SF Marina Breakwater and Docks Installed in RI

Steeped in maritime history, Bristol, Rhode Island on Narragansett Bay is a popular New England boating destination. Culminating a five-year planning process, the town recently completed a large-scale expansion of its harbor with an SF Marina floating concrete breakwater and dock system as the project’s centerpiece.

After removing Bristol Harbor’s aging fixed wave fence, Newport, Rhode Island-based Reagan Marine Construction installed 12 SF Marina SF500 Series floating breakwater pontoons. Engineered to withstand hurricane-force wind and wave action, they have a coupling system that absorbs and distributes the stress loads to the concrete structure and anchoring system. Virtually unsinkable, the 17′ W sections have a unique geometry and heavy mass that makes them exceptionally stable.

The SF Marina pontoons are anchored with 48 Seaflex® 16-strand mooring hawsers. Designed to mitigate serious storm-caused wave action, they can withstand a drag force greater than 1.12 tons within 80% elongation, retracting back to their normal length when tension is eased. The environmentally-friendly anchoring solution provides significant stability to the structure by progressively dampening forces, even during the most severe of storm conditions.

The 786′ structure includes an interior dock array for a total of 34 tapered fingers. Bristol Harbor has 22 transient slips for boats up to 40′ in length, and an additional 500′ of dock space with a 12′ draft can accommodate vessels up to 200′ long. The marina provides electrical and potable water service and public Wi-Fi.