A $6.5 million expansion of Derwent Sailing Squadron’s marina has positioned the Club to meet a pent-up demand for berths in the area. The Club hired world renowned marina builder, Bellingham Marine to design the Club’s new marina.

Sandy Bay, Hobart, Australia – 25 February 2016 – With an eye for the possibilities and a willingness to explore all the options, Derwent Sailing Squadron, located in Hobart, Australia has recently completed an expansion of their marina that has the Club positioned for long term success. The new facility will allow Hobart to host a variety of new sailing events and accommodate larger yachts wanting to stay in the area.

Bellingham Marine worked closely with Derwent Sailing Squadron for over a year to develop the optimal berth configuration and wave protection for the marina. “The goal was to provide the Squadron with a pontoon system that would allow the club to maximize its full potential,” remarked Marc Carney, Area Manager for Bellingham Marine Australia.

“The pontoons and related infrastructure needed to be of high quality, yet affordable, be long lasting and easy to maintain, be able to handle the on-going trend of bigger boats entering the market, and serve the Club’s desire to operate as a venue for race events.”

The result of the Squadron’s perseverance and dedication to maximizing the site’s capacity is an improved facility that is rightly suited to meet the market’s on-going demand for larger berths and make a sizable impact on the local economy.

145 berths were added to Derwent’s existing 135 berths bringing the marina to a total capacity of 280 yachts. The new mooring area includes:

• Berths for vessels 10 – 30 meters with an option to convert 15 meter berths to 18 meter berths in the future with minimal modification,
• 650 meters of new concrete floating walkways,
• metered power and water,
• and concrete pontoons with FRP rods from Bellingham Marine.

According to Bellingham Marine, Derwent Sailing Squadron is the first marina in Australia to fully utilize the company’s proprietary FRP thru-rod system. “We have done several retrofit projects but this is the first new construction project in Australia,” said Carney. “We noticed a reduction in installation time with the new rods and are confident the rods will increase the system’s life span and reduce required maintenance.”

As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine specializes in floating dock, floating platform and floating wave attenuation systems for marinas worldwide. The company also produces dry storage systems for the upland storage of boats.