Mandelieu-la-Napoule is situated on the edge of the popular French yacht charter destination – the Bay of Cannes, in the southwestern corner of the Alpes-Maritimes department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. This municipality boasts a lovely superyacht marina, with a very good geographical location in the fabulous Golfe de La Napoule, which means it attracts a large number of yachtsmen throughout the year.
Pontoon at Mandelieu-la-Napoule to be replaced by Poralu Marine
In partnership with Mare Nostrum, a leading provider of maritime fittings in the Alpes-Maritimes and the PACA region, Poralu Marine has been awarded the contract for building a fixed pontoon covered with concrete slabs at the port of Mandelieu-la-Napoule.
A first for the provider of top-of-the-range port systems …
This task represents something of a first for Poralu Marine, which has a record of designing and installing floating concrete pontoons, but never a fixed pontoon with a concrete covering. The fixed pontoons it has installed until now have had an aluminium framework with decking made of EcostyleTM tropical hardwood, a product exclusive to Poralu Marine, or EcoteckTM wood composite.
The replacement of the existing fixed concrete pontoon, which was coming to the end of its useful life and creating problems from a safety perspective, was becoming rather urgent. As part of this huge undertaking, Poralu Marine installed an 87 m length of fixed pontoon, the equivalent of 8 individual pontoons.
The decking was made of concrete slabs covered with chippings, in keeping with the general architecture of the port of Mandelieu-la-Napoule.
… and the technical challenges Poralu Marine had to master
The task of designing and installing this pontoon represented a real technical challenge, although Poralu Marine was able to master this. The pontoon’s 12.50 m span with its 3 m carriageway and 300 kg/m2 overload, not to mention the considerable weight of the concrete slabs, represented significant technical constraints.
Another technical issue to be resolved in terms of the development’s success was how to replace the existing arrangement (a mixture of steel and concrete) without raising the pontoon any further above the water when finished.
Poralu Marine uses aluminium alone as the material for building its structures. Marine-grade aluminium alloys now offer unparalleled benefits; in particular, mechanical strength equal to that of steel, the material often used to build concrete pontoons.
Also offering high resistance to corrosion and facilitating installation of these structures with lighter lifting gear, aluminium, which is infinitely recyclable without losing its properties, is perfect for meeting the economic, environmental and aesthetic imperatives often imposed by marina operators.
The aluminium structure provided is compact enough to ensure the pontoon clears the water by the required amount when finished and is resistant enough to satisfy the mechanical constraints. It also satisfies in every respect the specifications and manufacturing processes of this acknowledged expert in top-of-the-range marina facilities.
This mooring pontoon, designed for medium-sized yachts, will enable future users, yachtsmen and summer visitors alike to moor their boats safely and easily.
With this first installation of a pontoon with decking made of concrete slabs, Poralu Marine has again shown a real willingness to respond to customer demands and proven its ability to design customised equipment requiring new forms of technology or new expertise.
Mandelieu-la-Napoule is just another addition to the long list of projects already undertaken by Poralu Marine, which has a well-established presence on the Mediterranean coastline. Other notable examples include Saint–Laurent-du-Var, the most recent, Marseillan, Carnon, Cap d’Agde, la Grande Motte and Port Camargue, Europe‘s largest port with some 4,680 moorings.
