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2017 May June Marina World

The magazine for the marina industry

Kropf Industrial also

Kropf Industrial also supplies a full line of hydraulic boat trailers, as well as steel tube floating dock systems and floating breakwaters. www.kropfindustrial.com info@kropfindustrial.com 888.480.3777 Martini Marinas floating pontoons. The best, from all points of the compass. Mets Amsterdam 15/17 November 2016 stand MYP05.409 Martini Alfredo S.p.A. Via Centro Industriale Europeo, 43 P.O. Box 30 - 22078 Turate (CO) - Italy Tel +39 02 963941 - Fax +39 02 9682613 marinas.export@martinialfredo.it www.martinialfredo.it Switzerland T. +41 91 9945545 info@interbox.ch Croatia T. +385 1 6530103 stp@stp-croatia.com Greece T. +30 23 10692899 makis@zaggas-group.gr Netherlands / Belgium T. +31 6 46140603 info@aquamore.info

MARINA PLANNING & DESIGN Unifloat pontoons with rounded end finger piers being installed to create a 158-slip arrangement. departments and the Māori hapū, whose permission was required. “We had extensive consultations with the affected hapū and got their support,” King confirmed. “We also had to address environmental and cultural issues and file the required studies and reports.” Twenty-seven variations of the design were considered before a consensus was reached. “We had been focusing on a berth configuration similar to the existing layout when a couple of my team (Alex Dickie and Rod Vennell) suddenly had a penny-drop moment and saw it in a new way. Now it seems so obvious. We’re very confident in the final design and layout,” he said. Bruce Birtwistle, general manager Bellingham Marine, added: “The process was further complicated because this is the first project the DIA has done of this kind in the interior. They are not normally involved in the marina business. Working with the DIA team has proved rewarding. They have been quick to accept ideas and make them work.” Cleaning the site Lake Taupō is a world famous trout fishery, with brown and rainbow trout introduced in the late 1900s from North American stock. The redevelopment of the site required humane removal of all fish prior to dredging or construction. Crews captured 3,000 catfish living in the basin and recycled them for fertilizer. “The catfish are an invasive pest,” said King. “They compete with trout for food sources and eat juvenile trout. We were delighted to reduce the catfish population.” Earthworks and dredging began in 2016. The work included excavation and removal of the island, and a reclamation of part of the lake. The design implemented a zero cut to fill balance of the dredged material (approximately 40,000m³ [52,318yd³]), which formed the reclamation. Seay Earthmovers also owns a quarry and supplied the boulders for the sea wall protecting the reclamation. The opening of the new marina was scheduled for April, but is delayed until July 2017. The old timber wall proved fragile and failed in several places during dredging. Seay and Bellingham Marine have been asked to replace it with steel sheet pile. Additionally, work in parts of the site was halted with the arrival of nesting black-billed gulls, which have the distinction of being the most threatened gull species in the world. New technology pontoons The marina’s new Unifloat pontoons are arranged in a 158 slip configuration with rounded-end finger-pier berths from 8 to 14m (26 to 46ft) in length. The pontoons have New Zealandgrown treated pine walers, aluminium pile guides, aluminium gangways and security gates. There will be power pedestals and potable water at the slips. The pontoons incorporate FRP ‘thrurods’ and nylon nuts manufactured by pultrusion (the material is pulled through a die rather than pushed as in the more common extrusion process). The FRP thru-rods are corrosion free and are sufficiently resilient to retain tension over time, virtually eliminating the need to retighten the nuts. The FRP thru-rods contribute to the corrosion resistance and low-maintenance of the dock system. The docks were manufactured in Auckland and transported to the site by truck. Bellingham Marine’s Auckland plant serves New Zealand and the South Pacific as far as Guam. Quality water The water quality situation was critical. “We installed a fresh water pumping system that extends 400m (1,312ft) outside of the marina,” King confirmed. “We have a 400m pipe with 500mm (19.6in) diameter that will pick up pristine water from 3m (10ft) deep where the water is cooler and pump it into the marina at 200 litres (44 galls) per second. Marina water will be refreshed every 72 hours and it takes 72 hours for algae to form. Our threepronged approach to defeat algae is cool water, fresh water and constant movement. We’ll be able to see the lake bottom through pristine water and we anticipate trout and smelt will form habitat in the basin.” A public resource The new marina will be a vast improvement, with water, electricity, secure gangways, bathroom facilities and a quadruple boat ramp. “We are creating a beach and a large green space. The community has never had a swimming beach and we’re looking forward to seeing families there,” King noted. “This is not a bigshot developer project. We are creating a public resource. But we would like to think that the new marina will be the catalyst for economic development, especially for southern Lake Taupō.” Bellingham’s Birtwistle said: “Philip King brought the energy and patience to work with the various groups and stakeholders to bring the project across the line. He wanted to do it right and he had the vision to see the potential. He can look back with satisfaction at what has been accomplished.” Robert Wilkes writes about the marina industry from Bellevue, Washington, USA. www.marinaworld.com - May/June 2017 29

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