A new dinghy and tender pontoon is now installed and welcoming visiting sailors to the village of Tighnabruaich on Scotland’s west coast.

At almost 100m long, the new pontoon, situated next to the RNLI building, allows access to the centre of the village with all its amenities and shops at all states of the tide.

Boats which used to pass by Tighnabruaich on the way to somewhere else are now stopping and mooring up, using their tenders to access the new pontoon, and taking full advantage of the amenities in this beautiful part of Argyll’s coast.

The pontoon is intended for short stays only by dinghy or tender. Bigger boats are encouraged to anchor or moor offshore and access the pontoon in their tenders.

Because the pontoon is constructed of linked-together polyethylene cubes, it can be dis-assembled and towed away in sections to avoid the worst of the winter weather.

It also had the advantage of allowing the community to run a very successful ‘sponsor a cube’ campaign, and the plan is to have a board in the RNLI building listing the names of those donors who wish to be included.

The pontoon was funded entirely by local donations, there were no grants or outside agencies involved. Local people are hoping that visiting sailors will take full advantage of the new pier and the easy access to village amenities.

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Construction began in early summer, when the former derelict and unuseable wooden pier was removed, and a new floating pontoon was installed over several weekends in May and June by local Argyll company, T Dock-UK.