“The Gold Anchor
“The Gold Anchor scheme has provided an excellent template to inform our planning and investment priorities during the development of our newly completed marina.” Darren Finkelstein, Marina Manager, Wyndham Harbour Marina, Melbourne, Australia. Gold Anchor rating: 4 Gold Anchors www.tyha.co.uk www.marinas.net.au
MARINA PLANNING & DESIGN The operators of Alamitos Bay Marina, just south of Los Angeles in California, have undertaken a ‘journey’ to rebuild slips in seven different basins. An epic rebuild at Alamitos Bay Marina Embattled by rising maintenance costs, Alamitos Bay Marina initiated a programme in 2005 to rebuild all 1,962 slips in seven different basins. The timber docks dated from the 1960s and were 20 years past their projected life span. No one at the City of Long Beach, California, imagined it would take the next 13 years to complete the project. Robert Wilkes reports The marina is south of Los Angeles and enjoys a uniquely loyal customer base. There are tenants who have been there for decades whose children and grandchildren are also renting slips. Over time, neighbouring tenants have formed tight communities. The City’s marinas are operated by the Marine Bureau, part of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine. Three City-owned marinas total 3,337 slips: Alamitos Bay Marina, Long Beach Shoreline Marina and Rainbow Marina. Alamitos Bay is the largest marina in the US. The rebuild project started in 2005 and has been undertaken in phases. The final phase will be completed in mid-2018. Reasons for the length of the project are size, environmental compliance and the timing of funding. Elvira Hallinan is the Marine Bureau manager. “Most operators have a marina the size of one of our basins,” said Hallinan. “We had seven basins to rebuild. It wasn’t a project, it was a journey.” Delays caused by the Environmental Impact Review (EIR) were unanticipated. Contractors were ready to begin when the requirement for a full EIR delayed the start of construction. Start-stop-start scheduling Incremental funding created a number of starts and stops. Unable to fund the work, the City applied for and was awarded loans from the Division of Boating and Waterways of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The loans were parcelled out corresponding to project phases. Construction would halt until the next loan was awarded. In 2015 the Marine Bureau leapfrogged the financing problem and construction has been continuous since. Reconfiguring for the market In the original marina slips started at 20ft (6m) in length. Boating evolved and smaller slips went unrented, but California Coastal Commission regulations protect the rights of small boat owners. The problem was resolved by trading small slips for two dry storage facilities, one with 164 racks and a soon to open facility with 100 more. After many design/build conferences to determine the optimum configuration, wet moorage slips now total 1,655, from 15 to 115ft (4.5 to 35m). The most common slip size went from 30ft (9m) [429 slips] to 40ft (12m) [359 slips]. The number of slips over 80ft (24m) has gone from one to ten. The Bellingham Marine concrete docks include rounded finger ends and wood trim at the triangle frames. All-new Eaton electrical utilities and power pedestals provide 30A to 50A power. The marina offers pump-out receptacles within reach of every boat and individual receptacles for slips 40ft (12m) and above. A design-build team “Most public marinas are designed by an engineer, put out for bid, and the low bidder is selected,” said Eric Noegel, manager of project development for Bellingham Marine. “We call that the design/bid/build methodology. We used a design/build approach for this project - a much better option.” The design/build method is based on the concept of a single entity who accepts full responsibility for designing and constructing a project from conception to completion. The more experience the firm has in the required disciplines (design, manufacture and Installing final elements in the design/build process. www.marinaworld.com - January/February 2018 39
