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A floating dock, floating pier or floating jetty is a platform or ramp supported by pontoons. It is usually joined to the shore with a gangway. The pier is usually held in place by vertical poles referred to as pilings, which are embedded in the seafloor or by anchored cables. [1] Frequently used in marinas, this type of pier maintains a fixed vertical relationship to watercraft secured to it, independent of tidal, river or lake elevation. The angle of the gangway varies with the water level.
'Braby pontoon' was the name given to a type of floating dock used by flying boats in Australia and New Zealand from 1939 to the 1950s. [2] [3] Frederick Braby and Company was a British manufacturer of tanks and silos, Bailey bridges and pontoons. [4] [5] The Braby name was also attached to the general type of pontoon made with ship tanks, whether or not they were manufactured by Frederick Braby and Company. [6] [7] Two 1939 descriptions of a Braby pontoon in Auckland stated:
A new type of floating jetty will he used in Auckland for the berthing of the flying-boats. Mr. Turnill stated this morning that this type is known as the "Braby pontoon", and it has been used previously only at Southampton. It has been well tested there and has been found to be most satisfactory. It consists of two twin sections joined in an arc underneath the water. [8]
and
Shaped like a U, the pontoon resembles a miniature floating dock, and consists of two parallel decks joined by a submerged framework. Tanks give the necessary buoyancy. When the flying-boat has landed, it is warped into position by the ground crew, and is drawn tail-first into the pontoon, coming to rest with the hull between the two sections of decking and above the submerged frame. Inflated buffers on the inner edge of the decking prevent the delicate hull from being damaged. [2]
A Braby pontoon constructed at Evans Bay in Wellington, New Zealand in 1951 consisted of 124 large square steel tanks connected together and ballasted with water and oil. [9] The pontoon was U-shaped, 110 feet (34 m) long and 74 feet (23 m) wide. Flying boats were winched tail-first into the U so that passengers could step onto the pontoon dock. [10]
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters.
A pontoon bridge, also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry.
The word dock in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships. In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American English; it is used to mean the area of water that is next to or around a wharf or quay. The exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language.
Saint Peter Port Harbour is located in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. It was a natural anchorage used by the Romans which has been changed into an artificial harbour that is now the island's main port for passengers. Loose cargo, liquids and gas are shipped to and from St Sampson's harbour.
RMS Niagara was a transpacific steam ocean liner, Royal Mail Ship and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1912 in Scotland and sunk in 1940 by a mine off the coast of New Zealand.
Tasman Empire Airways Limited (1940–1965), better known by its acronym TEAL, is the former name of Air New Zealand.
Wellington International Airport — formerly known as Rongotai Aerodrome or Rongotai Airport, or simply Wellington Airport — is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It lies 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand and Sounds Air. Wellington International Airport Limited, a joint venture between Infratil and the Wellington City Council, operates the airport. Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand after Auckland and Christchurch, handling a total of 3,455,858 passengers in the year ending June 2022, and the third busiest in terms of aircraft movements. The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia. It is the home of some smaller general aviation businesses, including the Wellington Aero Club, which operates from the general aviation area on the western side of the runway.
The Saro A17 Cutty Sark was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, built by the British firm Saunders-Roe. The aircraft was named after the ship Cutty Sark, rather than the garment or the fictional witch.
In boating, a fender is an air-filled ball or a device in other shape and material used to absorb the kinetic energy of a boat or vessel berthing against a jetty, quay wall or other vessel. Fenders, used on all types of vessels, from cargo ships to cruise ships, ferries and personal yachts, prevent damage to vessels and berthing structures. To do this, fenders have high energy absorption and low reaction force. Fenders are typically manufactured out of rubber, foam elastomer or plastic. Rubber fenders are either extruded or made in a mold. The type of fender that is most suitable for an application depends on many variables, including dimensions and displacement of the vessel, maximum allowable stand-off, berthing structure, tidal variations and other berth-specific conditions. The size of the fender unit is based on the berthing energy of the vessel which is related to the square of the berthing velocity.
A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted with a variety of accommodations including expansive lounge areas, stand-up bars, and sun pads. More horsepower is now able to be applied to the stern due to design improvements. Pontoon boat drafts may be as shallow as eight inches, which reduces risk of running aground and underwater damage; this allows it to come close to shore to pick up and drop off loads.
A berth is a designated location in a port or harbour used for mooring vessels when they are not at sea. Berths provide a vertical front which allows safe and secure mooring that can then facilitate the unloading or loading of cargo or people from vessels.
Seaview is an industrial suburb of the city of Lower Hutt, in Wellington, New Zealand. Situated on the eastern coast of the Hutt Valley, the suburb lies between Te Awa Kairangi / the Hutt River and Petone, and the bays of Eastbourne to the south. Seaview is a centre for bulk liquid fuel storage for the lower half of the North Island, and a site for heavy industry. It is also a base for support services for trucks and transportation businesses and the location of the wastewater treatment plant for drainage from the Hutt Valley. Seaview is home to the Port Road Drags, the longest-running street drag races in Australasia.
Floats are airtight hollow structures, similar to pressure vessels, designed to provide buoyancy in water. Their principal applications are in watercraft hulls, aircraft floats, floating piers, pontoon rhinos, pontoon bridges, and marine engineering applications such as salvage.
Evans Bay is a large bay at the southern end of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. Located between the Miramar Peninsula and Hataitai, it was the site of New Zealand's first patent slip and served as Wellington's international flying-boat terminal from 1938 until 1956. It is named after George Samuel Evans, an early Wellington settler.
Wellington Harbour Board was the body which formerly managed the shipping and commercial affairs of the port of Wellington in New Zealand. It was constituted in 1880 and was disestablished in 1989.
The Brooke Street Pier is a floating pontoon building at Sullivans Cove in the waterfront area of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It was constructed in 2014–15 at a cost of A$13 million. It weighs 5,300 tonnes and was Australia's largest floating building upon completion. It is connected to the Hobart shore at Franklin Wharf, near the base of Brooke Street. Primarily a ferry terminal, the architect has described it as a "tourism transport hub".
SS Rotorua was a New Zealand Shipping Company steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship that was built in Scotland in 1910 and sunk by a U-boat in 1917.
Barking Riverside Pier is an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers commuter service pier located on the River Thames at Barking Riverside. Passenger services began on 26 April 2022. The pier provides interchange with Barking Riverside railway station and local bus routes. The pier was brought into use following a renovation of the reinforced concrete coaling jetty previously used by Barking Power Station.
Wharves in Wellington Harbour have been essential to the operation of the Port of Wellington and to the development of the city and the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand.
Wellington Harbour is a large deep-water harbour which has been an important port for the movement of domestic and international passengers and freight, since the arrival of European immigrants in 1840. The city of Wellington overlooks the harbour, and many residents take a keen interest in activity on the water. Following is a list of notable visits to Wellington by a variety of vessels. This includes vessels which were the first of their kind, or famous in their own right, or economically or politically important or controversial. Such visits attracted hundreds of spectators and were widely discussed in media.
Mr Rhodes joined Braby in 1931 as a design draughtsman. During the war, he was responsible for Bailey bridge building and the design and building of servicing pontoons for use with Sunderland flying boats.