Concrete Pontoon

Our company offers a wide and versatile range of concrete pontoons. Pontoon widths range between 2, 4 and 10 meters. Freeboards range from 50 cm to 100 cm. Almost without exception any length can be custom made, any angle can be manufactured and any configuration can be built. Utility ducts can be customized to any need, large or small. Our concrete pontoons have a low center of gravity, which allows for installations also where swells and waves are predicted to be somewhat more severe.

Thick cover layers of strong, high-quality concrete protect the reinforcement, delivering the longest lifetime of all steel-reinforced concrete pontoons on the market today. Concrete pontoons will deliver an aesthetic, clean, uncluttered and safe mooring for all marina guests in all weathers.

All concrete marina pontoons are fitted with a pressure treated wood fender bolted onto the concrete body using marine grade stainless steel bolts into stainless females, adding 250 mm of width to the concrete width of the pontoons.

Anchoring points for any concrete pontoon can be either eyes or anchoring wells when chain/rope and anchor is to be used for anchoring. If pile anchoring is to be used, cast in tracks for attachment of pile guides alternatively internal pile guide recesses are cast in.

Stainless steel females can easily be cast in for any auxiliary equipment such as flag posts, safety equipment or bollards.

In many cases the concrete pontoons are decked with various materials ranging from exotic wood to plastic composites.

All pontoons are solidly reinforced and we have proven solutions to solve most challenges presented in terms of odd angles, centre links, specially requested wood decking or specific requirements for utility wells and cleats. With such a high level of customization available, the pontoon is quite unique.

Depending on the situation and the desired function, it is important to choose the correct type of anchor wells and mooring-rings.

Breakwater

The foundation for a safe port

A breakwater is a protection for a harbour. It may be subjected to excessive force when any storm or hurricane strikes a port. Our floating breakwaters have been tested live and in full scale by a hundred years of storms, hurricanes and typhoons. Since the first floating breakwater was installed almost 40 years ago from SF Marina, many others floating breakwater have been installed in a wide variety of sites often exposed to adverse conditions, in all climate zones and extreme locations. Our floating breakwater range has been severely tested, and from these occasions we study, learn and improve our technology. Each breakwater is unique and therefore each pontoon is custom built only after the client has approved the drawing, called a “shop drawing”, which means that our customers get their pontoons built according to their specifications.

Why Breakwaters

It is with great pride that we present our current breakwater range. It is the sum of all experience we have gathered from the first breakwater installation. Our confidence in our breakwaters comes from knowing that our floating breakwater range has and is being tested every day and from these occasions we study, learn and improve our technology.

Our floating breakwaters been tested to the very limits by bespoke storms, hurricanes and typhoons in all parts of the world. Since the first floating breakwater was installed almost 40 years ago from SF Marina,  many others floating breakwater have been installed in a wide variety of sites exposed to harsh conditions, in deep and shallow waters and in all climate zones imaginable.

Our company delivers a complete range of floating concrete breakwaters with widths from 3 meters to 10 meters. Our design team will assist you in designing the correct breakwater configuration for your location as well as engineering a reliable and cost efficient anchoring plan for your breakwater.

Our breakwaters are designed from SF Marina, for lowest possible maintenance cost, with easily accessible inspection points, easy to replace connector wires and stainless females and bolts.

Our 3 Core Premises for Floating Breakwaters

All concrete pontoons will attenuate waves, but it is very important to distinguish between a floating breakwater and a concrete pontoon. Floating breakwaters and concrete pontoons differ significantly in all the three vital criteria: strength of reinforcement, strength of connectors and anchoring. A normal pontoon will mainly handle forces from direct loads and wind forces. A breakwater is designed to restrain the movement of the floating breakwater elements it is connected to.

When it does this, the wave is efficiently attenuated and the energy from the wave is converted into motion energy of the breakwater. When wave energy exceeds the maximum of what the breakwater can absorb, the breakwater must be designed so that it allows for excess energy to pass through without damaging the breakwater. This, since survival mode design is of paramount importance when building floating breakwaters.

SF Marina’s rugged floating breakwaters enjoy a worldwide recognition. This is important, since survival mode design is of paramount importance when building floating breakwaters. It is no coincidence that SF Marina’s rugged floating breakwaters enjoy worldwide recognition. Our whole concept of floating breakwaters is built on three premises:

1. Strong reinforcement around the mooring-rings. Our mooring-rings are reinforced in such a manner that the entire breakwater can be lifted by a single ring.
2. Our coupling system consisting of access wells with heavy steel plates, stainless steel cut-outs, coupling wires packed in anti-corrosive grease and heavy rubber cylinders. The coupling system is also so versatile that we can make use of centre couplings, to eliminate torsional loads on longer piers or sections used to build specific angle solutions.
3. Our mooring technique which is based on an anchoring system using heavy chains and concrete anchors. The chain is coupled to the pontoon mooring-rings with shackles and a “bridle ring” as shown below. It is clear from the diagram below, when forces on the chain increase as the coupling gets pulled downwards under load, the total force at the “bridle ring” causes the pontoons to be pulled together, while still kept safely apart by the rubber cylinders. The more the wind blows, the more the pontoons get pulled together.

Special Pontoon

Our company throw SF Marina, with its vast experience and innovative nature has a proven track record of building increasingly larger floating concrete structures. Our main production site in North Greece at Porot Lagos Port area, with access to a deep-water quay is perfect for delivering custom built floating structures. We deliver onto geared vessels or onto submersible barges for transport anywhere.

The world is full of remarkable examples that were built decades ago but the common denominator for all is the concrete structure. It is the only technology for a proven and long lasting floating solution. Special Solutions come in many formats – a floating sauna, floating boatshed, floating helipad, floating stage, terraces, over pass bridges and more. Every structure is supported by floating platform, which comes in different sizes and shapes.

Our company can build given geometries at a given freeboard, right off the drawing board. Floating houses, floating hotels, floating restaurants, diving platforms, cruise ship piers, event platforms, fuel stations, ferry landings, fish farms… all of these have already been made.

Anchors & Connectors

Absorbing wave energy without damage to the structure is the challenge. Based on storm-proven technology in the design of pontoons and connectors, all installations need to be customized to suit currents, tides, wave exposure and a number of other site-specific conditions.

What sets SF Marina apart is that above and beyond these conditions, each project we build is designed with a survival mode.

SF Marina is still there, after the storm.

You may see here all types of Connectors.