When it comes to building structures for the New England marine industry, one material stands out from the crowd. Aluminum has been used for designing and fabricating docks, marinas and decks for many years, due to its long-lasting durability in the harsh marine environment.
Silver City Aluminum is proud of its contribution to local and national marine businesses through the services it provides for the extrusion and fabrication of custom aluminum products and parts. These custom items are then used by our clients in the fabrication of boat rails, structural materials, aluminum docks and decks, as well as many other types of marine equipment.
Different Types of Aluminum Docks
Rather than trying to talk about the benefits associated with using custom aluminum products for all of the different marine products available, we are going to keep our focus on docks. There are four primary types of docks that are used within the New England marine industry that rely on aluminum products and materials for their construction.
- The Floating Dock – The most common type of dock, used most often for boat access, swimming or fishing. Various floatation styles and types of decking are used to create the finished product. Silver City Aluminum provides our clients with the custom aluminum extrusions that are created according to their specifications to create long-lasting and durable floating docks that will last for many, many years.
- The Fixed Dock – This type of dock is perfect for areas that have very little tide fluctuation or for shallow water near the edge of a pond or a lake. Unlike the floated dock, pilings and headers will be used instead to provide support for these aluminum docks. Additional aluminum products are created by Silver City for our clients using custom aluminum extrusions for bumpers, fenders, cleats and other hardware that will be used to establish safety railing and other utilities.
- The Boat Dock – There are many different types of design options for boat docks in the New England marine industry. Designs would vary depending on your intended use for canoes versus sailboats, motorboats versus kayaks or personal watercraft versus rowing hulls. Designs can also incorporate different types of flotation, various accessories and decking styles. Silver City Aluminum creates many aluminum products for our clients to use with this popular type of dock.
- The Modular Dock System – While most dock systems are designed for permanence, some can be moved around, depending on the consumer’s needs. Our clients often require special parts to be made with custom aluminum extrusions and Silver City has the capability to do this type of work. Modular dock systems are designed to be flexible, unique and custom for each client, which is why we fabricate each and every part according to our client’s specifications.
Why Aluminum Products Are Best
While there will always be a difference of opinion or preference, most people who have worked for any length of time in the New England marine industry will admit that aluminum products that are carefully crafted via custom aluminum extrusions have many advantages in marine applications. They are designed to withstand high traffic and heavy duty use of a long period of time, making aluminum docks and products ideal for residential, commercial and municipal use.
Silver City Aluminum works with many different clients across the country who choose our custom fabricated and extruded aluminum products for use throughout the marine industry. Aluminum offers a high performance end product with amazing durability and very low maintenance, which is appealing to our clients and their customers. Our marine grade frames and other custom aluminum extrusions are designed to last, whether they are used in fresh or salt water situations.
The processes that we use to provide our clients with truly custom aluminum products that are designed, fabricated and extruded according to their specifications allow us to be extremely flexible. We can create absolutely anything for our clients that they need to produce quality aluminum docks and other marine industry products.
Another benefit to aluminum over other common materials used in the New England marine industry and beyond is its ability to last a very long time. Wood rots, steel can rust, concrete can crack, but aluminum’s natural protective coating and ability to resist corrosion keep it looking great and performing as it should for many years. This reduces the amount of time required to spend maintaining aluminum docks compared to other types of docks.
Call Silver City for Custom Aluminum Extrusions
Our many years of experience creating aluminum products for marine industry clients has helped us to provide high quality decks, docks, decking, rails and other essential products. We work closely with each and every client to make sure that all of their specifications are met for each product we extrude or fabricate. From boat rails to sail boat applications, decking and aluminum docks, our team of experienced technicians can create just about any aluminum products our clients desire.