Outbuilding

House → Dock

Getting Internet From Your House to Your Dock or Boathouse

Shoreline Wi-Fi for the boat, the dock cam, and anyone actually fishing rather than scrolling.

Getting Wi-Fi to a dock or boathouse is a mix of challenges: often 100–400 ft from the house, direct line of sight over water (great for Wi-Fi!), but every bit of gear has to handle humidity, salt spray, and occasional direct weather.

The install is typically a point-to-point link from the house to a post or building at the waterfront, then an outdoor-rated AP mounted at the dock to cover the dock itself and the first few boat lengths out.

If the 'dock' is really a boathouse with four walls and a roof, treat it like a detached garage — run ethernet in conduit along with the electrical and mount a weatherproof AP inside.

What you'll typically use it for

  • Boat GPS and chartplotter backup downloads
  • Dock camera (theft deterrent, wildlife)
  • Streaming music on dock speakers
  • Smart dock lighting
  • Remote marine battery monitoring

What to think about

  • Salt water destroys aluminum brackets and standard steel connectors — use stainless or marine-grade
  • Mount radios high enough that wake from a large boat doesn't spray them
  • Wi-Fi over water actually works very well — line of sight is usually perfect
  • Lightning risk on a waterfront is higher than normal — surge protect aggressively

Best solutions for this scenario

Ranked by typical best-fit for this kind of building and distance.

  1. 1
    Point-to-Point Wireless Bridge
    A pair of directional radios, one on each building. The default answer for distances where running a cable is impractical.
  2. 2
    Outdoor Wi-Fi Access Point
    Weatherproof access points for coverage outside a building — pastures, driveways, pool decks.

Gear commonly recommended here

Affiliate disclosure. As an Amazon Associate, Outbuilding Internet earns from qualifying purchases. Product links in this guide may earn us a commission — at no extra cost to you.
UbiquitiPtp Radio~$240

Ubiquiti NanoBeam 5AC Gen2 (NBE-5AC-Gen2), 2-Pack

Step up when you need more reach or cleaner signal.

Dish-style airMAX radio with 19 dBi gain and a dedicated management radio. Noticeably better throughput and stability than the Loco at longer distances or in noisy RF environments. Same configuration workflow as the NanoStation.

Best for: Runs from 500 ft to ~3 miles, or anywhere with heavy Wi-Fi interference.

  • Higher gain = more margin for rain/foliage
  • Dedicated management radio
  • Gigabit PoE port
  • More expensive per pair
  • Narrower beam — aiming matters more
Band
5 GHz
Gain
19 dBi
Range
Up to ~15 km
PoE
24V passive (included)
Check on Amazon
TP-LinkWifi Ap~$130

TP-Link Omada EAP610-Outdoor Wi-Fi 6 AP

Weatherproof AP for outdoor barn / pasture Wi-Fi.

IP68-rated outdoor Wi-Fi 6 AP. Use this if you need coverage in and around the barn — paddock, riding ring, driveway. Omada controller (cloud or self-hosted) or standalone. Works fine alongside UniFi gear on the network, just managed separately.

Best for: Outdoor Wi-Fi coverage outside the destination building.

  • IP68 outdoor rated
  • Wi-Fi 6 AX1800
  • PoE powered
  • Managed separately from UniFi gear
  • PoE injector usually separate
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (AX1800)
PoE
802.3at
Rating
IP68
Check on Amazon
TupavcoSurge~$35

Tupavco TP302 Ethernet Surge Protector (2-Pack)

Cheap insurance against lightning frying your radio and router.

Install one of these on each end of any outdoor cable run, grounded to your building's ground system. Does not stop a direct strike, but eats the induced surges that are much more common. 2-pack covers a single PtP install.

Best for: Any outdoor radio. Non-negotiable for rural lightning-prone areas.

  • Gigabit + PoE++
  • 2-pack covers both ends
  • Mounting flange + ground lug
  • Only works if properly grounded
Check on Amazon