Background information
A jetty is used to moor boats, simplifying boarding and disembarking. There are essentially two construction methods: fixed and floating. A fixed jetty rests on piles driven or drilled into the waterbed. It usually has a fixed access ramp (stairs) to the adjacent land. A floating jetty is essential for tidal waters, but also useful in waters where the water level fluctuates significantly for other reasons. A floating jetty has a (movable) bridge section between the jetty and the adjacent land, as it must be able to accommodate the changing height difference. In both cases, the jetty can have a simple, straight shape parallel to the water's edge (usually in narrow waters) or perpendicular to the water's edge (more common in wide waters). However, in both cases, the jetty can also be extended into numerous fork-like shapes to allow multiple vessels to moor simultaneously. The more complex forms of jettys are found in busy locations along wide waterways and in harbor basins.
Construction details:
Most jettys are made of hardwood. Hardwood is generally wood from trees that grow more slowly and therefore has a very dense and strong cell structure that is more resistant to rot. Rot normally occurs when dead wood, water, and oxygen are present. Factors that clearly apply to a jetty. In the case of floating structures, also called pontoons, plastic or even concrete structures can be chosen. These are materials that, on the one hand, allow for the creation of containers or hollow shapes with excellent buoyancy, but on the other hand, do not deteriorate as quickly under the influence of large quantities of (salt) water, sunlight, and oxygen. The bollards on these jettys are made of wood, which is common for jettys of this size. Larger models, for large ships, are often made of steel or sometimes even (reinforced) concrete.
