The problem of achieving a system of coastal protection which is cheap, effective and reliable has stimulated the minds of researchers and innovators for many years. Although floating breakwaters have been written about since the 1840s, interest in them has increased rapidly in recent years. Over the last decade or so floating tyre breakwaters (FTBs) have received considerable attention. Several different designs have been proposed. Candle (1974) proposed what may be considered a nearly rigid mat of tyres where neighbouring tyres move relatively little with respect to one another whereas Noble (1976), Harms (1978) and Kowalski (1974,76) use breakwater flexibility in their wave-maze, PT and modular designs respectively. The breakwater described in this case history used the Kowalski or Goodyear design, which is made up of modules of eighteen tyres which are connected up to form a flexible mat (See Fig.l).