Scaffloat is a small company in Cornwall that has struck upon a brilliant idea, pontoons made from scaffolding.
They use common components to form large, heavy-duty pontoons and floating work platforms. An aluminium lattice beam, various cross connectors, railings, and couplers that use commonly available scaffolding fixtures, scaffolding boards for the deck, and a plastic float.
Modular pontoons are not new, but they are mostly designed for relatively light-duty applications and have a small height (and thus buoyancy).
Conventional pontoons (like Mexeflotes) are very heavy-duty, but are unwieldy.
Scaffloat sits somewhere in between.
They could be used for port engineering tasks, EOD and MCM support.
It might even be possible to use them as low-cost bridging pontoons, built on demand from a kit of parts held at readiness.
The same company has also developed the Workfloat using the same basic approach. The workboat has unique features, it can fold for easy towing and fits inside a standard 40ft (ca. 12 m) ISO container.
Watch this great video.
These have great potential, again, supporting general engineering tasks and as a mobile bridging pontoon.
More fantastic British engineering and ingenuity
Read more
Before reading on, would you mind if I brought this to your attention?
Think Defence is a hobby, a serious hobby, but a hobby nonetheless.
I want to avoid charging for content, but hosting fees, software subscriptions and other services add up, so to help me keep the show on the road, I ask that you support the site in any way you can. It is hugely appreciated.
Advertising
You might see Google adverts depending on where you are on the site, please click one if it interests you. I know they can be annoying, but they are the one thing that returns the most.
Make a Donation
Donations can be made at a third-party site called Ko_fi.
Think Defence Merch
Everything from a Brimstone sticker to a Bailey Bridge duvet cover, pop over to the Think Defence Merchandise Store at Red Bubble.
Some might be marked as ‘mature content’ because it is a firearm!
Affiliate Links
Amazon and the occasional product link might appear in the content, you know the drill, I get a small cut if you go on to make a purchase
Discover more from Think Defence
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I like it!