Floating Docks

A floating dock is a marine access structure supported by engineered flotation, allowing the dock system to rise and fall with changing water levels caused by tides, seasonal variations, or reservoir drawdowns. Unlike fixed docks, floating dock systems maintain consistent freeboard, ensuring safe and accessible boarding conditions regardless of water elevation.

Floating docks are particularly wellsuited for marinas, yacht clubs, resorts, municipal harbors, ferry terminals, and urban waterfront developments, as well as highend residential waterfronts. They provide stable, level access to vessels, accommodate a wide range of boat sizes, and integrate seamlessly with gangways, wave attenuators, utilities, and mooring systems.

When properly engineered, floating dock systems are designed to resist wind, wave action, ice forces, live loads, and longterm environmental exposure, while minimizing maintenance over their service life. Materials such as marinegrade aluminum framing and durable flotation systems make floating docks an ideal solution for projects requiring longevity, adaptability, and a clean, professional aesthetic.

Yes. MAADI Group designs and manufactures fully custom floating dock systems engineered to match your shoreline conditions, marina layout, slip configuration, and vessel mix. Each dock system is tailored to your waterfront geometry, water depth, and environmental exposure, accommodating everything from small recreational craft to larger commercial vessels and superyachts.

Our engineering team works closely with you during the design phase to optimize dock sizing, freeboard, structural capacity, mooring strategy, and access geometry, ensuring safe, efficient, and longterm performance. Sitespecific factors such as wind, wave action, ice loads, utilities integration, and operational traffic are fully incorporated into the engineering process.

MAADI Group offers three distinct floating dock systems, each engineered for specific vessel sizes and environmental demands:

• Tri Ocean™ — designed for large vessels and highenergy marine environments
• Great Lakes™ — engineered for heavy saltwater or freshwater conditions and variable water levels
• Lakeshore™ — optimized for protected waters and recreational applications

Our floating dock systems can be customized with a wide range of finishes and functional features, including:

• Decking systems (composite, aluminum, exotic hardwoods, or specialty surfaces)
• Integrated or external piles and pileguide systems, including ShockGUARD™ energyabsorbing technology to protect longterm infrastructure
• Fender systems for small craft, large vessels, or commercial operations
• Cleats, bollards, and mooring hardware sized for design vessel loads
• Integrated LED lighting for safety, visibility, and aesthetics
• Clearanodized, highend MakeABridge™ gangways or welded aluminum Gangways
• Utility trough covers and hatch systems, including concealed fuel dock Infrastructure
• Additional marina accessories tailored to operational requirements

Each custom floating dock system is engineered, fabricated, and qualitycontrolled in Canada, delivering a solution that combines precision engineering, durability, and a clean, professional marina appearance—built to perform reliably for decades.

An aluminum floating dock is a longterm marine infrastructure solution engineered for durability, structural performance, and low lifecycle cost in demanding waterfront environments. Compared to wood, steel, concrete, or plastic systems, aluminum floating docks offer a superior balance of strength, corrosion resistance, adaptability, and minimal maintenance.

Superior Corrosion Resistance in Marine Environments

Marinegrade aluminum naturally forms a protective oxide layer that provides excellent resistance to corrosion in saltwater, brackish water, and freshwater environments. Unlike steel, aluminum does not rely on heavy coatings or cathodic protection systems to achieve long service life, making it especially wellsuited for coastal marinas, harbors, and waterfront infrastructure.

Structural Strength Without Excess Weight

Compared to plastic dock systems, aluminum provides a rigid, engineered structural frame capable of supporting higher live loads, vessel berthing forces, and sustained heavy foot & kart traffic. At the same time, aluminum is significantly lighter than steel or concrete, reducing overall system mass without compromising strength.

This lower weight and favorable strengthtomass ratio result in reduced inertia loads, which is particularly beneficial in highenergy and hurricaneprone environments. Unlike concrete, aluminum structures respond more flexibly to dynamic forces, helping to preserve pile anchoring systems, connections, and overall structural behavior during extreme wind and wave events.

The reduced structural mass also lowers flotation requirements, improves dock responsiveness to wave action, and simplifies installation, relocation, and future system expansion—making aluminum floating docks a superior solution for both performancecritical and longterm marina infrastructure.

Reduced Maintenance Compared to Wood

Wood docks are susceptible to rot, warping, splitting, insect damage, and frequent refinishing, particularly in wet or freezethaw climates. Aluminum floating docks eliminate these failure modes entirely, resulting in lower maintenance costs, improved safety, and longer replacement intervals over the life of the dock system.

Design Flexibility and LongTerm Adaptability

Aluminum floating docks are modular by design, allowing systems to be expanded, reconfigured, or relocated as marina layouts, vessel sizes, or operational needs evolve. This level of flexibility is difficult to achieve with concrete docks and far more structurally reliable than many plastic systems when scaling for larger vessels or commercial Operations.

In addition, the aluminum extrusion process enables advanced structural features that are not achievable with other materials. These include integrated track systems that allow easy repositioning of accessories such as cleats, bollards, ladders, and external pile guides, as well as internal service chases, inspection ports, portholes, and variable wall thickness in highstress regions—optimizing structural performance exactly where it is required.

Engineered for Performance and Longevity

When properly engineered, aluminum floating docks are designed to withstand wind and wave loads, ice forces, vessel impact loads, and continuous environmental exposure. The result is a dock system with predictable structural behavior, long service life, and a clean, professional appearance that enhances both operational performance and asset value.

Yes. MAADI Group’s floating dock systems are modular and can be reconfigured, which makes it easy to add sections, extend walkways, or adjust the layout as your waterfront needs grow.

You’ve got options. MAADI Group can ship dock sections assembled on a trailer or deliver them in containers for on-site assembly. Installation can be handled by your local contractor with MAADI Group supervision, or by MAADI Group’s certified installers, and inspections can be completed by their professional engineers to confirm compliance and safety.

Yes. MAADI Group designs aluminum floating docks for both commercial and residential waterfronts, and the systems are built with marine‑grade aluminum made to resist corrosion from salt water, chemicals, and pollution. In other words, whether you’re on a calm lake, a moving river, or a coastal marina, the dock can be engineered to suit the conditions.

Aluminum floating docks are a low-maintenance option. MAADI Group notes their aluminum floating docks require far less maintenance than steel, and their FAQ also highlights that well-designed, well-maintained aluminum floating docks can last 40+ years. In most cases, “maintenance” looks like routine inspections, cleaning the deck, checking hardware and accessories, and (in saltwater) rinsing and keeping an eye on high-wear contact points.

MAADI Group floating dock systems can be fully customized with a wide range of functional accessories and comfort features to match your operational requirements, vessel types, and aesthetic objectives.

Common floating dock accessories include:

• Decking options to achieve the desired appearance, durability, and performance (composite, aluminum, or specialty finishes)
• Cleats, bollards, and mooring hardware sized for secure and reliable vessel tie-ups
• Fender and bumper systems to protect boats, dock edges, and structural components
• Dock ladders for safe swimmer access and emergency egress
• Utility trough covers to protect and discreetly route electrical, water, and fuel services
• Integrated LED lighting systems for safety, visibility, and nighttime ambiance
• Hatch covers to conceal under-dock equipment such as fuel pump and utility systems
• Clear-anodized, high-end aluminum gangways engineered for long-term durability and refined aesthetics

For public marinas, resorts, and high-end waterfront developments, dock layouts can also incorporate custom furnishings such as benches, planters, seating areas, canopied and commercial-grade umbrellas, as well as architectural lighting systems that enhance both functionality and the overall waterfront experience.

All accessories are engineered to integrate seamlessly with MAADI Group’s aluminum dock systems, ensuring structural compatibility, long-term durability, and a clean, professional appearance across the entire marina or waterfront installation.