Marine construction on Hilton Head Island, SC
Docks, boat lifts, bulkheads, seawalls, riprap, and marsh crossings across the Hilton Head and Bluffton area — built for the Lowcountry tide, permitted properly, and detailed for salt water.
Building something
What we build and what we repair
Whether you are planning a new dock or dealing with one that has stopped working, it is the same crew, the same permitting knowledge, and the same water.
Construction & installation
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Dock Construction
New private docks built for Lowcountry tidal range — permitted, engineered for the mud you actually have, and detailed for salt water.
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Boat Lift Installation
Lifts sized to the boat, the tidal range, and what the existing dock structure can actually carry.
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Bulkhead & Seawall Construction
Shoreline stabilization built for tidal load — wall, tie-back system, and drainage designed together, because they fail together.
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Riprap Installation
Sloped stone revetment that absorbs wave energy rather than resisting it — often the better answer where a bank can be laid back.
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Retaining Wall Construction
Walls that hold grade behind the waterline, where drainage design decides whether the wall lasts or leans.
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Bridge Construction
Private bridges, marsh crossings, and elevated walkways that span wetland without disturbing it.
Repair & service
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Dock Repairs
Pilings, decking, framing, and hardware repaired in place — and a clear answer on which side of the permit line your job falls.
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Storm Damage Repair
Assessment and repair after hurricane surge, wind, or fallen limbs — from temporary stabilization through permitted rebuild.
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Boat Lift Repairs
Motor, cable, cradle, and piling repair for lifts that have stopped raising or lowering evenly.
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Boat Lift Service
Scheduled inspection and maintenance — cables, drums, gearboxes, and corrosion control before they become repairs.
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Bulkhead & Seawall Repairs
Tie-back failure and washout repair for walls holding back tidal creeks and sound frontage.
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Bridge Repairs
Pile, stringer, and decking repair on private crossings and elevated walkways over marsh.
Built for water that moves
A dock here works against a tidal range that empties the creek twice a day, brackish water that eats fasteners, and mud that decides on its own whether a piling can be driven or has to be jetted. Getting those three right is most of the job, and none of them can be judged from a catalogue.
What failure actually looks likeIs a permit required to build or repair a dock in South Carolina?
Usually, yes — and it is our job, not yours. New construction goes through SCDES Critical Area review and federal authorization before a piling is set, while most in-kind repair to an existing, legally permitted dock does not. We work out which side of that line your project falls on, prepare the drawings, and carry the application through.
Read the SC dock permit guideWhere we work
Across Hilton Head Island and over the bridge through Bluffton and the May River. Water and paperwork both change from one address to the next, and each of them changes what your project takes.
The first is the water. Broad Creek and Calibogue Sound frontage carries wave and wake load an interior lagoon never sees. Windmill Harbour and Wexford sit behind locks at a controlled level, so a dock can be built to a fixed waterline. On the May River, mud depth can change across a single dock's own run and decide how the pilings go in.
The second is who has to approve the work. Most of these communities run their own property owners' association (POA) or architectural review board (ARB) approval on top of state and federal permitting, and each one wants drawings in its own format on its own calendar. We handle those submissions, and knowing the sequence before anything is filed is the difference between a season and a year.
Hilton Head Island
- Windmill Harbour
- Sea Pines
- Long Cove
- Wexford
- Palmetto Bay
- Hilton Head Plantationon request
- Port Royal Plantationon request
- Shipyardon request
- Indigo Runon request
- Spanish Wellson request
- Leamingtonon request
Bluffton & the May River
- Palmetto Bluffon request
- Colleton Riveron request
- Belfairon request
- Berkeley Hallon request
- Rose Hillon request
- Old Town Blufftonon request
- Hampton Hallon request
- Okatieon request
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a dock on Hilton Head Island?
Most of the timeline is permitting, not construction. A new private dock needs SCDES Critical Area review and federal authorization before any piling is set, and inside a gated community it also needs POA or ARB approval. Build time runs in weeks; approval runs in months.
Do I need a permit to repair my dock in South Carolina?
Most in-kind repair to an existing, legally permitted or grandfathered dock does not require a new SCDES permit — the standard is that the structure stays generally intact and functional and the work stays within its original dimensions. Once repair crosses into reconstruction or changes the footprint, a general or individual permit applies instead.
How long does dock repair take on Hilton Head Island?
Repair timelines vary with damage scope, tide windows for barge and equipment access, and — for anything beyond in-kind repair — SCDES review time. A site visit is what turns that into a real schedule for a specific dock.
What causes dock pilings to fail?
Gribble (Limnoria) and Teredo shipworm feed on submerged wood, while the daily wet-dry tidal cycle works fasteners loose over years. Most failures start below the mudline, where they are hardest to see from the deck.
Do you serve gated communities like Sea Pines or Wexford?
Yes. That includes preparing and carrying the property owners' association (POA) and architectural review board (ARB) submissions those communities require before work can begin.
Do you build new docks as well as repair existing ones?
Yes. The work divides into construction and installation — docks, boat lifts, bulkheads, retaining walls, riprap, and marsh crossings — and repair and service on all of the same structures. Most owners meet us through one and come back for the other.
Start a project
Tell us what you are building or what has failed. Five details, and we take it from there.