Do you own a boat or jet ski and you’re thinking about buying a drive-on dock? We hope that this article will guide your choice as best as possible and inform you about the various options that you might wish to consider.

Everything you need to know about boat and jet ski drive-on docks

Do you own a boat or jet ski and you’re thinking about buying a drive-on dock? We hope that this article will guide your choice as best as possible and inform you about the various options that you might wish to consider.

The decision to purchase a drive-on dock for a boat or jet ski depends on various factors, which are discussed below. Enjoy the read!

1. Why use a boat or jet ski drive-on dock?
2. Boatlift or drive-on dock?
3. Do jet ski drive-on docks have any technical restrictions?
4. How can you choose the right drive-on dock?
5. How much does a boat or jet ski drive-on dock cost?
6. Do drive-on docks require maintenance?
7. Are they easy to assemble/disassemble?
8. What anchors or accessories should you choose for your drive-on dock?

Why use a boat or jet ski drive-on dock?

Whether you have your own mooring ring at the port, or you regularly launch your boat or jet ski into the water with a trailer, a drive-on dock is an essential accessory for any water sports enthusiast. It offers watercraft owners various benefits that greatly improve comfort for the user.

• Making access easier

A drive-on dock allows you to easily exit and access the water. This saves lots of time, and much more. Specifically:

• It eliminates the need for a trailer
• It makes accessing your boat or jet ski easier
• It simplifies regular launching
• For professionals, and especially in the world of jet skis, drive-on docks make managing your vessel easier. They simplify mechanical work on the mechanical parts, as well as refueling, launching manoeuvres, and briefing.

• Protecting your vessel

Boat and jet ski drive-on docks facilitate the safe storage of your vessel all year round. Systematically taking your boat or jet ski out of the water protects it and slows down the effects of water on the hull.

• Reducing the maintenance costs of your boat or jet ski

Your boat or jet ski requires maintenance at least once a year. Although antifouling coatings can slow down the deterioration of the hull of your boat or jet ski, installing them and regularly maintaining them costs approximately the same amount as a drive-on dock. Drive-on docks can therefore potentially save a lot of money in the long run.

Boatlift or drive-on dock?

Like floating pontoons, modular drive-on docks for boats consist of modular floating cubes together with support elements for the boat’s hull.

Although the buoyancy of this type of drive-on dock (350kg/m²) and its extreme resistance to wear should theoretically make it suitable for almost any type of boat, regardless of size or weight, things are somewhat different in practice. A drive-on dock is an assembly of floating polyethylene cubes and support elements. As a result, it is sensitive to tensile and torsion forces. This means that modular docks work well with some types of boats and less well with others. Here’s a list:

The following boats are suitable for use with a drive-on dock:

Semi-rigid boats are especially suitable for use with a drive-on dock. They are lightweight and very sensitive to water damage. Rigid boats are also suitable for drive-on docks. However, they tend to be higher than semi-rigid vessels, which sometimes makes accessing the boat more difficult once it is loaded onto the dock. As a general rule, non-motorized boats such as dinghies or ocean rowing boats, as well as speedboats with an outboard or fully inboard motor without a drive shaft or keel, are good candidates for drive-on docks.

The following vessels are suitable for use with a boatlift:

We do not recommend using modular drive-on docks with boats over 7.5 metres long in order to guarantee the long-term durability of the dock. This recommendation applies to any type of boat of this size. For these, you should use a boatlift instead, which lifts the boat out of the water, avoiding any friction or torsion. However, boatlifts are significantly more expensive that drive-on docks.

In addition, note that modular drive-on docks are upgradeable. A modular drive-on dock adapted to your current boat can be upgraded if you need to accommodate a larger boat in the future. Hence, modularity doesn’t just mean simplicity, it also means adaptability and cost-efficiency.

Do jet ski drive-on docks have any technical restrictions?

Jet ski drive-on docks can be either monobloc or modular. For a single jet ski, we recommend monobloc drive-on docks, whose stability and ease of use are unrivalled. To park several jet skis in a row, one behind the other, we recommend multiport solutions consisting of an assembly of cubes and support elements, like a boat drive-on dock.

How can you choose the right drive-on dock?

While the choice is straightforward for jet skis, boat drive-on docks are trickier. Drive-on docks are generally composed of floating cubes, one entry support element (with or without rollers), multiple central support elements (with or without rollers), and possibly a bow support element. The dock needs to fit the length of the boat. Although inexpensive overall, the price can vary according to its complexity and comfort. Here are a few key technical factors: 

• The roller on the entry support, despite being essential, is rarely present on the drive-on docks found on the market. It makes leaving the water easier and greatly reduces friction when loading onto the dock.
• Rollers on the central supports are less common. The number of rollers significantly influences the durability of your dock and how well your boat’s hull is protected. Also, the more rolls your dock has, the more comfortable you’ll find it to use.

• Boatlifts are not strictly speaking drive-on docks. A boatlift is a mechanical system that lifts the boat out of the water, greatly reducing friction on the hull. Boatlifts are also suitable for large boats. However, they cost around €20,000, which is much more than a modular boat drive-on dock.

Note that few brands offer drive-on docks with one or more rollers on every support element. Also, some brands offer drive-on docks with a central junction. These junctions create friction on the boat hull and should be avoided wherever possible.

How much does a boat or jet ski drive-on dock cost?

The price of a drive-on dock or launching system varies depending on its size, the quality of its materials, and the number of rollers.

Drive-on docks with a single roller on the entry support element can already be found at prices ranging from €3,000. For boat drive-on docks with a high number of rollers on both the entry support and the central supports, prices can range up to €8,000. Finally, for a high-quality boatlift, you should expect to pay more than €20,000.

Do drive-on docks require maintenance?

As explained at the beginning of this article, your drive-on dock helps to protect your boat or jet ski. It does this by absorbing the damage caused by time in the place of your vessel. Because of this, you should bear in mind that it also needs maintenance. However – and this is the whole point – drive-on docks have two big advantages over maintaining your boat:

• The modularity of floating cube drive-on docks makes handling, assembling, and disassembling the dock for maintenance much easier than doing the same for your boat.
• Drive-on docks don’t need the same treatment as your boat. For example, an antifouling coating is not required. Maintaining your drive-on dock is therefore much less expensive than maintaining your boat.

Are they easy to assemble/disassemble?

If your drive-on dock is modular, the answer is yes! Since it consists of lightweight and easy-to-handle cubes and support elements, it is easy to install. Additionally, drive-on docks often come with an instruction manual.

If your drive-on dock is not modular or only partly modular, for example because it is mounted on 3-metre pontoon sections, the answer is less straightforward.

Jet ski drive-on docks are even easier, as they are monobloc, meaning that they require almost no assembly. They are also compact and easy to maintain, despite their weight of 200 kg.

You’re welcome to reread our article on assembly for more information.

What anchors or accessories should you choose for your drive-on dock?

Mooring your boat or jet ski drive-on dock is essential. There are various ways to do this, such as solutions for port pontoons, mooring rings, driven piles, or concrete docks.

The same is true for drive-on dock accessories like mooring cleats or winches, which can further increase the comfort of use. Ask your distributor for more information. They’ll know how to guide you.

Want to find out more?

You can also read our other articles on pontoons or moorings.