Case Studies

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s port facilities are used for re-supply of down range tracking stations. Barges approximately 250' long with a fully loaded displacement of 2750 tons are used to take supplies to the tracking stations, which are located on remote islands. These barges have a single screw propeller and are berthed without tug assistance, which frequently results in high-impact berthings.

Prior to 1999, fendering for these barges had been provided by timber piling and a timber wale beam system. However, due to high impact loads, the wooden piles and beams were frequently broken by the berthing vessels. Jimmy Schilling of Space Gateway Support’s Engineering Department stated in correspondence with Seaward in 1999 that the wood fender pile system was being destroyed faster than it could be replaced.

Working with Seaward’s 13" (330mm) diameter SEAPILE composite marine piling with 12 fiberglass reinforcing bars and 12" x 12" (300mm x 300mm) SEATIMBER composite marine timber, Mr. Schilling, a Professional Engineer, designed a robust fendering system that includes rubber elements behind the SEATIMBER wale beams. The mounting bolts are also set into recessed pockets that allow lateral movement of the bolts upon impact against the fendering system. A total of 496' (151m) of wharf was outfitted with this system during 2000.

The contractor, Oneida Construction, of Mims, Florida, reported that installation went very smoothly. Bobby Porter, project manager for Oneida Construction, remarks that the piles had to be hit only a few times with the hammer to achieve the correct depth. “Having a good, clean, factory-cut driving point really helped,” he says. “We especially liked the fact that the timber was easy to drill and that cutting the SEATIMBER material was straightforward, using the recommended carbide-tipped chain saw.”

According to Mr. Schilling, the SEAPILE and SEATIMBER products have exceeded all expectations. “We could never have expected a timber system to hold up to the barge impacts like this material has. We haven’t experienced a single broken pile or timber since the SEAPILE and SEATIMBER material went into service. With conventional timber, we sometimes have had several piles broken with a single impact. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these products for other applications of a similar nature.”