# cgFLOAT > Hydrodynamic and Structural Analysis of Floating Marinas, Breakwaters and Pontoon Bridges Canonical: https://www.ramcadds.com/products/cgfloat Source: RAM CADDSYS product catalog — https://www.ramcadds.com/products Last verified: 2026-07-18 Categories: infrastructure-geotechnical cgFLOAT is a dynamic analysis software for long floating marine structures — floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges. Developed by RUNET, it combines fluid, structural and stochastic-process theory in one program to compute wave-induced motions, bending moments, shear forces and mooring loads for pontoon arrangements with rigid or flexible connectors. cgFLOAT is a dynamic analysis program for long floating marine structures — floating marinas, floating breakwaters and pontoon bridges — developed by RUNET. It resolves the wave-induced response of any pontoon arrangement in three degrees of freedom (sway/heave/roll), generating loading from Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP sea-state spectra and deriving mooring-line forces from the computed sway. Frequency-domain and time-domain Monte-Carlo solutions are both available. cgFLOAT by RUNET (RUNET Software / RUNET Norway AS) is a specialized program for the dynamic analysis of long floating marine structures. It models floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges as connected pontoon arrangements with rigid or flexible connectors, resolving the response in three degrees of freedom — sway, heave and roll. cgFLOAT computes hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping), generates wave loading from directional sea-state spectra such as Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP, and offers both frequency-domain and time-domain (Monte-Carlo) solutions, deriving mooring-line forces from the computed sway response. In continuous development since 1981, it is a mature, well-documented package backed by free RUNET support and a trial version. ## Key points - cgFLOAT is a dynamic analysis program for long floating marine structures — floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges — developed by RUNET (RUNET Software / RUNET Norway AS). - It resolves the wave-induced response of pontoon arrangements, with rigid or flexible connectors, in three degrees of freedom: sway, heave and roll. - Wave loading is generated from directional, short-crested sea-state spectra such as Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP, alongside frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients for added mass and damping. - Both a frequency-domain response and a time-domain, Monte-Carlo simulation are available, reporting maximum, mean and standard-deviation values for displacements, bending moments and shear forces. - Mooring-line forces are derived directly from the computed sway displacements, supporting mooring and anchoring design alongside boat-wake loading analysis. - In continuous development since 1981, cgFLOAT is a mature package backed by a free trial version and free RUNET support. - Purpose-built for the dynamic analysis of long floating marine structures — floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges - Combines fluid, structural and stochastic-process theory in a single program, reducing the response analysis of a long floating structure to a routine workflow - Handles any pontoon arrangement with rigid or flexible connectors and a range of mooring/anchoring configurations - Computes standard sea-state spectra (Pierson-Moskowitz, JONSWAP) directly from their parameters, plus boat-wake loading - Derives mooring-line forces from the computed sway response, supporting marina and breakwater mooring design - Offers both frequency-domain and time-domain (Monte-Carlo) solutions for displacements, bending moments and shear forces - Mature, well-documented package (in continuous development since 1981, Windows since 1999) with graphical output and export - Backed by RUNET's free e-mail/telephone support and a free trial version ## Why engineers pick it - **Hydrodynamic Wave Loading** — Generates wave forcing from short-crested, directional sea-state spectra and computes frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping). - **Dynamic Pontoon Analysis** — Models long floating structures as connected pontoon arrangements with rigid or flexible connectors. - **Frequency and Time Domain** — Provides a frequency-domain response together with a time-domain solution using Monte-Carlo simulation of the wave loading. - **Mooring Force Evaluation** — Derives mooring-line forces from the computed sway displacements, supporting the design of the mooring and anchoring system. ## Capabilities - **Hydrodynamic loading from directional sea states** — Generates wave forcing from short-crested, directional wave spectra and computes frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping). Standard spectra such as Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP are built from their parameters. - **Finite-element dynamic analysis of pontoon systems** — Models long floating structures as connected pontoon arrangements with rigid or flexible connectors and solves the eigenvalue problem for mode shapes and natural frequencies. Motion is resolved in three degrees of freedom — sway, heave and roll. - **Frequency-domain and time-domain solutions** — Provides a frequency-domain response together with a time-domain solution using Monte-Carlo simulation of the wave loading. - **Mooring force evaluation** — Derives mooring-line forces from the computed sway displacements, allowing the mooring/anchoring system to be checked against the analysed sea states. - **Boat-wake and stochastic response output** — Includes boat-wake loading analysis and reports ensemble maximum, mean and standard-deviation values across the simulated responses for displacements, bending moments and shear forces. - **Flexible units and graphical export** — Supports metric or Anglo-American units and produces graphs of mode shapes, frequency-response functions and response distributions. ## Applications - **Floating marinas** — Dynamic response and mooring-force assessment of pontoon-based floating marinas under site wave conditions and boat-wake loading, to check motions and connector/mooring forces. - **Floating breakwaters** — Analysis of floating breakwater pontoon trains in short-crested seas to evaluate motions, structural forces (bending moment, shear) and mooring loads. - **Floating (pontoon) bridges** — Dynamic analysis of long floating bridges made of connected pontoons, including the effect of flexible or rigid connections between segments. - **Mooring and connector design support** — Provides the displacement, force and mooring-load data needed to size mooring lines, anchors and inter-pontoon connectors for floating marine structures. - **Sea-state operability studies** — Comparing spectral and Monte-Carlo simulated responses across different wave spectra (Pierson-Moskowitz, JONSWAP). ## In depth ### Why does a floating marina, breakwater or pontoon bridge need its own dynamic analysis program? Because a floating structure moves with the sea, its governing design forces come from wave-induced dynamics rather than from static loads alone, and cgFLOAT is built specifically to compute that dynamic response — motions, structural forces and mooring loads — for pontoon-based marine structures. cgFLOAT combines fluid, structural and stochastic-process theory in one program: it generates wave forcing from short-crested, directional sea-state spectra, computes frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping), and resolves that loading into a pontoon system's sway, heave and roll response together with its mooring-line forces. This chain — wave spectrum in, structural response and mooring force out — is handled as a single, purpose-built workflow. The program covers the structures that share this problem: floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges, each modelled as connected pontoons with rigid or flexible connectors. Because mooring-line forces are derived from the same computed sway displacements, the results feed directly into sizing the mooring and anchoring system, and boat-wake loading is analysed alongside the sea-state response for marina-type layouts. ### How does cgFLOAT compute the dynamic response of a floating structure? cgFLOAT builds the wave loading from a chosen directional sea-state spectrum, computes the structure's hydrodynamic coefficients, and then solves for its response in both the frequency and time domain. The engineer defines the pontoon arrangement and its rigid or flexible connectors; cgFLOAT then computes the frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients — added mass and damping — for the sections involved and generates wave forcing from a directional, short-crested spectrum such as Pierson-Moskowitz or JONSWAP; boat-wake loading is analysed as well. The dynamic response is resolved in three degrees of freedom (sway, heave, roll), giving mode shapes and natural frequencies for the pontoon system. From there, cgFLOAT reports a frequency-domain response and, in parallel, a time-domain solution using Monte-Carlo simulation of the wave loading, giving ensemble maximum, mean and standard-deviation values for displacements, bending moments and shear forces. Mooring-line forces are derived from the computed sway displacements, and results can be reviewed in metric or Anglo-American units, with graphical output and export for the project record. ## Questions ### What is cgFLOAT used for? cgFLOAT performs the dynamic analysis of long floating marine structures — floating marinas, floating breakwaters and floating (pontoon) bridges — computing their wave-induced motions, structural forces and mooring loads. ### Who develops cgFLOAT? cgFLOAT is developed by RUNET (RUNET Software / RUNET Norway AS), a structural-engineering software company founded by Dr. Konstantinos Georgiadis and Greta K. Tenfjord, with offices in Greece and at Tennfjord, Norway. ### What types of structures can cgFLOAT analyse? It is built for pontoon-based floating structures — floating marinas, breakwaters and bridges — with any pontoon arrangement and rigid or flexible connectors between the pontoons. ### How many degrees of freedom does cgFLOAT model? cgFLOAT resolves the response in three degrees of freedom: sway, heave and roll. It is not a full six-DOF seakeeping/diffraction package for arbitrary 3D bodies. ### Does cgFLOAT perform hydrodynamic analysis? Yes. It computes frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients (added mass and damping) and generates wave loading from directional short-crested sea-state spectra such as Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP. ### Can cgFLOAT calculate mooring forces? Yes. From the computed sway displacements the program derives the mooring-line forces, which supports the design of the mooring and anchoring system. ### Does cgFLOAT support time-domain analysis? Yes. In addition to a frequency-domain solution it offers a time-domain analysis using Monte-Carlo simulation of the wave loading, reporting ensemble maximum, mean and standard-deviation values of the responses. ### Does cgFLOAT design to a specific code or standard? No. cgFLOAT is a hydrodynamic/structural analysis (simulation) tool; it computes motions, forces and mooring loads, but it does not state compliance with a named floating-structure design code. Code checks are carried out separately by the engineer. ### What outputs does cgFLOAT produce? It produces mode shapes, frequency-response functions and graphs of displacements, bending moments and shear forces, with ensemble statistics from the simulation. Output can be shown in metric or Anglo-American units and exported graphically. ### Is cgFLOAT a new or mature program? It is mature. cgFLOAT originated as a DOS program in 1981, moved to Windows in 1999, was updated for Windows XP in 2002, and gained graphical outputs and export in 2005, with ongoing maintenance by RUNET. ### Can I try cgFLOAT before buying? Yes. RUNET provides a free trial (demo) version and documentation for cgFLOAT, along with free e-mail and telephone support for its software. ### Is cgFLOAT available in India through RAM CADDSYS? RAM CADDSYS lists RUNET software — the publisher of cgFLOAT — in its product catalogue, so it can supply cgFLOAT to engineering teams in India. For a firm quote and the exact licensing scope, contact RAM CADDSYS directly, as the public listing covers the wider RUNET suite rather than cgFLOAT by name. --- Full page: https://www.ramcadds.com/products/cgfloat Pricing is quoted per territory and is deliberately not published. Talk to us: https://www.ramcadds.com/contact