Marina breakwaters

The Xbloc and XblocPlus system can be applied as breakwater protection for marinas. In Cadzand, The Netherlands - the new marina is protected by 2 breakwaters equipped with about 4,200 Xbloc units of 1,5 and 4 m3.

Alternatives which we considered for this project were rock armour (size up to 30 tons) and single layer concrete cubes (blocks up to 15m3). The Xbloc system was selected as the blocks could be produced locally and the maximum block size was much smaller than the approximate required cube size.  The 3:4 Xbloc slope was steeper than the maximum 2:3 slope for rock and concrete cubes. A steeper slope brought about the following advantages:

• The breakwaters have a slimmer base - saving on material;
• The marina is more spacious:
  • With a steeper slope and a smaller base the required water depth for the vessels could be achieved more easily;
  • More space translates in better manoeuvrability for the vessels inside the marina and in turn a safer and more convenient situation for its users.
• Creation of more public space for tourists on the outside of the marina was possible: a smaller base allowed a larger beach area adjacent to the breakwaters.
• Last but not least, the aesthetics of the Xbloc complemented the modern clean-cut design of the marina and its surroundings.