Brief

The owners of a beautiful private estate in Marston Bigot, Somerset, contacted RA Marine to design and install a bespoke jetty on their lake. They required easy access for a rowing boat and wild swimming for all ages, even during the low water levels of the summer, and anything we installed needed to be long-lasting and aesthetically pleasing. The customer also specified they wanted to use iroko, a beautiful and durable variety of hardwood.

Solution

This project was a straightforward build at its heart, a standard T shaped jetty modified to the customer’s final specifications. It was installed in two pieces, stretching out deep enough that the low summer water levels could still be reached, and wide enough that a rowing boat could be moored at the end while still leaving enough space for swimmers to get in and out.

The marine grade alumninum frame substructure was decked and clad with smooth iroko decking boards to give it a traditional aesthetic along with a hard-wearing surface. The mooring posts for the boat added at the end were sourced from a local woodturning company, specially made from English oak, matching the understated quality of the build that will last for decades. 

For safety and access, we also designed a ladder in-house that would be hidden beneath the surface of the water on the side of the jetty, retaining the sleek timber look while allowing swimmers to comfortably climb in and out of the lake.

Challenges

The customer’s eye for detail and a clean aesthetic meant that one of the most important things to get right was the placement of the jetty; it should be in line with the main viewing point of the house, a greater challenge to normal because the house was two fields away! The solution was to mow a path that the customer was happy with, and then judge the positioning from this mowed path. 

The installation was in December, getting it into position ready for Christmas. The access across and into the field could have been difficult, with our trailers loaded down with heavy hardwood, but luckily the tractor we had on standby wasn’t needed in the end!

While iroko is a stunning wood, working with it can have its own challenges. The decking profile has to be thicker than normal, requiring different fittings. Looking at the finished product on a bright winter’s day, and seeing how the jetty just blends into its surroundings right from the start, we think it was definitely worth it.