Overview
In the Cape Cod Canal — home to one of the strongest, most dependable tidal flows on the U.S. East Coast — the Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative of New England (MRECo) operates the Bourne Tidal Test Site, a working platform where developers test tidal-energy devices in real-world currents. When the site needed a heavier, more capable support structure to advance its research program, MRECo turned to Mass Tank to build it.
Working from the project engineer’s design, Mass Tank fabricated the complete steel assembly in its Middleboro shop — an upgraded structural support frame, a new catwalk, and a platform extension with an integrated crane pedestal for deploying and retrieving test devices. Every member was cut, welded, fit, and coated in-house, then delivered ready for a separate installer to set in place.
What Did the Client Need?
A tidal test platform lives in an unforgiving place: constant immersion in a swift, salt-laden channel, cyclic loading from the current, and the weight and motion of equipment lowered into and lifted out of the water. Upgrading the existing structure meant far more than cutting steel — every new member had to tie cleanly into the platform’s in-service piles and beams, then arrive ready to install without disrupting the site’s next phase of work.
The build had to deliver:
- A reinforced frame and platform extension fabricated to fit the existing in-service piles and W18x76 framing
- A new catwalk to the rear pile and a platform extension to expand usable deck space
- An integrated crane pedestal base for safely deploying and recovering test devices
- Marine-grade corrosion protection on every surface — and on-time delivery to hold the project’s schedule
How Did Mass Tank Help?
Mass Tank’s in-house fabrication team and certified welders built the upgrade as a rugged, shop-fabricated steel structure made for the strength, durability, and reliability a working marine environment demands. Fabricating the frame, catwalk, and platform extension in-house gave the team full control over quality and let the finished assembly arrive on site ready to install.
Because the new structure had to connect cleanly to an existing, in-service platform, dimensional accuracy was everything. Mass Tank built each piece to exacting tolerances — sizing new members to fit tight around the existing 18-inch pile, preparing every connection point, and building in lift lugs for safe rigging.
The scope included:
- Heavy welded HSS framing in ASTM A847 weathering steel, with A36 plate and Type 316 stainless fasteners for marine durability
- Bolted connections detailed to marry up with the platform’s existing piles and beams
- Slip-resistant fiberglass grating and OSHA-compliant safety railing, installed after coating
- An integrated crane base so MRECo’s team can safely raise and lower test equipment in service
- A durable marine coating system — a three-coat Carboline Carboguard 235/890 build over SSPC-SP6 surface prep, 12–20 mils DFT — to stand up to salt spray and moisture in the Cape Cod Canal
Delivered complete and pre-coated, the finished structure left the shop ready to install, with no shop rework required on site.
Customer Outcomes
MRECo received a stronger, expanded, and fully corrosion-protected support frame — fabricated, finished, and delivered ready to install for the next stage of tidal-energy research in New England. Just as important, Mass Tank reworked its production schedule to hit the delivery date the project depended on.
“Just to let you know your guys did a good job providing us the steel for our upgrade. I know they had to shuffle the schedule to get us the delivery in time — and we appreciate it.” — John Miller, Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative of New England
It’s the kind of project Mass Tank is built for: custom heavy-steel fabrication, certified welding, and durable marine coatings, all completed in-shop and delivered on time when the schedule leaves no room to slip — in support of clean-energy innovation right here in Massachusetts.
