Projects

We're almost done with our Lake Pateros project for the Douglas County PUD. We're building 2 launch ramp dock systems, a swim float, and a mooring float facility at the four sites on the lake.

We're obtaining permits to rebuild the Cannery Village Marina in Friday Harbor. The old wooden docks have become wobbly and slippery, and the hinge joints are failing. The 26 slip marina is located right next to the Washington State Ferry landing. We're sleeving the existing creosote piles with custom-made fiberglass pipe, and replacing all the floats. The new docks will have great traction and stability, and the boats there, ranging from 30 to 50 feet, will be tying to custom Stainless Steel cleats instead of splintery wooden bull rails. We will complete the project this spring.

We have begun construction of new floats for the Quileute Marina in La Push, Washington. A storm damaged the aging wooden floats at the Quileute Marina, and we are currently replacing floats under a FEMA claim. The Quileute Tribe is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to obtain permission to dredge and expand the existing marina to accommodate more boats. The marina is currently a thriving working marina with access to excellent sport and commercial fishing, but has become worn and difficult to maintain.

The docks will need to be able to accommodate large fishing boats and withstand strong winds and waves. We are working with the tribe to repair the facility, increase access for disabled boaters, reduce maintenance costs, and produce jobs for the Quileute Tribe. The Quileute Tribe has a long tradition of fishing and canoeing, and providing safe boat storage and access is very important to maintaining that tradition."

In March of this year, I completed a new dock for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The DNR assumed ownership of a property on remote Cypress Island in the San Juan Islands, and their steel dock had rusted to the point where it was no longer serviceable. The replacement dock, constructed with my typical Aluminum frame design, has less over-water coverage, but provides capacity for more boats. The remote island cannot be accessed by road or ferry, so all work had to be done from my work boats.

We are beginning to replace the aging, wooden finger piers at Shelter Bay Marina with 4' x 40' Aluminum fingers after a lengthy bid process that began at the beginning of January 2011. The fingers will sit 19" off the water on 16" deep flotation tubs to provide lots of freeboard for the large vessels at the marina. The fingers will be phased in gradually over time to minimize disruption at the marina. All 318 slips will be replaced over time, with those in the worst condition being replaced first.

The Port of Brownsville, Washington is a thriving recreational port. There are over 300 slips for sail and power boats of a wide range of sizes, as well as a number of private boat houses. The location West of Bainbridge Island is a beautiful spot, protected from wind waves and wake by a large, engineered concrete breakwater.

The wooden walkways and finger piers of the marina, some over 30 years old, are in need of replacement, and it's time to expand the marina to accommodate more boats. The marina staff is making applications to expand the DNR lease boundaries in order to move the main breakwater North, and to bring the total number of slips at the marina to 600.

The marina staff and residents evaluated three demonstrator docks we installed for them a year ago. After a long, evaluation, design, and bidding process, we've been selected to begin building replacement finger piers for the marina, beginning with all the guest moorage fingers on "A" dock.

The marina is ADA accessible, with a sixty foot long by five foot wide ramp that is at a gentle five degree angle. There are four handicap accessible slips at the marina with special considerations for wheelchairs.

This marina contains 3880 square feet of floats, extends 100 feet into the lake, and is 366 feet long. Anchoring is provided by ten large submerged concrete blocks connected to the floats by stainless steel cable, and a 12,000 pound concrete anchor at the land end of the ramp.

The dock is designed to be zero maintenance, safe and strong. The frame is constructed of welded aluminum rectangle and square tube. There are two basic sizes of floats that are bolted together onsite in the desired configuration. This makes the marina easy to maintain and repair, and makes it easy to add on more sections later. The deck surface consists of 5 foot long by 1 foot wide Thruflow brand grating panels. Flotation is provided by foam-filled polyethylene box floats. There is nothing to paint, stain or treat in any way. No wood is used for any part of the marina, and there is no exposed foam. The marina has been in service for 3 years now.

Northwest Docks has completed a community dock for Friendship Lodge on Lake Wenatchee. The dock provides a side tie for all the lodge members' boats, a swimming platform at the end, and support for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Sockeye rearing pens, as the dock has historically done. The existing wooden floats were removed and replaced with Aluminum floats.. The existing piles were retained and re-used. This dock has a 2000 square foot surface area, and projects into the lake 229'.

In the fall of 2009, I replaced the fuel dock and launch ramp dock at the Lake Chelan Yacht Club. The old fuel dock was based on a sinking concrete float, and the floating wooden walkway was deteriorating. The new fuel dock is based on a 12' x 30' Aluminum float hinged to a 6' wide by 120' long floating walkway. The fuel float is not protected by wake and waves by the floating breakwater. In fact, the fuel dock and walkway act as the marina's breakwater when winds blow from the south and wakes from large boats hit from that direction.

The fuel dock contains fuel hose, water pipe, power and low voltage lines, and is lit with lights powered by a solar panel on the roof over the fuel pumps. The launch ramp floats are 60' long, and are supported solely by a hinge on shore, which eliminated the need for pilings. All utilities within the dock are accessible by removing grating panels with a screw gun. The various permitting agencies were happy to see the use of green materials and open grating, and the removal of creosote pilings, that they allowed the project to be constructed without mitigation.