Patent ID: 8292547

Claim:
A floating dock system, the floating dock system comprising: at least two dock sections, each of said dock sections comprising an upper panel and a lower panel, the upper and lower panels secured to one another, the upper panel comprising a substantially planar body having a top, a bottom and at least three edges, the top of the upper panel having an outside perimeter greater than the outside perimeter of bottom of the upper panel such that the upper panel has a lip extending around the perimeter of its top; the lower panel comprising a substantially planar body having a top, a bottom, and at least three edges, the top of the lower panel having an outside perimeter less than the outside perimeter of the bottom of the lower panel such that the lower panel has a lip extending around the perimeter of its bottom; said dock sections comprising substantially horizontal slots along at least one edge, said slots comprising a top edge formed by the lip extending around the perimeter of the upper panel; a bottom edge formed by the lip extending around the perimeter of the lower panel, and an intermediate area between the edges, the intermediate area configured such that the edge of the bottom dock panel forms more of the intermediate portion of the slot than the edge of the top panel; and at least one buoyant coupling member configured to engage the horizontal slot in at least two dock sections, the coupling member having a face that makes greater contact with the bottom panel than with the top panel; a plurality of holes in the perimeter of the top panel configured to allow insertion of a fastener through the holes into the coupling member so as to retain the coupling member in the slot; the plurality of holes extending from the upper surface of the top panel through the top panel and into the buoyant coupling member; whereby the at least two dock sections are retained together by the at least one coupling member inserted into the slot of each dock section, the coupling member further retained by a fastener inserted through the holes in the top panel of each dock section and into the coupling member.