Waterfront Projects Done Right
Trent Hollis · July 13, 2026
I’ve spent two decades building and repairing docks along the Gulf Coast, and I can tell you this: snakes at the dock Gulf Coast how to keep away is one of the most searched topics among waterfront property owners — and also one of the most misunderstood. Most folks I meet either panic at every … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 12, 2026
Three years ago, I pulled apart a dock I’d originally built in 2019 — right on the edge of Perdido Bay, Alabama. I built one section with composite decking, one with #1 grade pressure treated southern yellow pine, and one with ipe hardwood. All three sections sat in the same salt air, took the same … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 12, 2026
I was working a rescue assist off Perdido Key about twelve years ago when a recreational boater fell off his swim platform. His buddy onboard panicked and grabbed the only line they had — a stiff, tangled monofilament mess that couldn’t form a usable loop to save his life. Literally. That moment burned into my … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 11, 2026
If you want to know how to tie a clove hitch boat-side, on a piling, or across a deck rail, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve tied this knot thousands of times — in dead-calm mornings and in squalls that had no business rolling in that fast. The clove hitch is one of those … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 11, 2026
If you’ve ever walked a marina after a storm and seen the gelcoat smeared across a dock piling, you already understand why the mooring whips vs fenders boat protection debate matters so much. I’ve spent twenty years on the Gulf Coast building and repairing docks, and I can tell you — most hull damage I’ve … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 10, 2026
I’ve tied thousands of knots on docks, boats, and trailers up and down the Gulf Coast over the past twenty years. However, one knot keeps coming back to me whenever I need to secure something heavy, fast, and without question — the trucker’s hitch knot boat tie down setup. Most recreational boaters have never heard … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 10, 2026
Three days after Hurricane Ian tore through Southwest Florida, I stood on a barge 200 yards offshore watching a vibratory pile hammer sink a 50-foot treated timber piling into the Gulf bottom in under six minutes. The sound was something between a dental drill and a jackhammer—a relentless, bone-rattling hum that traveled through the water … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 9, 2026
The day I met Gary, he was standing at the end of a freshly built dock — one he’d paid $18,000 for — looking like someone had just punched him in the stomach. His neighbor had called the county. Turns out, Gary had built that dock without understanding his riparian rights waterfront property boundaries. Half … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 9, 2026
I was working a dock repair job down in Pensacola about twelve years ago when a newer boater waved me over in a panic. His 24-foot center console had slipped its cleat because the rope end fed right back through the block. No stopper knot. The boat drifted six feet into a neighboring slip and … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 8, 2026
The first time I tackled a DIY boat canopy dock build from scratch, I made every mistake in the book. Wrong frame material, undersized connectors, and a cover that lasted exactly one Gulf Coast storm season before it shredded like paper. That was 2006, and I’ve been refining the process ever since — both professionally … Read more