Pontoons

We work in steel and concrete to produce pontoons that best suit the specific requirements of any given project. Here you will find information on our three core products, the DockMaster concrete pontoon, tubular steel pontoons and box steel pontoons.

Dockmaster Pontoon

Built using pre-cast concrete sections providing a quaility finish and the ability for on site assembly; pontoons from 2 Metre to over 20 Metres in width providing a versatile marine docking solution.  DockMaster is a patented product exclusive to Marine Designs, and can offer a number of advantages over traditional pontoons.

Key Features of the DockMaster pontoon:

• The pontoons satisfy the requirements of BS 6349 Pt 1 to provide a design life of 50 years in a marine environment. Minimum concrete cover to steel reinforcement is 50mm
• Each hinge 130 tonne break strength (on the 6 metre wide DockMaster)
• The DockMaster design concept can be scaled up to suit any width requirement e.g. 20 metres as shown in the example over leaf

• Variable Freeboard range from 0.3 metre to 2.5 metre

• 4 tonne vehicle drive-on capability as standard

• Top entry service channels of up to 1m width, down each side of the pontoons

• Integral mooring tubes with flared underwater entry
• 5 to 10 tonne bollards as standard, higher capacities available on request
• Seaflex type moorings terminated out of sight inside mooring bollards.
• High quality smooth or patterned precast deck finishes available as well as wood fibreglass etc
• Non magnetic signature (passed for use as berths for Naval Minesweepers as seen in picture above)
• Made from Ecocrete, utilising pre mined aggregates

Box Steel Pontoon

We have a unique design of box steel construction pontoon, built to Lloyds Linkspan Rules, the highest standard of floating pier design accreditation. It is designed in a novel way as it does not have any water tight bulkheads or through space ventilation. Instead the interior is one large void with most of the area taken up by large expanded polystyrene blocks. This enables the pontoon to float safely if ever the hull is breached.

The design has been used on two piers on the river Thames in London at Tate Millbank and at The Royal Arsenal in Woolwich and is presently in the design stage for a Roll On Roll Off ferry terminal.

Tubular Steel Pontoon

We have designed, built and installed more tubular steel pontoons than any other company in the UK, with the first being used by a 2,000 tonne barge in London in 1994.

The largest built to date and as far as we know the largest one piece tubular steel pontoon in the world is moored outside the O2 arena in Greenwich UK.

For more pictures see the Project Portfolio page.

Brow and Bridge Access

Like an entrance to a prestigious building, bridges and brows to pontoons provide the first impression to a marine facility, but they also have to be functional and meet stringent safety requirements.

We have worked on landmark projects to design and manufacture an extensive range of bridges and brows for a variety of applications. We can work with you to produce the best access arrangement to your pontoon project and link this with the floating structure and it’s anchoring characteristics to create the best performance and results.