Waterfront Projects Done Right
Trent Hollis Trent Hollis · July 2, 2026
Every boater knows the feeling when it arrives. Your dock line has cinched itself into a stranglehold against the load, the cleat is buried under tension, and you face an impossible choice: release the load and watch something break, or cut through a perfectly serviceable rope. Working Gulf Coast moorings for two decades has put … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 2, 2026
Right now, I’m kneeling over a section of decking where the boards have cupped so badly they’re holding standing water — a telltale sign that the fastening pattern wasn’t tight enough when they went down, and UV exposure has warped what’s underneath. My neighbor’s dock had been like this for two seasons. He’d called three … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 1, 2026
A contractor I know charges $12,000 to replace fasteners on a neglected 40-foot dock. A Saturday afternoon with the right hardware costs maybe $300. The gap isn’t about labor — it’s about what happens when you buy the wrong fasteners and let them sit in saltwater for three years. I once dismantled a dock section … Read more
Trent Hollis · July 1, 2026
Plenty of waterfront owners assume that any knot you throw will work just fine — weight it, tie it, toss it, problem solved. That assumption costs them money and occasionally costs them boats. A poorly constructed heaving line doesn’t just miss its target; it can come apart mid-throw, leaving you with a useless pile of … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 30, 2026
Mixing metals underwater will corrode your fasteners in months, not years — and that’s just the beginning of what goes wrong when boat owners rush the lift selection. Over two decades pulling apart failed systems, I’ve seen owners choose based on what fits the slip or what their buddy owns, skip the weight calculations entirely, … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 30, 2026
Walk out to a dock that’s been neglected for a couple of seasons, and you’ll see the difference between a knot that was tied properly and one that wasn’t. The failed connections—the ones where fishing line parted under load, where people lost fish they should’ve landed—those stand out. They’re the reason I’m writing this. If … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 29, 2026
Out on a job near Gulf Shores, I got called back to a property where the homeowner had installed a kayak rack two seasons prior. The structure looked solid enough at first glance — pressure-treated lumber frame, galvanized bolts, foam cradles. But when I ran my hand across one of the posts, the wood was … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 29, 2026
Two decades of Gulf Coast dock work means I’ve watched countless beautiful installations go up—custom decking, built-in seating, underwater lighting—and I can count on one hand how many had safety equipment staged where it actually belonged. A near-tragedy on a Pensacola Bay renovation back in 2011 was the wake-up call that fundamentally shifted how I … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 28, 2026
The bilge hatch is the first thing I check when stepping aboard any vessel — before I look at the engine, before I inspect the rails, before anything else. What I find in those first five seconds tells me more about an owner’s maintenance habits than a full conversation ever could. Back in the summer … Read more
Trent Hollis · June 28, 2026
Most waterfront property owners don’t realize that adding a pergola over a dock triggers federal permitting before you ever touch a local building inspector. That’s the mistake that cost one Pensacola Bay homeowner everything. He’d already poured footings, ordered lumber, and framed out a beautiful overhead structure without filing a single piece of paperwork with … Read more