Dock & Piling Cleaning in Miami, FL

On Biscayne Bay, a private dock in Coconut Grove or Edgewater takes wind chop and salt, and its pilings collect oysters and barnacles from the mud line up. On the Miami River, docks sit in a mix of bay salt water and canal fresh water, and because the whole river is idle speed there is no wake to knock the growth off. Both need a yearly cleaning and a look underneath, which is why every cleaning comes with a complimentary multi-point inspection.

Floating docks and lifts are common on the Venetian Islands that belong to the City of Miami (Biscayne Island and San Marco Island) and along the Edgewater shoreline. Barnacles on a dock's wheels scrape a jet ski every time it comes up, and. We clear all of it with Ultra-Cavitation, which is safe on wood, concrete, steel and rubber.

The Miami River is described as likely the shortest working river in the United States, about 5.5 miles from the Miami Canal to the bay, and it has had its own commission since 1998. Working docks along it carry commercial traffic that a Coconut Grove backyard dock never sees, so river pilings take rub and wear on top of the growth, and the dams that went onto the feeder canals in the 1940s keep the water brackish rather than fresh. Curtis Park's ramp on the river is the launch point for the small boats; the docks that hold everything else are the ones we clean and inspect.

Before the first dock visit in Miami we ask three things: whether the dock is on the bay or the river, whether the pilings are wood or concrete, and whether a lift or floating dock is part of it. River docks in Brickell often sit beside commercial traffic and take fender rub on top of the growth; bay docks in Coconut Grove take fetch from the southeast. If the dock is behind a gate, the divers call ahead and send a text right before the visit, and no one needs to be home. If a piling turns out to be hollow behind the oysters, the diver says so that day rather than in a report weeks later, because a snapped piling on a Dinner Key-sized boat is not a small problem.

Miami docks stand on Biscayne Bay, the Miami River and the Intracoastal Waterway, most of them behind homes in Coconut Grove, Brickell and Edgewater. ZIP codes 33129, 33131, 33133 and 33137: 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