Floating pontoons

[Duster]

We have just aquired a holiday home on the shore of a W Scotland sea loch (sod the pension fund). It has a mooring but as my wife does not like using the dingy, I would like to build a walkway/floating pontoon to more up to in calm weather, the location is very sheltered and our boat weighs just under 3 tons.Does anyone have experiance of constructing and secureing anything similar please? Cost is quite important.
Regards mikej

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[foxgoose]

mikej

I put one in last year for a 3 ton boat in Devon.

Several companies make standard pontoons around 8-10m long, 1.5-2m wide using steel or aluminium frames with foam cored concrete floats. Typical cost around £ 2K. If it has to take the ground you'll need grounding frames on the floats.

Look at websites for Walcon, Solent Marine or Intermarine.

The bridge is trickier. You can get a standard light weight aluminium one from these firms for around £ 3K but if it has to help hold the pontoon in heavy wind or tide conditions it may not be strong enough (depending on the span of course).

Chains, anchors and installation costs will probably add another £3-5K , but you will have problems getting these firms interested in installing if the site access is poor (particularly when you're so far from the South coast).

Because I needed a long/strong bridge and had very poor site access (the whole thing had to be floated in by barge) I found a local marine engineering co. who did the whole thing as a one-off design in steel for around £12K

Hope this helps - good luck!

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[byron]

<font color=blue>Not as smart as already shown here but effective for light conditions. Polystyrene blocks inside a wood frame. Alternatively loads of gallon plastic cans inside a wood frame.

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[jleaworthy]

Built one 30 feet by 8 feet from heavy timber (9"x2") secured by large galvanised brackets and coach bolts and used blue 40 gall plastic barrels for flotation - cheap and effective - under securely fastened decking. If you do not have too much rise and fall of tide (and on the west coast of Scotland this can be as little as two metres) the pontoon can be secured by a chain and anchor from each corner. Access to the pontoon can then be via a bridge with wheels bearing on the pontoon or, as it's in a well sheltered spot, by a 'walkashore' constructed of lightweight pontoons secured end to end. When I built the pontoon about ten years ago cost was under £2000 with the added advantage of assembly on site.

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[adarcy]

Re: As a matter of interest

Foxgoose

although it does not directly apply to me - no waterside property let alone any suitable water depth sob sob)

Do you need planning permission fo the bridge as well as for the pontoon?

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[Solitaire]

Have a look at www.westmarine.com In the 2003 catalogue you can buy self assembly docks. They call it The Dock-In-A-Box. Its page 631 in the catalogue, but suggest you check the web site for codes- 1184936, 1184829 1184985. You will also need to look at codes 140264, 542969 and 305724 - these are the floatation drums. The prices seem reasonable, but of course you should bear in mind the shipping charges. The dock prices are $139.99 and the flotation drums vary between $94.99 to $129.99 depending on the amount of flotation you want. Compared with some of the other costs indicated, this would seem to be a fair solution - at least worth looking at!

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[jmp]

DEAR MIKE,
RGP JMP'S YOUNGEST WRITING TO YOU.
I CAN SHOW YOU DIY EXAMPLES OF BARREL AND CONCRETE KEEL CONSTRUCTIONS. IN MY OPINION THE KEEL CONSTRUCTION IS THE SUPERIOR AND THE CHEAPEST. IT DOES HOWEVER TAKE LONGER TO COSTRUCT. tO BUILD IT YOU NEED:
20FT STEAM PIPE 90CM OD £55
2* WOOD SIDE SUPPORTS 30
PLANKING 65
ANGLE IRON + 5MM PLATE 50
GALINSSED ANGLE 60
FLOATS 20
OTHER 100

TOTAL COST £375

THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION BUT IF YOU WISH TO DISSCUSS IT I'LL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU MAKE ONE.

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[Bejasus]

Didn't mtb do this recently? Over to you Mick.

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[byron]

<font color=blue>They sell them here too about £120 per square metre. They are good but awfully expensive when the all add up.

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[foxgoose]

Re: As a matter of interest

adarcy

Strictly speaking you need planning permission for everything fixed on land or water, but most harbours have a convention where local council planners deal with everything above the HW mark and harbour authorities licence everything that floats.

For a pontoon with a bridge you therefore need planning permission for the bridge (if fixed to the shore) and a mooring licence for the pontoon.

Thats what I had to have anyway.



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[mtb]

Yes I did and I'l be making another one soon.
Re costs I got the barrels for a fiver but then had the cost collecting em , after that all the steel was out of my scrap pile so no costs there.
The way I made them means that the pontoon can take the ground with out a problem , it is ten x 6 very stable even with two standing on one side .
As for any thing else it depends on the actual circumstances of your mooring.
I would not make it out of timber, just the decking covered with chicken wire.
Any way you can see how I made it on my web site.
cheers
Mick


<hr width=100% size=1>smile you'l be on your boat soon ;-)
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/>http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/</A>

 

[ulava]

get in touch with your local fish farm , they will provide walkways etc all floating
in fact iknow where some are for sale.or why not visit plockton and have alook atthe pontoon here all made from old cages

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by annan on 21/04/2003 13:39 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Will]

Most marinas will have old pontoons no longer in use - these are distributed around the other marinas where necessary but somebody somewhere always ends up with a pile of them being unused. Might be worth giving Yacht Haven, MDL, Premier etc a try.

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[Duster]

Hello Mike
Thanks for the advice and offer of help, I should have remembered that you had something similar to what I need , I will be in touch as soon as work calms down a bit .Hope you are taking advantage of this early spring.
Regards mike

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[Duster]

Thanks to one and all for the wide range of practical solutions. As my toy fund is now somewhat depleted , I will either go for a "self build on site" or buy a used one from a local fish farm or marina .This has the added apeal of towing it into place by boat , a wonderfull photo opportunity accompanied by shouts of " you forgot to untie your boat mister!!" ( The Romford Navy is alive and well!!)

Reagards mikej

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