from the mud up, barnacles on floating-dock wheels, and oysters on the hydraulic lines of hydro-hoists that sit fully in the water. The diver clears it all with cavitation, which is safe on wood, concrete, steel and rubber, then does the multi-point inspection while the structure is bare.

Wooden pilings here can be wrapped from the mud to 2 feet above the high-tide line in black UV-stabilized HDPE with 316 stainless nails, which adds at least 20 years to a piling that would otherwise last 10 to 15 unwrapped. Pilings that are already warped or separated get a Snap Jacket cement sleeve without removing the dock above, with no barges or permits, which matters on a residential shoreline with no commercial access.

A1A is the only road into Golden Beach and it runs through a police guardhouse, so the divers call ahead and send you a text right before each visit. High-rises and commercial development are not allowed in the town, so there is no marina, no fuel dock and no commercial pier, only private docks behind the houses along the three miles of waterway inside the town limits. Every one of those docks stands in salt water in a minimum-wake zone, and every one is the owner's own responsibility.

There is no marina, ramp or commercial dock in Golden Beach, so a dock here is always the owner's. Intracoastal docks in the town take tide and full salt but very little wake, which means heavy, even oyster growth on the pilings rather than the scouring an inlet dock gets. A wooden piling that is going is wrapped in HDPE or sleeved with a Snap Jacket in place, which matters on a residential shoreline where a barge is not an option.

For the guardhouse, the divers call ahead and text you right before the visit. The minimum-wake rule means the diver can work any dock in town at any hour, and the town's police marine unit is used to seeing a dive flag at a residential dock.

Golden Beach docks stand on the Intracoastal Waterway. ZIP code 33160: no pickaxes, no chisels, inspection included.

Growth hides damage, so the inspection follows the cleaning, while the diver can see the structure.

• Shipworm holes in wood and concrete pilings: enough of them and a piling snaps.
• Oyster damage on wooden pilings, which eats the wood while hiding it.
• Floating-dock wheels and hydro-hoist hydraulic lines, where barnacles cut and jam.
• Whether a wrap or a Snap Jacket sleeve would extend the piling's life.

How often docks and pilings need it. Seawalls and concrete pilings: cleaned annually. In our experience, unwrapped wooden pilings on South Florida canals often need help after 10 to 15 years; a wrap from the mud to 2 ft above high tide adds at least 20 years.

Full dock and piling cleaning guide