FAB Dock Dry Dock Solution - Anyone know about them?

I used to have a Hydrohoist many years ago and it was just like having two boats to take care of with winter hauling, cleaning and bottom painting. I couldn't imagine trying to store or clean this thing after a full summers buildup.
 
Pat @ FAB Dock said:
Hi guys,

This is Pat. I work for FAB Dock in the US. The product has been built and installed under more than 500 boats in 11 countries over the past 9+ years so not a new or unproven product by any means, just more of a new concept to boaters here in North America. There are now approx. 50 FAB Docks under boats here in the US with more going in every day. Just sold three more on Wednesday and Thursday. I can clear up some of the questions..................


1) The FAB Dock is a true water level dry dock. Once you pull the boat in, close the rear gate, and pump all the water out from the inside your boat is dry............no water left behind touching the hull or running gear. There is an 8" deep pump box that creates a sump built into the hull protection membrane below the boat. When the FAB Dock is pumped dry the only water left is at the very bottom of the 12" x 8" sump at the pump box floor and that is 8" below the hull

2) It does completely eliminate growth on the bottom of the boat. Again, unlike some other similar looking products the FAB Dock gets pumped completely dry, it's not just capturing water inside that the boat floats in that could allow osmosis to occur. Because of this you do not need any bottom paint at all. Plenty of fresh gel coated hulls in FAB Docks that are just as nice as they day they left the factory.

3) Pricing is based on size and style. We make FAB Docks in two ways. We make a universal range of FAB Docks for conventional V hull outboard and stern drive boats from 18 to 45 feet long. For everything else we will make a custom built FAB Dock specific to that boat. This includes shaft and rudder boats, pod drive boats, anything with a multi hull, and anything larger than 45 feet long or 13 ft wide. We are actually doing a custom now for a 34 SeaRay Sundancer with shafts and rudders in Florida.

4) Your AC can be used in a FAB Dock with a bit of ingenuity. Actually another SeaRay FAB Dock customer in Hilton Head SC came up with this solution...........he installed a Y selector ball valve into the AC water pick up hose in the engine bay. He then put a length of hose onto that with a one way check valve (to maintain a prime) and an inlet screen at the end of the hose. When his boat is inside the FAB Dock he switches the Y valve to select the remote pickup hose, drops that hose over the side of the FAB Dock to the outside water, and he is good to go running his AC.

5) It is true that you do have to drive bow first into a FAB Dock. We do not yet have one that will allow backing into the slip. Because the FAB Dock is not reliant on the dock for power and just ties up to the dock like the boat you can move both around as a unit once the boat is inside. We have a couple customers that do that for big center console tenders used with mega yachts. Obviously I don't see your average guy pulling into the FAB Dock then untying it and spinning the whole thing around every time he's using it but it is possible.

6) The FAB Dock is tied to the slip with lines in the same manner that the boat ties to the slip. When you are away from the slip the majority of the FAB Dock is under water so it doesn't not swing or fly around. When you return to the slip you are looking at the opening at the rear of the FAB Dock that is slightly wider than your boat. One of the best features of the FAB Dock is the ease of docking that it provides. There’s not MORE to do when docking, there’s LESS to do and worry about. You no longer have to hang a bunch of conventional fenders from the boat or have extra people fending off to avoid unintentional contact with the dock. The perimeter of the FAB Dock is a 12" diameter polyurethane tube filled to 25 kpa air pressure. Just aim the bow of the boat in between the opening at the back of the FAB Dock, and nudge forward to glide in. If you have a cross wind or current it’s not a problem as you can come into the FAB Dock at an angle and bounce your way in with no damage to the boat or FAB Dock. You always have 360 degree fenders at your dock ready to protect your boat.

7) Yes, FAB Docks are custom built for shaft and rudder boats with heavily reinforced pockets built into the hull membrane that encapsulate and protect everything below the water line.

8) Unlike the chlorine concerns mentioned in relation to the other product, FAB Dock has actually been adopted by the state of CA as an environmental solution to help keep waterways cleaner by reducing the use of anti-fouling bottom paint. The state has a FAB Dock in place under a boat in Marine Delray that they’ve been testing since the summer of 2018. They love it and just ordered another FAB Dock in March.


Anyway, not trying to create a sales pitch. Just wanted to clear up some mis-information and answer some questions. If you have any other questions I’d be happy to answer them.

Thanks, Pat
pat@fabdock.com
Click to expand...

Hi Pat, yeah have checked into the Fab Dock pretty well after weeks of trying to find a floating lift that would handle my twin V drives as marina will not allow elevator lifts. The market as far as I can tell does not really have a option for me other then the Fab Dock (unless someone can correct me)

Have tried to find a US dealer list but have not been able to fine one. As I live in Virginia would like to find one close by, do you know how to get the dealer list as corporate has been a bit slow to respond.
 
Hi,
To help with some of the questions around Fabdock -
I'm not affiliated or sponsored by Fabdock, just my thoughts.
There are plenty of boats with stern drives using fabdock in Australia. The hull is completely dry, there is no water left in the bottom once it is pumped out. The bilge pumps are in a pocket at the lowest point in the Fabdock. It waits for water to slowly drop into that pocket and then pumps it out. We just had 700mm of rainfall in three days here in Queensland, the Fabdock was empty the whole time. Very impressive.
Hope that helps?
 
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As an actual Fab Dock owner in the United States, I want to stress to anyone reviewing this thread to STAY AWAY FROM FAB DOCK. This product, and especially support for it, is total garbage. Do not waste your time or money looking into this product. I could go on for hours about all the problems I have run into, but in short my fab dock lasted 1 season. After that, 2 years of failures to repair it, where it continued to develop more and more leaks. Its totally worthless. I know there are lots of other owners with problems with their fab docks, and bigger problems trying to resolve them.
Pat who responded previously no longer works for Fab Dock, probably because of their customer support. I worked with him a lot during those 2 years trying to repair the fab dock, he was the only one who actually made an effort to get me progress. He sent it for final repairs and left the company before it was ever tested for service again, where finally massive leaking was found across the entire fab dock, including its seams, rending it totally useless.
 
That’s a shame you had to experience that, no excuse for shabby products. Let me offer a high tech solution that works for me…

B48D7D90-F0A5-42B2-A3A1-23D4C81B641C.jpeg
 
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