Our friends at Logan Marine based in Wilmington, NC recently completed a major marina seawall project and we’re excited to share the results! The project was to create a marina for the Salters Haven community in Hampstead, NC. David Logan and his team used a variety of ESP EverComp sheet piling products to get the job done on time.
In coordination with ESP engineers, 2,000’L/ft of EverComp 80.5 x 28’ (½” thick) and 500’L/ft of EverComp 47.5 x 28’ (¼” thick) was selected for the project. Additionally, 2500’ L/ft of Double FRP 4×6 Waler was used. [For more information about EverComp composite piling click here.]
Site conditions as well as the planned exposed height of the wall dictated which products to use. Given its relative height, the 14ft tall wall would have required many more walers to secure it if relatively weaker materials were used. Given the stronger profile of composite sheet piling fewer walers were needed for installation. This meant less work and lower costs, making ESP’s composite sheet piling the cost-effective solution for Salter’s Haven.
Still, the walls were engineered for maximum strength and reliability. The installation included a tie rod every 4ft that extended 35ft into the earth to a deadman secured in concrete. The system pulls the wall back against the tremendous forces pushing against it, helping ensure the long-lasting integrity of the wall.
Logan Marine was up to the task. David Logan had spent nearly 25 years in construction before launching Logan Marine in 2013. He saw a market need for “big guns,” or a company that had the crucial combination of heavy equipment, experience, and reliable service that it takes to succeed. His analysis was spot on, and Logan Marine has quickly gained a reputation in the industry as a top marine contractor.
However—particularly in the case of Salters Haven—it is Logan Marine’s creative problem-solving skills and can-do attitude that most endear the company to its clients. When early on in the project it became all too obvious that the composite sheet piling was going to have to be driven through solid bedrock, calling it quits wasn’t an option.
“It was do or die. We had to improvise and get creative to get the job done.”
David Logan, Logan Marine, LLC
Solid bedrock meant two big problems: First, the 6” water jet was not powerful enough to break through rock in preparation for driving composite sheets. In a move that would delight anyone who ever took a shop class in school or enjoyed the show BattleBots, the crew welded together two separate 4” water jets and installed a square pipe manifold at the top and metal cones on the bottom with holes for the water jets. The result was a superpowerful jet system capable of blasting through rock formations.
The other issue was the force necessary to drive the composite sheets into bedrock. No matter how strong a composite sheet is, if it’s between a massive metal hammer with tens of thousands of pounds of pressure banging down on one end and solid bedrock on the other, it’s going to have the potential to bend. Literally, the sheets were between a rock and a hard place.
Once a sheet bends under pressure it’s compromised and must be replaced. To solve this problem, Logan Marine fabricated a steel “helmet” that matched the profile of the sheet piling. This meant that tremendous downward pressure could be applied by the massive hammer but the sheet itself was protected by the helmet. The invention was so successful at driving sheets through bedrock that Logan Marine created a helmet for every ESP composite product. Typically, they use helmets for walls that are 12’ tall or higher.
Together, the combined inventions of the super powerful water jet (don’t try this at home) and the novel composite helmet for hammer driving made the vision for Salters Haven marina a reality. It is also a well-deserved credit to Logan Marine’s reputation for being among the best in the business.
ESP is proud to do business with partners like Logan Marine. Their ability to integrate our high-end products and engineering acumen with their experience and skills is second to none.
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Salters Haven Marina Project
Check out these featured shots from the Salters Haven marina seawall project:
