Moorage
Rate increase coincide with Electric Installation startup:
Salmon Bay Marina is continuing to make
improvements. We
have anticipated the electrical needs of our tenants and
designed an electrical system that should serve our tenants
well into the future.
We have scheduled Seattle City electrical inspections
and anticipate completion of the electrical system on
"B" Dock, "C" Dock, "D"
Dock and "E" Dock by June 1st. "A"
Dock is scheduled by the City for inspection in June,
and should be online by July 1. Since "A" Dock
is not anticipated to be completed until mid or late June,
we will credit "A" Dock tenants the difference
between the old rate and new rate for the month of June
only. Please note that all billing statements regardless
of the dock location, should reflect updating the "last
month moorage deposit". The updated electrical system
will furnish all tenants who have power outlets a minimum
of 30 amp power at 110 VAC. This is a 50% increase over
our existing 1962 system. Additional capacity, up to 50
amp. Power will also be available to tenants. Please
let us know your desire for 30 amp or 50 amp.
Different moorage rates apply between 30 amp and 50 amp
service. The new electrical boxes for each slip are located
closer to each slip and are water tight. They have pre-installed
Cable jacks that may be used when cable becomes available
in our area. Telephone jacks are also provided for tenants
who wish to have telephone. The pedestals have a bracket
on its back to support a water hose. The electrical boxes
are designed for marine use and have twist lock receptacles.
The new boxes are not to be used for securing vessels.
Please refrain from securing mooring lines to the new
electrical boxes or their pedestals. They are not designed
to withstand the force of a tugging mooring line.
The
new power box 30-amp plug is a marine style plug that
secures the boaters cord with a locking nut to the marina
outlet. This is a safety precaution that will significantly
reduce potential short circuits and/or poor electrical
contacts at our dock power heads. All Tenants using our
30 amp electrical system must have shore power cords
with locking nuts.
Please
note, you will have until July 15 to replace your
existing electrical cord with a twist lock plug. All
30 amp receptacles require a functioning locking nut.
Cords that do not conform to the twist lock style will
be unplugged at the tenant's risk. Any cord that is re-plugged
into the receptacle and does not conform to the locking
nut requirements will be confiscated.
In
addition to the electrical expansion costs at Salmon Bay
Marina, the City of Seattle will be requiring all covered
marinas within the Seattle city limits to make certain
improvements. The mandatory investments may exceed $300,000
per marina. No "grandfather clauses" will be
applicable. The covered marinas must provide specific
types of standpipes and standpipe testing, reduce tenant
parking for fire truck turning radii, furnish drafting
hydrants where necessary, change electrical connections,
and either install sprinkler systems or install heat vents
with draft curtains and provide an emergency"911"
24-7 telephone. These are only a few of Seattle's mandated
requirements. The new ordinance also indicates that we
will probably have to change our existing moorage contracts.
We will notify you when the
revised contract is completed
and available for your signature.
The
Fire department has estimated a minimum of $84.00 increase
in rents per boat per month on all covered moorage. This
number does not include financing fees or 36%+ tax on
reserve accounts set aside for the mandated improvements.
Our current increase is nowhere near the estimate established
by the City Financial department. The City is granting
7 years to comply with the terms of the ordinance however
a completion plan must be made 60 days after being notified
by the fire Marshall's office. Obtaining the required
permits will also be a challenge in the time frame required.
The City of Seattle Mayor Nickels and City Council Nick
Licata can be thanked for the future high rate increases
and potential to drive boaters out of Seattle. They rubber
stamped the ordinance that mandates Covered Marinas to
make the extreme expenditures.
We
do not wish to lose our tenants as a result of cost increases
due to Mayor Nickels and City Council persons ordinance
changes, however we must adjust rates to reflect marina
improvements and Seattle mandated investments. If any
tenant wishes to move to less expensive moorage elsewhere,
we understand. If you do decide to move, please submit
a termination notice to our marina office. Termination
notice forms are available in our office for your convenience.
Our current moorage tenant
contract specifies termination notice by either party
to be submitted 30 days prior to the end of any month.
For
those of you remaining in Seattle covered moorage, we
hope you will find our marina to be an excellent option.
Again the city mandate applies to all covered moorage
within the Seattle City Limits.
Our
new rates can be found at: (Marina
Rates) Your moorage
rate depends on boat length / slip length, electrical
amperage, open or covered moorage, and if you are a live-aboard.
In addition, we are changing the minimum electric meter
fee and the locker rental fees. Guest moorage fees will
remain at $1.00/ft/day-night.
Salmon
Bay Marina was the only individual marina representing
itself and its tenants at the City Council public hearings.
We wrote many letters and sent numerous e-mail's to the
Seattle City Council in an attempt to educate our city
legislatures. In the end, our City Council people did
not want to hear how it would affect our tenants or why
more study was necessary before implementing the revised
code and what could have been reasonable alternatives.
Some of the information we submitted to the Fire Marshall
and City Council can be found on our archive
news articles page.
We
wish to give special thanks to our tenants Mr. Dwyer and
Mr. Knight for their testimony at the City Council hearings
on Salmon Bay Marina's and our tenant's behalf. Unfortunately,
the City Council had already rubber stamped the passage
of the expensive ordinance.
We
also thank those of you who contacted the City Council
and Mayors office. I guess we will have to vote with our
wallets and feet when the council and mayor are challenged
in the next election.
Thank you all for mooring at Salmon Bay Marina
City
Council Committee Meeting on Marina Fire Code Change:
The
City of Seattle has several committees who review the
different topics being submitted. In the case of the proposed
revised Marina Fire Code, a hearing will be on March
15, 2:00 PM in the council chambers (City Hall, 600 Fourth
Avenue, 2nd Floor). This may be the only time we
will have a voice in how the city council sees business
in Seattle. If you have time please attend and state your
views. If you do not have time then please e-mail Councilman
Nick Licata at : mailto:nick.licata@seattle.gov.
SALMON
BAY MARINA NEWSLETTER MARCH 2005
Sprinklers
Vs Heat Vents & Draft Curtains in Covered Moorage
- If passed by the City Council, covered moorage fees
will increase citywide. We suggest amending Council Bill
115185 to accommodate existing marina structures rather
than one shoe fits all.
In
our January Newsletter we indicated that the City of Seattle
Fire Marshall was revising the Seattle Fire Code. The
"New" revised code has been passed by Seattle
Mayor Nickels and submitted to the City Council for their
acceptance or rejection. If adopted, covered moorage and
adjacent open slip fees will dramatically increase in
Seattle. The good news is that the Fire Marshall's office
has recognized that sprinklers in covered moorages are
not effective. The bad news is the Fire Marshall's office
has come up with an alternative idea using heat vents
and draft curtains. The fire marshals senior engineer
has indicated many critical issues of the new code need
addressing but that the Fire Marshall's office is mainly
interested in making changes. The retrofit demand by the
Fire Marshall to existing marinas, including Salmon Bay
Marina, will cost plenty. We are enclosing a letter sample
to be sent to the City Council reflecting concerns about
the revised code. The letter can be signed, modified to
your own desires, or disregarded if you are so inclined.
To
be fair, a few of the proposed code changes are good.
It is important to have a fire plan that all tenants are
aware of. It is also reasonable to have dry standpipes
tested annually because firefighters deserve reliable
equipment. Currently our dry Standpipes are tested every
3 to 5 years.
What
is not fair is that Covered Moorages are being used as
a whipping boy because three years ago the City of Seattle
did not have the infrastructure that it has today. Three
years ago the labor unions of the fire department and
police department were squabbling who had jurisdiction
to fight marina fires and as a result even though the
Harbor Patrol fireboat was at the fire sites, they were
told to stand down. The fires spread while the Fire Department
tried to match different hydrant hose fitting sizes and
when they did get their hoses hooked up the fire department
discovered the city water department had reduced the water
flow to the fire hydrants. Needless to say there were
catastrophic losses at those marinas because the City
Services that taxpayers had been paying for, for decades,
were nonfunctional.
Today,
three years later, the Ship Canal has two fireboats soon
to be three (the Alki at fisherman's terminal and the
Harbor Patrol fire boat, with another on the way), the
fire department and the harbor patrol are at least talking
on the same radio frequency, the Seattle water department
is looking at maintaining their water sources, and the
fire department is visiting the marinas regularly to confirm
their equipment will fit the city hydrants. A recent fire
at Wilson Marina proved that the existing system seems
to work. Only two boats were damaged within the marina.
No catastrophic loss occurred because the aluminum roof
melted away and the Harbor Patrol police / fireboat was
able to put the fire out.
If
the "New Code" is passed by the City Council
then covered moorages will be expected to spend hundreds
of thousands of dollars to change their marinas and conform
to the new code. The Fire Marshall's office is minimizing
"grandfather" design issues because they have
been told by the Mayors office to change the code and
the Fire Marshall has the governmental authority to make
it happen. The result is the City Fire Marshall is trying
to make one shoe fit 40 marinas that are all structurally
different. Even if the marinas spend hundreds of thousands
of dollars making structural changes, we have no guarantee
that the city won't change again next year requiring more
money outlay for another issue.
If
the Code revision process goes through and the people
of Seattle are not concerned, then the Seattle City Council
may assume they have the "go ahead" to make
many other changes. This would eliminate the "grandfather"
construction implications currently found in homes, apartments
and businesses. The cost to live in Seattle will continue
to escalate. For example what if…: Requiring all
homes to be retrofitted with sprinklers because of the
potential of saving lives: Requiring all underground storage
tanks in homes to be double walled. Existing heating oil
tanks must be removed and replaced with double wall oil
tanks: All old and new houses must have foundations able
to withstand new seismic standards - jack up houses and
structures, tear out and replace the existing foundation:
all electrical panels and wiring must be changed to today's
code regardless of being in homes or businesses (the new
code is going into effect this year). The City is willing
for you to make mandatory investments into your property
without the City being required to supplement the investment
or without regard to where funds you will need to make
the changes are going to come from. Where does it stop?
More
information is available on specific issues Click
here .
Your
thoughts can be e-mailed to the City Council at http://www.seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm
or Council Member Nick Licata, Chair for Public Safety
mailto:nick.licata@seattle.gov.
City Hall, 600 4th Ave. Floor 2, P.O. Box Seattle, WA
98124-4025. We will post the City Council hearing dates
on this web page when available.
Should
"New Fire Code" For Covered Moorages be implemented?
The
Fire Marshall's office and marina industry have come a
long way in a few short months of review time to provide
a guideline for marina safety. Many of the issues including
signage, emergency plans and even exploring the use of
drafting hydrants is beneficial. Those issues could be
implemented easily and almost immediately.
We
are pleased that the Fire Marshall's office has recognized
that sprinklers are not the answer in that they are too
maintenance intense, too expensive, may not structurally
be adaptable to some covered marinas and may briefly subdue
fire spread but will not put out a fire in covered marinas.
The Fire Marshall's correct determination for adapting
"passive" and less maintenance intensive approach
by using Drafting Curtains, heat vents or a combination
of the two for fire protection a reasonable direction.
Several areas of the "new code" require refinement.
Those areas include: Draft curtain calculations, Draft
curtain height applicability to existing structures, Heat
vent characteristics, potentially hazardous visibility
issues, maintenance costs for supporting the code modifications,
using alternative materials like aluminum roofs to replace
heat vents, and construction costs to implement the code
suggestions.
The
language that has been crafted over the past several weeks,
as a general "new fire code", uses excessive
vent size calculations for each of the 40 different marinas
that the Fire Marshall's office has targeted. The Fire
Marshall will be depending on his discretionary ability
to modify a written code that has potential problems.
More time is necessary to establish feasible solutions
with reasonable wording. The solutions should be economically
viable with safer (if possible) conditions than currently
exist.
The
proposed submittal to the marina and boating industries
was crafted under an extremely rapid (approximately two
and a half month) time frame Sources continued to furnish
valuable information to the Fire Marshall's office up
to and including the last marina meeting date of January
27th. More information continues to be assimilated.
We
have been reviewing marina structures and boating practices,
and are exploring how the Fire Marshall's proposed "new
fire code" document for covered marinas will affect
covered moorages and their clientele. If the private sector
is going to be required to spend tens or hundreds of thousands
of dollars to retrofit existing old marinas to a new standard,
then that standard should be clearly effective, economically
feasible, and not be duplicating effects if a fire does
occur (as would be the effect if using heat vents and
aluminum roofs).
We
spoke to Rich Richardson, the Seattle Fire Marshall Senior
Engineer, of our concerns. We spoke after adjourning from
the joint Marina / Fire department meeting of January
27th. Mr. Richardson agrees that my concerns are valid
and provisions must be made to economically and safely
accommodated those concerns. As of March 11, the Fire
Marshall's office abandoned several formulas originally
applied to the February fire code Draft. Those formulas
were thought to be usable but in reality, were discovered
to be inapplicable. The fire Marshall is now suggesting
using a ratio of 15:1. The revised theory is; for every
fifteen square feet of roof, one foot of venting will
be required. This revision demonstrates why further
analysis is necessary.
Many
of the concerns previously reviewed are now being addressed
however further scrutiny should be made.
1.
Draft curtains:
a.
The new fire code document indicates a minimum depth
of 2 feet rather than the initial 4 foot depth. (This
is appropriate)
b.
Draft-curtains on a pitched roof where the top of the
sloped roof was open is not addressed. How does the
slope affect the heat transfer or heat flow?
c.
When I asked why draft curtains must be horizontal to
the floor, Mr. Richardson said no reason especially
when the roof is pitched. Why the draft curtain could
not run parallel with the roof surface has not been
addressed. Since heat rises, the draft of the heat would
direct it to move in the direction of the least resistance,
which is toward the open top of a sloped roof (if the
roof peek was open). So why must the curtain be horizontal?
d.
The Fire Marshall's document indicates the draft curtains
must be smoke tight. This may not be necessary because
the structures are open on at least two sides and smoke
will escape from one of the sides. If heat vents are
doing their job and open at the appropriate temperature,
then those smoke tight seams will not be necessary.
It is my understanding that a smoke tight wall is to
prevent smoke from entering other living spaces. This
is not an issue at marinas. In fact having smoke aroma
travel around a marina that indicates a potential fire
is brewing may be an advantage. Smoke aroma will alert
others on the docks that something may be amiss. The
boating community is a very tight alert community. They
tend to investigate anything that is out of the ordinary.
The construction for each of the different marina roofs
does not easily adapt to smoke tight seams. Marina roof
structures are constructed differently. Some have solid
roofs using wood decking, while others like ours has
aluminum sheeting for the roof structure. Our purlins
(roof supports) are spaced at 22 inches and are 8 inches
deep. The curved surfaces of aluminum roof membrane
changes shape when the sun strikes it, (even Seattle
does get some sun during the year). Miles of tape or
caulking will be necessary to make the draft curtain
walls smoke tight against the roof. The cost of labor
alone will be extraordinary because workers will have
to erect scaffolding over water in order to install
each inch-by-inch piece of tape or caulking. After the
tape or caulking is installed it will not hold because
the docks are a dynamic structures i.e. the docks continue
to move due to wave action and aluminum roof materials
expand and contract at different rates compared to newly
installed heat vents and wooden purlins. The caulk or
tape will not expand or move at the same rate as the
rest of the structure. The movement action will break
the "seals" over a short period of time thereby
rendering the smoke tight effectiveness irrelevant.
We currently are continually on the top of the roofs
caulking where the roof fasteners protrude through to
the purlins because of the expansion and contraction
of the aluminum roofs. These fastener repairs are minuscule
compared to the miles of an under roof caulking maintenance
nightmare.
d.
At what breeze velocities are heat vents ineffective?
Are they ineffective immediately if a breeze occurs?
If so how often is a breeze flowing through marinas?
Possibly roof scuppers may be an alternative to evacuate
heat?
2.
Lighting: Marinas are constructed in such a manner that
boaters (who may only use their boats occasionally) are
able to access their slips day or night. In order for
boaters to safely navigate their 8+ ton vessels that are
15 feet wide into a slip that is 16 feet wide they must
be able to see. Try driving your car on an icy surface
into a dark narrow garage in the rain with out lights.
Lighting issues diminish if draft curtains that would
restrict light are located higher under the roof rather
than lower from the roof and are parallel to the roof
rather than parallel to the water "floor".
a. Lights must not be in line with boat centerlines
and must be higher than the boat flying bridge or lower
than the boat deck to allow the pilot of the boat ample
visibility without blinding them due to looking directly
into a light. Having low curtains or curtains that are
parallel with the water "floor", will require
the lights to be lowered below the curtain to provide
lighting to all of the boats in the boat shed. Lowering
the lights may place them directly in line with boat
pilot's eye level. Light elevations within a covered
marina also affect how safe navigation will occur within
the waterways of each marina. Some boats moored at marinas
have tenders, swim steps or bow pulpits that extend
into waterways. Lighting reduces the collision potential
by allowing the boat pilot to visually confirm and avoid
obstructions. A lower the elevation of a light in a
Covered marina results in less waterway lighting.
b. Adding lights to each area encased with curtains
adds to the amperage draw. Increasing the amperage load
may require replacing the wire and probably the conduit
and circuit breakers, panels, new lights etc. These
changes all assume the marina has sufficient electrical
capacity to increase the lighting amperage load in the
first place. In addition to the structural challenges
for moving lighting, the light location must also accommodate
maintenance of the light fixtures. It is very difficult
to replace a light bulb in an enclosed light fixture
that is 20 feet above the water with no structure to
stand on. Again special considerations for safe maintenance
practices must be addressed. The cost just to change
a light bulb must be considered.
c. Boat sheds are designed to have light along walkways
as well. The curtains may preclude good walkway lighting.
This is hazardous for people who walk to their boats
at night on the narrow walkways. Remember wintertime
darkness arrives at 4:30 PM. Covered moorages tend to
block ambient light from beyond the covered docks. It
is therefore important to have the walkways lit to prevent
accidents, people falling into the water, or onto adjacent
boats.
3. Existing roof construction:
a. Some roofs are made of aluminum or steel and others
are made with wood decking. Heat transfer or construction
"credit" should given to roofs that are aluminum
and have proven the ability to disintegrate under heat
load even though the aluminum is not "rated".
Additional credit could be given for structures that
have sloped roofs with venting at the top of the slope.
Aluminum roofing materials are expensive and are actually
taking the place of roof vents. Photos of a marina fire
in 1994 (below) show how the aluminum roof burnt off.
The fire did not spread down the dock because the roof
burnt off. This is proof that roofs that burn off works.
If vents were placed onto the aluminum roof a question
arises if the vents would even be effectual. The roof
would burn off and destroy the vent anyway. Why place
tens of thousands of dollars into vents when they will
be ineffectual.
b. If environmental credits are acceptable for international
negotiations then why not devise something for structural
marina credits for vent areas. This could possibly include
existing walls within marinas, aluminum roofs, accessibility
to slips (waterway widths allowing access to the boats
in case of fire), and reduced potentials of fire jumping
across waterways onto other docks.
c.
Why not eliminate Aluminum roof marinas from being required
to install vents as was enacted for boathouses. Fires
in existing Aluminum roof structures have proven not
to be catastrophic because the roofs burn off and vent
the heat out.
The
newly recommended curtain height as of March 11, that
changes the draft curtain to 2' will definitely reduce
much of the light blockage issues that would have been
a serious problem if requiring a 4 foot draft curtain
provided the lower curtain edge is parallel to the roof
and not the floor.
4.
The March 11 recommendations include using a 15:1 ratio
of roof to vent area. This is in excess of the International
code which uses 30:1 for the most volatile high stack
storage in enclosed buildings. In actuality, because of
the structure being a pole structure with relatively low
roofs, and a water "floor" it seams reasonable
to have a 60:1 roof to vent ratio. This becomes more effective
economically for the marinas and follows existing science.
5.
Testing of existing standpipes to conform with requirements:
The cost to test the flow capabilities of a system annually
will be astronomical. All water that will flow though
the pipe will be rusty water. Shoreline Management act
will not allow that water to flow into the receiving water.
Therefore the thousands of gallons of water must be treated
or contained at the end of the piers. Special permits
from the city will be necessary for using city water from
the fire hydrants for testing flows. Inspections by ecology,
Washington State Department of natural Resources and probably
the Core of Engineers will be necessary. If Seattle is
concerned with water drought situation, is this requirement
realistic on an annual basis? What additional political
ramifications will result when the city requires limited
water resources to be used?
We
realize that the directive given the Fire Marshall's office
is a political issue driven by the mayor's office demanding
something be provided in writing. As the marina industry
and the Fire Marshall's senior engineer have indicated
earlier, a lot of work still needs to be done on making
the "new code" viable. Safety programs and signage
are excellent directions and as stated earlier can be
almost immediately implemented. However, I believe some
other issues should have more study time. Even Seattle's
Senior Engineer, Mr. Rich Richardson, has indicated that
Seattle is trying to do something that has never been
done before.
The Fire Marshall's office, through Chief Nelsen, recently
inquired to fire fighting peers on the East Coast of the
United States, as to if they thought Seattle was going
in the "right direction". It is my understanding
that those inquiries led to the affirmative and that a
"passive" direction for fire control by using
draft curtains was the best direction. It was suggested
not to pursue an "active, more maintenance intense"
and potentially nonfunctional direction like requiring
sprinklers.
So far, only limited existing science has been performed
to validate or negate many of the provisions that the
Seattle Fire Marshall is attempting to apply retroactively
on older open sided existing structures over water with
limited floor space and low roof heights.
Possibly the only opportunity to request further investigation
time on portions of the "new Fire Code" lie
with the city council hearings and the Fire Code Advisory
Committee.
The City of Seattle Fire Marshall's office has pointed
out the Mayors political point of view, and we appreciate
the Fire Marshall being willing to explore remedies. We
all continue to become more familiar with how the marina
industry operates with its existing built-in government
regulated interjections. Regulations are not only coming
from the City Fire Marshall's office. The interjections
also come from other government agencies, rules, or laws
including: U.S. Core of Engineers, Department of Fisheries
and Wildlife, Seattle Building Department, Seattle Electrical
Department, Washington State Department of Natural Resources,
Tribes, Federal and State Department of Ecology, Department
of Licensing, Drainage and Wastewater, Seattle Water Department
and the Washington State Shoreline Management Act to name
a few.
I recognize that the Fire Marshall is trying to coordinate
a relatively palatable direction of mandatory investment
on behalf of the forty or so covered marinas. But so are
many of the other government agencies. Again implementing
signage and safety programs can be addressed almost immediately,
however I trust the Seattle City Council and the Fire
Code Advisory Committee will see the wisdom of postponing
implementation for much of the "new code" as
written. Portions of the "new code" that will
be expensive to implement and are questionable as to their
calculated effectiveness including required vent sizing
should be delayed for adoption until more applicable information
is available and other issues raised herein have had an
opportunity to be reviewed. Having a time frame for implementation
as specified in the "new code" is important
for budgeting purposes and for establishing compliance
deadlines. However to over budget for something that is
not necessary can be detrimental to a businesses success.
This may be the case if the code stipulates designing
a larger number of expensive vents then necessary.
As the Fire Marshall's office has reiterated, doing nothing
is not an option. Implementing only part but not all of
the proposed "new code" is being proactive.
Making more investigations as to how vent sizing should
be calculated is also being proactive.
The progress of Seattle showing proof that the City has
been proactive includes:
1. Now having effective maneuverable city owned boats
on the ship canal with fire fighting capabilities manned
by Seattle Harbor Patrol who have fire fighting training.
2. The moving of the large Seattle Fire Boat "Alki"
to fisherman's Terminal to augment fire fighting capabilities
on the ship canal,
3. Better communication between the Harbor Patrol and
the Seattle Fire Department,
4. And the fact that recent covered marina fires have
been rapidly extinguished and did not cause catastrophic
losses (reference Wilson Marina fire).
5. Requiring safety fire plans for marinas in the "new
code"
6. Coordinating and furnishing marina layouts to fire
stations to enhance fire protection,
7. Validating dry standpipes regularly so they can be
trusted by the Fire Fighters,
8. Verifying and making provisions for marinas to have
sufficient water to fight fires that may occur,
These features and many more validate that Seattle has
not been standing still.
Seattle is and no doubt will continue to do be progressive
with regard to fighting fires on the ship canal, and marinas
are willing to help address many of the issues.
Making
requirements on marinas that have minimal effect for maximum
dollars is not a good idea. It also sends a bad message
to Seattle businesses and future businesses.
That
message is:
If
you come to Seattle and buy or rent a building, Seattle
may impose unreasonable restrictions and costs that
cannot be budgeted for. They did it to the Marinas
and can do it to you. Beware Realtors and Landlords.
It
would appear that if the Marinas can justify reasonable
cost effective solutions to comply with Fire Marshall
issues, then we could encourage business and industry
to come to the City of Seattle.
Much of our remaining northwest industry depends on the
water we are surrounded by. As indicated before, just
because someone has a boat doesn't necessarily make them
rich in dollars, only in spirit. Our marina caters to
many different lifestyles who enjoy boating. Lets not
price them out of the boating experience.
Respectfully
Charles
Draper Jr.
Salmon Bay Marina
The
"New Code" Council Bill 115185 should be
revised prior to adoption into City of Seattle Laws.
The "new Code" should include solutions to many
of the issues raised. Feel free to e-mail Councilman Nick
Licata (Chairman for the Public Safety in Seattle) mailto:nick.licata@seattle.gov
about moorage safety concerns and suggest alturnatives
if you have them.
Rescuing
Sinking Boats: Three boats saved. -
Salmon Bay marina staff regularly walks the docks to check
boat lines and explores anything out of the ordinary.
We also have a wonderful active boating community. Our
recent summer hours staffing program with the office open
seven days a week is already proving valuable for our
tenants. Pete Hanley, a marina staff member, was performing
a routine dock check, Sunday, June 8. He noticed a 30'
Uniflite on "A" dock sitting low in the water.
He boarded the vessel and opened the hatch cover to the
engine compartment. "Too Much Water" was leaking
in. Pete secured one of the marinas emergency pumps, began
pumping out the water, then notified the owner. (The new
boat owners were unaware that no automatic bilge pump
feature was on board. The boat only had a manual pump
switch.) The owner eventually arrived and cured the switch
problem. A short while later on "B" dock, Mr.
Brian King (one of our tenants) noticed a 40' Chris Craft
tri-cabin listing to port. Pete again to the rescue. Pete
and another tenant (Mr. Al Halowell who was familiar with
the vessel), boarded the boat and discovered water to
the floorboards in the forward galley. Pete used two more
marina pumps and began pumping the boat out. Again he
contacted the emergency number for the tenant and saved
the day.
Finally, the "Alien Queen" a beautiful classic
yacht, was recently placed from dry storage into the water.
Mr. Lyons, a prince of a man and owner of the "Alien
Queen", was aware his boat was taking on water. Wood
boats will sustain plank shrinkage while out of the water.
When placed back into the water, they will normally leak
until the seams swell closed. Mr Lyons anticipated his
pumps would handle the seepage as was the case in the
past. He was unaware that his batteries were uncharged.
To the rescue… Pete and a few of our tenants, Mr.
Bruce Kinaman, David Leadbetter and Al Halowell assisted
Mr. Lyons in setting up a battery charger for the boats
power and saw that the pumps were working properly to
resolve the issue. We are fortunate to have great tenants,
alert staff, and available equipment to cure many problems
that arise. Just another day on the docks with great tenants
and solving problems.
Boat
Auction October 25, 2003 : The 40' Matthews and the
33' Monk had no bidders. Salmon Bay Boat Sales is repairing
the Matthews engine and will sell both as repo boats.
Information on the boats including specification sheets
can be found on our boat sales page (Sales,Repos,Auctions).
The most recent surveys for both boats can be viewed in
our marina office.
1947
Matthews 40' - Hull has been refastened and corked
- Good shape,
1938
Monk 33' , radar, auto pilot, diesel stove, shower,
forward stateroom, runs well and has economical perkins
diesel engine.
Cold
Weather Water Shut off. It is that time of year when
the temperatures drop. Please keep track of our water
status. We will be shutting off the water when necessary.
Click on Water
Status for up-to-date potable water availability on
our docks.
Salmon
Bay Marina is addling a summer time office hour schedule
to include Sunday's and Monday's. To support our current
tenants and enhance service to future clients, beginning
June 1, 2003 Salmon Bay Marina will have their office
staffed seven days a week . Office hours for Sunday and
Monday will be from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Our regular office
hours Tuesday through Saturday will continue from 8:00
AM to 5:00 PM. This support will allow tenants to remove
or replace vehicles, boats etc. from the open storage
area on "D" Dock seven days a week. The additional
hours will allow prospective boat purchasers an opportunity
to receive information about boats for sale at our docks
on Sundays and Mondays.
Concerts
At The Locks
The
Government Locks has Free Concerts throughout the summer.
The schedule can be found at:
Concerts You can also find other things to do
by visiting our Links
page - "Kids Stuff".
Hot
Topic:
Washington State DNR Limits Boat Usage Affecting Non-live-aboard
and Live-aboard Boaters
Update
November, 2002 - for those who check
into our site for changes, additions to this article are
in rust color.
The
State of Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
has moved forward and increased its control over the boating
public by changing the law in the WAC's - Washington Administration
Code, and RCW's - Revised Code of Washington. The changes
by the DNR limit boat usage and restrict where pleasure
craft boats can moor. The DNR will require all marinas
to follow "Best Management Practices". Marinas
are required to furnish proof to the DNR that the boats
in their marinas have had their holding tanks pumped to
shore based disposal sites.
The
DNR has now made their decisions and unfortunately the
boaters in the State of Washington will suffer. Boaters
wishing to move to other nearby marinas may not be able
to do so. The DNR still anticipates placing a time limit
on how many days you can "reside" or stay on
your boat. That limit will be no more than 90 days per
year. The DNR has apparently changed their view to not
require the express permission of the DNR when switching
slips in the same marina. The proposed laws increase governmental
agency control over how you use your boat by limiting
marina capabilities and increasing registration responsibilities.
(more of "big brother looking over your shoulder").
This
control brings up a "Privacy Issue". If the
DNR requires all information about a live-aboard, then
why not all boaters? Who is responsible for policing the
information? Is the marina responsible for establishing
what personal property items and corresponding taxes should
be reviewed by the State?
Salmon
Bay Marina has for many years defined a live-aboard as
a boater who stays on board for more than 16 nights /
month. This allows our non-Live-aboard tenants the opportunity
to enjoy their investment all year long including weekends.
The DNR has determined that all boats at Salmon Bay Marina
will now be classified "Liveaboard", but only
under the definition made by the DNR. The current Seattle
restrictions allow 10% of the total slips as liveaboard.
The
Good news is that we have 19 years left on our DNR permit
and the new laws, according to the DNR, the changes will
not affect us until our existing permit expires. The bad
news is what will we do in 19 years when the people who
make the rules now are no longer around and we must interpret
verbatim what the intent was. We currently have tenants
who have been with us for over 20 years and hopefully
we will continue to have that following.
The
DNR proposed live-aboard definition is: a boater who "habitats"
their boat for 30 of 40 days and no more than 90 days
per year. The DNR is proposing that marinas may have up
to a maximum of 10% live-aboards.
The
Websters definition of "occupy" is: "to
be a resident or tenant of".
Definitions-
Websters Dictionary
"Tenant"
Law-a
person who holds or possesses for a time lands, tenements,
or personalty of another, usually for rent.
"personalty"
Law-Personal
estate or property
"tenements"
Law-any
species of permanent property, as lands, houses, rents,
an office, or a franchise that may be held of another
Although
not the intent of the DNR, an estimated ninety percent
of all boaters at every marina in the state will fall
into the DNR's live-aboard definition as live-aboards.
In order for boaters to comply with the DNR's proposed
new law, each boat must move to a different marina over
a mile away every 30 to 90 days.
The
DNR's "Proposed New Presidential Rule On State Owned
Aquatic Lands - Revised small business Economic impact
statement - July 2002 Final" is published. The link
is as follows: http://www.state.wa.us/dnr/htdocs/aqr/residentaluse/july3sbeis.htm
Apparently
our state officials have decided to continue with their
definition of "Occupy" rather than reside or
other terms that apply to living at a specific site. In
addition the July final publication also indicates that
the state is trying to shift more government control.
Section 8.1.6 "If the local government sets a limit
lower then the 10% used in this study, then that limit
would apply to marina businesses regardless of the department’s
laws and rules, so any resulting costs could not be attributed
to the proposed new rule."
We
urge you to call, write, or e-mail your legislative representative
and request not passing the proposed revisions of WAC
332-30 sections 171, 106, 139 , 144, 148 until all
the bugs are worked out.
Notify
your legislature representatives, lobbyists, and other
boaters that the proposed law revisions by the DNR are
not ready for passage. The proposed laws are bad for boaters
and the boating industry.
September
3, 2004 - The DNR has a new site http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/aqr/residentaluse/announce.htm
and http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/aqr/ showing the revised
rules.
Fire
destroys three pleasure craft on Lake Union
Remebmer
to unplug all electrical devices on board when leaving
your boat. This fire was attributed to a small electric
clock.
Thursday,
July 24, 2003 This was NOT
Salmon Bay Marina
By CHRIS
McGANN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The
hollering started about 5:40 a.m., according to Ron Sperry,
who lives aboard a 55-foot yacht at the Seattle Marina
on north Lake Union where three pleasure boats burned
yesterday.
"Fire
on the dock! Fire on the dock!"
Sperry
shot out of bed when he heard the frantic shouts, echoes
of the Seattle Marina fire he narrowly escaped 14 months,
six days ago. "But who's counting?"
That earlier fire caused $10 million in damage, flames
spreading from boat to boat, destroying 35. It started
just two boats away from Sperry's. Though he was not hurt,
the fire was a death blow to the 54-year-old yacht broker's
business -- 28 of his boats burned.
Quick
response by Seattle's Harbor Patrol boat was credited
with preventing an even worse fire. No one was injured
yesterday, authorities said. (Photo-Noel Berube / Special
to the P-I)
Yesterday's
fire ravaged a 42-foot fiberglass yacht owned by Richard
Brookbush, who had moved from Edmonds on June 10 to live
aboard his boat.
Brookbush,
51, said last night he wasn't sure what woke him up, but
when he did, glass was already shattering from the heat.
"I
ran into the salon and turned around to see the whole
back end of my boat in flames," he said. "If
I had woken up 30 seconds later, I wouldn't have woken
up."
Brookbush
escaped by jumping into the water.
From
his brother's Edmonds home last night, Brookbush said
he was relieved to find out that the fire did not start
on his boat.
He said
insurance likely will pay to replace the boat, but some
items are irreplaceable.
"I
lost everything I owned," he said. "I had all
my property on the boat."
A collection
of more than 100 signed first editions of books by Mickey
Spillane and Ray Bradbury collected over 25 years may
be among the hardest to part with, he said.
No one
was injured in yesterday's fire.
The two other boats were not occupied.
Nick
LeClercq, owner of Seattle Marina, said the Seattle Police
Department's quick response prevented kind of catastrophic
damage that occurred in the fire last year.
"What
saved the day is the Harbor Patrol boat No. 4," LeClercq
said. "They were here within 10 minutes. They came
around the corner with their cannons blazing. They were
like the cavalry.
"The
result is three boats ruined rather than 50."
As he
stared at the blackened rubble that was the galley of
one of the burned ships, Seattle Fire Department investigator
Tony Little said fiberglass burns incredibly quickly.
A small flame can sweep from bow to stern in five minutes
or less on fiberglass boats such as the ones that burned
yesterday, he said.
"The
same (fast-spreading fire) is true of a house, but on
a boat you've got limited egress," Little said.
The
boats explode like plastic and gasoline and propane --
cause that's what they are," LeClercq said.
Lt.
Sue Stangl, a spokeswoman for the Seattle Fire Department,
said firefighters had the fire doused by 6:30 a.m.
She
said the fire caused $1 million in damage to the boats
and the dock.
The
fire was ruled accidental, caused by an electrical problem
in one of the unoccupied boats.
John
Baxter, the marina manager, said investigators on the
scene told him a small electric clock onboard the 34-foot
Tollycraft where the fire broke out, was to blame.
"It
was the only thing that was running in the area of the
boat," Baxter said. "It was the clock or the
outlet or both.
"Clocks
are dangerous, especially the cheap ones, they have a
tendency to go bad, and they'll just sit there and cook."
Seattle
fire investigators looked into the possibility that electrical
appliances on one of the boats had caused last year's
fire, but in the end, they were not able to say what started
the blaze.
With
his border collie Buddy at his side as he watched the
mop-up, Speery, who has lived at the Seattle Marina for
15 years, said the back-to-back marina fires are more
than he could believe.
"We're
not supposed to have this many fires," he said. "This
is crazy."
He said
with last year's fire still fresh in his memory, the warning
cries yesterday morning seemed especially terrifying.
"When
you're on your own boat and somebody starts screaming
'Fire!' your heart just goes into your throat."
Conservation
efforts may cause traffic jams at Ballard Locks
SEATTLE
POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Boats
using the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard may face
longer wait times as the Army Corps of Engineers works
to conserve water and reduce the chance that Lake Washington
will fall below normal levels.
More
than 57,000 vessels each year pass through the locks,
which regulate the level of lakes Washington and Union.
Lock
operators now will wait until boats fill the lock chamber
whenever possible, increasing wait times up to an hour.
The increased wait times will last through August and
perhaps through mid-September.
Rescuing
Sinking Boats:
Three boats saved. - Salmon Bay marina staff regularly
walks the docks to check boat lines and explores anything
out of the ordinary. We also have a wonderful active boating
community. Our recent summer hours staffing program with
the office open seven days a week is already proving valuable
for our tenants. Pete Hanley, a marina staff member, was
performing a routine dock check, Sunday, June 8. He noticed
a 30' Uniflite on "A" dock sitting low in the
water. He boarded the vessel and opened the hatch cover
to the engine compartment. "Too Much Water"
was leaking in. Pete secured one of the marinas emergency
pumps, began pumping out the water, then notified the
owner. (The new boat owners were unaware that no automatic
bilge pump feature was on board. The boat only had a manual
pump switch.) The owner eventually arrived and cured the
switch problem. A short while later on "B" dock,
Mr. Brian King (one of our tenants) noticed a 40' Chris
Craft tri-cabin listing to port. Pete again to the rescue.
Pete and another tenant (Mr. Al Halowell who was familiar
with the vessel), boarded the boat and discovered water
to the floorboards in the forward galley. Pete used two
more marina pumps and began pumping the boat out. Again
he contacted the emergency number for the tenant and saved
the day.
Finally, the "Alien Queen" a beautiful classic
yacht, was recently placed from dry storage into the water.
Mr. Lyons, a prince of a man and owner of the "Alien
Queen", was aware his boat was taking on water. Wood
boats will sustain plank shrinkage while out of the water.
When placed back into the water, they will normally leak
until the seams swell closed. Mr Lyons anticipated his
pumps would handle the seepage as was the case in the
past. He was unaware that his batteries were uncharged.
To the rescue… Pete and a few of our tenants, Mr.
Bruce Kinaman, David Leadbetter and Al Halowell assisted
Mr. Lyons in setting up a battery charger for the boats
power and saw that the pumps were working properly to
resolve the issue. We are fortunate to have great tenants,
alert staff, and available equipment to cure many problems
that arise. Just another day on the docks with great tenants
and solving problems.
Live-Aboard
Moorage Slips Available Even though the DNR is trying
to put marinas out of business, we will still endeavor
to support the boating public. In supporting the boaters
we are adding three and possibly 4 more live-aboard moorage
slips. We made an electrical expansion on "D"
Dock and "E" Dock sufficient to support live-aboard
tenants. The power available is 110VAC and 220VAC with
30 amp and 50 amp breakers depending upon which slips
are leased. The moorage slips can accommodate boats up
to 70 feet in length with a slip minimum of 40 feet. The
Moorage rate is based on $14.00/ft. per month + Electrical.
We have combined two slips into one in order to accommodate
larger live-aboard vessels. The combined slips are: E-6
& E-5, E3D & E2D. The slip locations can be seen
on our "SlipMap"
on "D" and "E" Docks. Call our office
for more details.
Live-aboard
boats with moorage.
Basic
projects: Bear with us. Our marina projects include
parking lot re-stripping, repairing asphalt areas, fence
installation, rewiring the "new shop area",
evaluating Rest Room addition, repairing bulkheads and
roof structures, caulking roofs, painting the marina,
moving temporary steel storage, and yard maintenance (lawn
& shrubs).
We
have installed two new stacked Maytag front loader washer
and dryer units in the laundry / shower room. Each washer
has increased capacity and higher spin rate. This should
reduce the laundry drying time and allow tenants a faster
turnaround time.
Relocated
the Dumpster to the corner of the "New Shop".
This will allow better access to "B" Dock and
help keep the area cleaner.
Rebuilt
"A" Dock entrance increasing the walkway width
at the gate. This will provide easier access with carts
onto "A" dock. (Rails will be made in our new
shop when the shop is ready - see "New
Marina Shop" - below.)
Provided
three additional parking spaces near "A" dock
entrance
One
of our tenants invited friends aboard their boat. One
of their guests was pregnant. Delivery was onboard in
late May at Salmon Bay Marina. - Mom and Baby are doing
fine - we are not sure if its name is guppy (probably
not).
Charles
Draper III. Marina Operations Manager, is also a new daddy
with a son as of March 15 - Charles David Draper IV. (Between
his 19 month old little girl and the three month old little
boy, daddy is not getting much sleep yet)
New
Occupancy of Old B & A Building (See "New
Marina Shop" - below)
Marina
is still attempting to work with the City of Seattle,
Emperor Nichols and his Court Jesters concerning the New
Laws for Heat vents and Draft curtains (See "City
of Seattle Covered Moorage Requirements" - below)
Birchard
& Agee Move to bigger space:
A
third party recently purchased the Birchard and Agee business.
They moved from the 2900 Sq. Ft facility at Salmon Bay
Marina to a 10,000 square foot facility three blocks west
of Salmon Bay Marina. Their telephone number continues
to be 206.282.3593. They are still available to service
your vessels. We wish the new owners of Birchard and Agee
Marine service continued success.
New
Marina Shop:
The
building previously occupied by Birchard and Agee is to
be a shop facility for the Marina. For the past 40 years
Salmon Bay Marina has had a shop off site at Draper Machine
Works Inc. Draper Machine Works Inc. is the parent company
of Salmon Bay Marina. Their shop area, located in south
Seattle, was recently leased to another business. As a
result, the machine shop tooling, steel materials and
equipment had to be moved to a new location for temporary
storage. Some of the equipment and materials were loaded
into containers.
The
temporary storage is currently at Salmon Bay Marina on
"D" dock and part of the Parking Lot. The steel
and wood beam storage in the parking lot is anticipated
to be temporary. The move of equipment to Salmon Bay Marina
took place early 2006. Since that time, materials are,
slowly but surely, being placed into service or are being
sold.
Some
materials are planned for use at the Marina for repairs
and construction projects. For example, our transformer
supports in our new marina electrical system came from
the steel "I" beam inventory.
Potential
Rest Room addition:
We
are exploring the potential of installing another Rest
Room facility within the "new shop" that would
be accessible to tenants. The Rest Room will require additional
excavation within the building and trenching the parking
lot for installation of a pump system and piping for water
and sewer. The marina is below the sewer system and therefore
the effluent must be pumped up to the sewer line. Some
of the steel in the yard will be used to cover the trench
while under construction thereby allowing parking for
our tenants. We are still exploring this and completion
will depend upon what other projects must be completed
first.
Bulkhead
Repairs:
In
earlier notices to our tenants, we indicated our intent
on making bulkhead repairs. Many of those plans have had
to be place on hold due to the recent lease of the property
in South Seattle and the required moving of materials.
Some steel materials being stored at Salmon Bay marina
will be used in our bulkhead and dock repairs. Bulkhead
repairs are scheduled for this year.
Marina
Parking:
We
have increased the number of parking spaces available
since Birchard and Agee moved while other marinas on Westlake
Ave. are struggling to find parking for their tenants.
Birchard and Agee is no longer taking up the 23 plus parking
spaces at peek times for their boat storage and employee
parking. Our storage containers do take up some space
however more parking is now available for tenant parking
than when B & A were on site. We will be dressing
up the parking lot with planters and by painting the containers
as well as re-striping the lot.
Fence
Installation:
In
addition to the temporary storage of steel in the parking
lot, we are also storing fencing materials in a few of
the containers. We anticipate installing the fence along
the bank between the parking lot and West Commodore Way.
This will provide additional security for our tenants.
As stated earlier, it all depends on which project is
most important as to which is done first. The fact that
we have the materials reduces the overall cost to only
labor.
Parking
change on West Commodore Way:
You may notice that the number of transient vehicles that
used to park on West Commodore Way above the marina no
longer park there. The City of Seattle has posted that
area for 2 hour parking.
"A" Dock Damage:
A
few months ago one of the fishing vessels from Fisherman's
terminal lost shifting capability and ran into "A"
Dock causing over $60,000 of damage to the dock. We have
been working with Seaborn Pile Driving Company the City
of Seattle, and the Core of Engineers to make the repairs.
We are currently in the permitting process and have had
to pay upfront money to begin the process. Eventually
the insurance companies will take over, but until then
Salmon Bay Marina will foot the bill and make every effort
to keep the piers safe. The docks are currently stable.
Divers have been sent below to inspect the damage. They
have confirmed visually that the piles are sound.
Boat
Auction Coming up on July 15 2006
We
have several boats to be auctioned off.
· 1978 Bayliner 2550 Saratoga Power boat - sleeps
4,
· 1983 Formula 26' Sail Boat with sales- sleeps
6,
· Row boats,
· "Linda Ray" 36' Diesel Engine Custom
wood sport fisher,
· Sprint fiberglass sailboat hull with center board
and
· Wooden boats that have teak and mahogany planks
for wood workers.
Visit our Auctions web page to see what is to be auctioned.
Boats should be posted by June 20th.
Boatyards
Need Our Help - Feb 2, 2006. The Department
of Ecology is on the war path and boaters need to help
make a statement. Please read the article from the Northwest
Marine Trade Association concerning the dilemma.
http://www.nmta.net/wl/campbellscorner.asp If the
The Puget Soundkeepers Alliance gets their way, just pulling
your boat out of the water will cost plenty. If boatyards
here go out of business, then haulouts may only be in
.... Canada?
