Eight Things Worth Knowing
What the Permit Process Actually Looks Like
Not the rules — the process. Timelines, what each route involves, where projects lose a season, and the five mistakes that cost people most.
How Long Each Permit Route Takes
The statutory deadlines rather than “months, not weeks”: why the seasonal route has no clock at all, what restarts the clock on a full application, and the permit by default nobody mentions.
Seasonal vs. Permanent Docks
Why the more substantial dock is frequently the wrong one, what the 1,000-acre rule means for you, and how to read your own frontage.
Ice Damage: Repair or Replace
What pressing ice does versus moving ice, how to tell which you have, and the regulatory question that should come before the engineering one.
What a Dock Costs in New Hampshire
Per-square-foot bands by type, decking and accessory pricing, what access does to a number, and the costs that sit outside the quote.
Preparing Your Dock for Winter
The single highest-value thing a waterfront owner does all year, and why the date matters more than anything you actually do on it.
Crib, Pile or Floating
Why open pile is the standard permanent dock by rule, why a crib is an exception you have to evidence, and why a floating dock is a seasonal dock rather than a third option.
Island Dock Service on Winnipesaukee
Barge access, weather-governed scheduling, and what changes when the dock is not an amenity but the only way onto the property.
Dock Hardware That Survives
Hot-dip galvanized or stainless and nothing else in treated lumber, why soft lake water is hard on zinc, and why the waterline is a permitting line for hardware work.
Or Work It Out Directly
Permit Wizard
Eight questions, and a plain answer on which NHDES route your project likely falls under.
Dock Cost Configurator
Build the dock you are considering and get a realistic installed range.
NH Dock Permits Reference
The rules themselves, with thresholds and citations.
Ice-Out History
Winnipesaukee ice-out dates by year, and what the spread means for scheduling.