Walcon Marine wins pontoon contract for Premier Marinas’ Swanwick regeneration

Walcon Marine, the UK-based market leader in the design, construction and installation of marinas, yacht harbours and berthing facilities, has won the tender for the supply of the walkways, finger pontoons and bridge for the regeneration by Premier Marinas of its Swanwick Marina in the River Hamble on the south coast of the UK.

The contract involves the staged removal of the old pontoons and piles in synchronisation with a dredging programme being undertaken by a third party.

The new piles will then be driven in by Walcon, and the walkways and finger pontoons installed. Walcon’s System 2000 pontoons will be used throughout. The marina will comprise 976 metres of walkways being installed to create seven piers. 148 finger pontoons will provide berths for 297 boats.

Premium specification
Premier Marinas is investing in pontoons of a particularly high quality. Walcon is building units that will all have a liveload that is higher than standard, enabling them to safely support greater weights of people and equipment per square metre than is usual. Two of the jetties will also have 700mm of freeboard rather than the standard 500mm, making it easier for users of boats in the 18 to 23 metres range to embark and disembark. In keeping with its status as a premium brand, Premier is also specifying that all the finger pontoons are the same length as the boats that they are designed to accommodate. This allows motorboats to moor bows-to and still safely disembark their crew from the stern platform, making the process safer and more convenient for owners, their families and guests.

Two stages
The regeneration will take place in two phases. A Walcon removal / installation team will arrive on site on the first of October 2018 and work on the phase one through to 30 March 2019. This will then be repeated from October 2019 to March 2020, when the project will be complete. Walcon’s mobile piling rig will be onsite throughout the whole project to give maximum flexibility and the Walcon Wizard barge with a second piling rig will be available to come and assist as required.

There has been a marina on the site of what is now Swanwick Marina for 50 years, and the location is iconic having been the home of the famous Moody’s Boatyard for over 70 years until its acquisition by Premier Marinas in 2005. Walcon Marine has worked with Premier for over twenty years, providing a one-stop-shop for all its pontoon needs.

Premier Marinas’ Operations Director, John Cervenka commented: ‘Swanwick Marina was built in the late 1960s/early 70s when boats were generally smaller so, half a century on, our pontoons do not meet modern standards. Our vision for the new the floating marina calls for a quality, innovative build to improve both our customers’ experience of the marina and enhance their safety. Walcon Marine, as a trusted long-term business partner, readily understood this brief, so it was natural that we would turn to them to execute the project.  We work to ‘Premier standards’ and we choose suppliers who are capable of operating at that that level and Walcon certainly does that.’