Abstract: A bulkhead system to resist waterfront wave forces and reduce or eliminate erosion damage to waterfront property and structures. The bulkhead system is comprised of one or more rows of spaced nominally vertical piles, the piles extending into and above a ground surface in a self-supporting configuration. A stack of annular units, each in the form of a vehicle tire filled with concrete or other ballast material, is positioned on each of a plurality of the piles. Adjacent piles are positioned to have a pile-to-pile spacing to accommodate adjacent stacks of annular units and to form a substantially continuous wall or bulkhead. Intercoupling means, such as cabling, is also provided to couple adjacent groupings of piles so that wave forces incident on one or more piles are distributed to other piles on a shared basis.