This resource explores what a pontoon is and what applications it can be used for. In simple terms, a pontoon serves as a temporary access solution or platform, and one that can be built quickly and securely on water and uneven land. Also referred to as floating pontoons, they provide sturdy and reliable platforms for a variety of applications, and can be built with variable load-bearing capacities to allow for the transportation of pedestrians, construction workers and machinery.

Out of all the natural elements, water is perhaps the most difficult to control or contain. Damage can be caused by severe weather events such as flooding, river breaches and water penetration.

The Collins English dictionary describes a pontoon as ‘a watertight float or vessel used where buoyancy is required in water, as in supporting a bridge, in salvage work or where a temporary or mobile structure is required in military operations.’

Plastic and heavy duty modular steel pontoons are a highly effective and versatile system of connecting floats that can be configured to almost any shape, allowing many types of water based events and activities to take place.