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The cantilever dock is built in the same way as an overhanging apartment building balcony: its frame rests on a fulcrum point on the shore, then stretches out over the water. As a general rule, you must calculate two metres of onshore dock for each metre over the water. This ratio may vary, however, depending on several elements, such as the strength of the shore tagging and the load-bearing capacity of the materials. If you must build a relatively long dock, the slope of the shore that will support the dock must be rather low. Although cantilever docks encroach considerably on the shore, they do a good job of conserving fish habitat because they don't touch the aquatic environment. However, these docks are not suited to locations where there are considerable variations in water level.
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