Jetties
Jetties are fixed structures over water but are often referred to as landing stages, docks and boat platforms.
From Loch Lomond to Exeter, RA Marine have specialised in jetty building across the UK for over a decade, and we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality bespoke structures for all our clients’ needs.
Jetties are often referred to as landing stages, docks and boat platforms, and sometimes incorrectly as pontoons (which are floating) and piers (which are significantly larger and predominantly in the sea). Jetties are specifically for use with boats, providing a place to moor or embark onto a wide range of vessels. They are the perfect solution when stability is key and water level fluctuation is minimal, and we have provided a number of clubs and marinas with refurbishments and completely new structures to improve their access to sailing boats, kayaks and motor vessels.
Our first step when we receive an enquiry from an individual or a club is to organise a complimentary site visit to discuss your needs. We consider the location, the conditions of the body of water, and any permit requirements that there may be, before working on the details of the design and materials.
A jetty can be made of a wide variety of materials chosen to suit your situation and sartorial preferences. We have made frames from various types of hard and softwood and hot dipped galvanised mild steel, but our preferred material is aluminium. This is because it’s lightweight, inert, and lasts indefinitely in fresh water. It doesn’t require any further treatment or release any toxic chemicals into the water course, it’s easily installed and easily removed.
Deck surfaces can also be personalised to your needs. You may choose traditional timbers, hardwoods and softwoods, with or without anti-slip inserts, any of the range of composite deckings that are available, or even GRP or steel grating. The combinations are almost endless, and as we specialise in the bespoke, you need not limit yourself to the first image that comes to mind. In the last five years we have made structures of many shapes and sizes, including curved corners, a completely round jetty, and a landing stage meandering along the bank of a lake at Fischer’s Green Sailing Club - see the full details of our projects page.
We will provide you with a design and a quotation and can support you in your application for various permits as needed. The construction of the jetty itself is predominantly completed in the RA Marine workshop, keeping the installation time on your site to a minimum to reduce disruption.
The height of a jetty above the water is usually fixed, and therefore all the vessels used with one jetty should have a similar range of freeboard (the height of the gunnels of a boat above the water). If the boats you’re planning to use with your structure have a wide range of freeboard, we can offer a multi-level jetty. We have installed such jetties in Pershore, Worcestershire in January 2021, a long structure that hugs the riverbank, with sections at different heights for the clients to access both a cabin cruiser two feet off the water, or a paddleboard, where they need to be as close to the surface as possible. The materials of this particular jetty were also suitable for complete submersion, taking into account the flooding this area experiences in winter.
If there is a large fluctuation in water level, such as in a tidal area, and stability is less important, you might consider looking at our pontoons instead. By putting them on floats of polyurethane foam filled, rotation moulded plastic, the pontoons are able to retain 95% of their buoyancy even if punctured. These versatile structures are not only for accessing boats - they have also been installed as rest islands for wild swimming and nesting rafts for terns in a nature reserve. This demonstrates our flexibility of purpose; if you have an access requirement on the water, don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss all possible solutions.
