Pontoon bridge transport soldiers and artillery across rivers in the South. In 1872 at a military review before Queen Victoria, a pontoon bridge was thrown across the River Thames at Windsor, Berkshire, where the river was wide. The bridge, comprising 15 pontoons held by 14 anchors, was completed in 22 minutes and then used to move five battalions of troops across the river. It was removed in 34 minutes the next day. The British Blanshard Pontoon stayed in British use until the late 1870s, when it was replaced by the "Blood Pontoon". The Blood Pontoon returned to the open boat system, which
Pontoon effect a trimaran with narrow-beam floats will simply submerge the lee float, exposing only the weather wing and that with a lesser moment. In practical sea situations the windage effect is greater than the buoyancy effect and so cruising trimarans with highly buoyant floats are more, not less, likely to capsize than those with less buoyant floats. A trimaran is best stabilised not by adding buoyancy on the lee float but adding weight to the weather float. This is the basis of the "cool-tubes" stability system invented by Tristan Jones and L. Surtees. A large-diameter pipe closed at the aft end