Zing
Well-Known Member
I own a stretch of river and would like to build a pontoon berth on one shore. The pontoon will need to rise and fall a couple of metres. Has anyone done this or knows anything about how to do it? All tips welcome.
Building a pontoon berth
- Thread starter Zing
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Stemar
Well-Known Member
Is it going to have a substantial boat attached, or just for fishing or whatever and, maybe a little dinghy? If the latter, you could get away with anchoring it to the bank, but I reckon the former would need piles driven in.
Doing it properly, our club has a galvanised steel frame decked with garden decking timber and big polystyrene floats, but for cheap and cheerful, I reckon you'd get away with a timber structure and oil drums. An intermediate solution would be a modular system - google modular pontoons.
To get on to it at all states of the tide, the neatest solution I've seen is a staircase built so the sides pivot ashore and the pontoon end is on rollers, but the steps stay horizontal. A ramp needs to be quite long to be safe at low tide.
Doing it properly, our club has a galvanised steel frame decked with garden decking timber and big polystyrene floats, but for cheap and cheerful, I reckon you'd get away with a timber structure and oil drums. An intermediate solution would be a modular system - google modular pontoons.
To get on to it at all states of the tide, the neatest solution I've seen is a staircase built so the sides pivot ashore and the pontoon end is on rollers, but the steps stay horizontal. A ramp needs to be quite long to be safe at low tide.
Zing
Well-Known Member
It would be for a big heavy boat and to cope with high loads, so a proper job.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
I can't offer any advice except to check whether there are any legal restrictions on what you intend to do .
But it's an interesting project and I hope you will let is have photos of the finished result.
But it's an interesting project and I hope you will let is have photos of the finished result.
Bajansailor
Well-Known Member
Have a look at this site - ok, these folk are in the USA, but you could maybe build something similar yourselves.
Or even bring in a kit of aluminium parts - you can source the drums locally.
Floating Docks | Aluminum Gangways | RollingBarge.com
These folk are also in the USA, but they have kits of parts for building a dock in timber rather than aluminium -
Dock Builders Supply
Also in the USA, but maybe useful for getting some ideas for your dock?
Boat Docks - Dock Building Parts - Hardware - AMERICAN MUSCLE DOCKS
Or even bring in a kit of aluminium parts - you can source the drums locally.
Floating Docks | Aluminum Gangways | RollingBarge.com
These folk are also in the USA, but they have kits of parts for building a dock in timber rather than aluminium -
Dock Builders Supply
Also in the USA, but maybe useful for getting some ideas for your dock?
Boat Docks - Dock Building Parts - Hardware - AMERICAN MUSCLE DOCKS
Zing
Well-Known Member
American Muscle Docks. I like the sound of that one. Thanks for the suggestions.
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Two anchoring methods used here, straight struts with heavy wire diagonals in an X anchored into the strut foundations, or angled struts forming two triangles, the latter can have four bank anchorage points or two with the triangle reversed and two anchorage points on the bank. The very max. gradient of a ramp with a battened surface and a handrail is less than 1-2 so for 2m. rise and fall it might need to be at least 4m. long.
Lots of redundant pontoon frames about as marinas with public access replace them to kept ahead of elfin safety, also floats and timber decking, might be worth asking around. Fixing to anchors on the river bed is more difficult, and piling may be horribly expensive, all depends on what the frontage owner may permit.
Lots of redundant pontoon frames about as marinas with public access replace them to kept ahead of elfin safety, also floats and timber decking, might be worth asking around. Fixing to anchors on the river bed is more difficult, and piling may be horribly expensive, all depends on what the frontage owner may permit.
Lightwave395
Well-Known Member
Don't know what the budget is for this but there are occasionally S/H pontoons for sale, typically on apollo duck, sometimes ebay
Boats for sale UK, boats for sale, used boat sales, Commercial Vessels For Sale 15m x 3m Concrete Pontoon - Apollo Duck
Walcon finger pontoons, suffolk - Ad 101637
FLOATING PONTOONS (TWO) | in Silverknowes, Edinburgh | Gumtree
DRB Marine Services Limited. Tel: 01436 831 231/3
Worth checking local marinas too I think, not much use to you but for example my marina in Brittany has a car park area stacked with old pontoons now replaced with shiny new ones and doubtless an appropriate increase in marina fees next year
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rogerthebodger
Well-Known Member
I am in the process of building a jetty for my riverfront condo.
I would recommend a T jetty where the boat is moored inline with the flow of the river , This will put less strain on the structure.
Consider having a pile at each end or the T to tale the strain off the hinged section so a smaller bank attachment will be needed.
I am using some HDPE floats my structure 50mm square tube which will be galvanised then have wood decking planks attached.
The centre leg of the T should hinge on the bank and rest on the top of the T that will rise up and down controlled by the piles, the bridge should have wheels resting on the top or the T to take up the movement.
Zing
Well-Known Member
It would also have room for a couple of rental berths and standards will have to be up with the best. I am the frontager, so the only permissions needed will be from the authorities.
I notice from one of the links above that Walcon is an important supplier of new equipment. I will give them a call. I expect they will be able to advise.
That's a similar job. I also need to have the boat in-line with the river flow, but to have a side berth floating jetty with just a moving gangway to it. The bank is vertical, so I don't need a finger.
I wonder how the piles will be put in. A pile driving machine on a barge maybe?
rogerthebodger
Well-Known Member
It depends on what the bed of the river is made up from.
If its mainly mud you can get a pile to ing by using water pressure pipes around the pile to displace the mud and allow the pile to sink.
We did that with piles for a scrubbing posts at a club near me.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Have you thought about using a modular plastic system, such as Modular Floating Pontoon Systems - Airfloat MPS
There's one like that at Crinan, and although it is now very flexible indeed. it has been there for over thirty years now, which is pretty good going.
There's one like that at Crinan, and although it is now very flexible indeed. it has been there for over thirty years now, which is pretty good going.
Zing
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestion. I think this job needs something a bit more pucker. Safe for a granny and occassional high heels too.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
They're also used in Le Palais, Belle Isle, Brittany.
They get a tremendous amount of use, (and abuse!) but seem to stand up to it OK. They only problem is the lack of proper cleats to attach your lines to.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
The Crinan one had chunky plastic cleats as assembly bolt heads all round it, but they have all broken off over the years.
banger
Well-Known Member
Don't know if these people can help, just come across them while looking for something else, RAMarine Ltd
Yellow Ballad
Well-Known Member
Cardiff yacht club have these and you're forever getting a belt of static every time you get on and off your boat...
DownWest
Well-Known Member
Built a couple. One big one was a platform sitting on twelve 50 gal drums. Rise and fall was considerable over the season. This was contolled by the walkway, hinged to the platform and tied to the bank by a big stake. Latteral was two cables. As the level changed over the season, the stake was moved up or down. and the cables adjusted. Apart from mooring, it had a grunty irrigation pump mounted. Bit of land was on a big lake in Portugal, with no road access. Assembled the whole thing at a slipway and towed it to the site. Lots of helpers had to be fed and boozed 
