Whether you are considering a renovation or you are building a new marina from scratch, there is one thing we can all agree on: You can’t afford to not do it right the first time! That’s why we’ve made it our goal to equip owners with the tools they need to make the best decisions for their business and the operation of their marina.
Your marina is a big investment, it’s important to plan ahead for construction and make sure things are done right the first time.
Building on Water: The Ultimate Resource Guide is a fantastic and easy-to-use planning tool. The book will guide you through everything from the dock systems that are available to the best construction methods for getting your job done on time and on budget.
Here are 3 tips that every successful marina developer swears by…
Tip #1 – Know What Dock Fits Your Needs
Choosing a proper dock system for your site is one of the most crucial factors to a successful marina.
- Are you on a lake or the coast?
- What is your wave environment?
- What types of boaters would you like to welcome into your facility?
These are all important questions to answer, and Building on Water will help you learn which kind of dock will work best for your situation.
Bellingham Marine’s company strategy is fairly simple; provide each client with a solution that provides the best value for their specific project and criteria. In order to find a balance between price and performance, each project must be looked at through its own unique lens.
This innovative berthing solution for mid-sized bulk carries provided the client with a best value alternative to the original design concept.
The company relies heavily upon the expertise of its employees, its experience in the industry, and its network of outside professionals to provide each client with a best value option.
Innovation is embraced as a means to achieve “best value” rather than a goal in and of itself. It is this focus on value and ability to provide innovative solutions that allows Bellingham Marine to excel in its niche market and to be comfortable and successful in taking on unique, one-off projects.
In 2013, Bellingham Marine was approached by a major supplier of high quality construction aggregates. The company was looking for an innovative solution for mooring its Panamax bulk carriers at its new import terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California. The existing berth structures at the site were designed for barges and would not work for what the company needed. They needed a solution that would allow them to moor mid-sized bulk carries and support an efficient off-loading operation.
From gathering spaces to boat storage areas to foundations for floating buildings, advances in modern engineering have greatly expanded the possibilities for these unique structures.
The LMU boathouse sits on a floating platform and features a low freeboard dock on the front of the building for launching shells.
The modern floating platform can serve a variety of functions for marinas as well as a number of other sectors. From gathering spaces to boat storage areas to foundations for floating buildings, advances in modern engineering have greatly expanded the possibilities for these unique structures.
In its simplest form, the modern floating platform is a custom-built structure, typically comprised of individual concrete modules joined together to form a broad surface or foundation that is, for all intents, a solid unit. These floating structures are extremely tough and can be designed to handle tremendous loads.
Terminal sites are usually more exposed than your typical marina and the loads placed on the docks from heavy foot traffic, complex gangway and railing systems and not to mention large vessels are much greater than in your typical small boat harbor. Thus, the docks are beefy – built extra tough, and are designed to handle extreme conditions.
Stanley Bay Ferry Terminal
The floating ferry terminal in Stanley Bay features a dual level freeboard.
Over the past 12 months, Bellingham Marine has completed a handful of floating ferry and cruise ship terminals. With so many terminal installations going in worldwide, I thought it worth a closer look at a few of them. Their design showcases some of the most extreme technologies, engineering and design options available in the world of floating platforms and dock systems.
Situated in the heart of Auckland, is the new Stanley Bay ferry terminal built for Auckland Transport. The terminal services ferries between downtown Auckland and the North Shore. The terminal’s post-tensioned floating concrete platform, which is used for loading and unloading passengers, measures 4.8 meters (16 ft) wide by 15 meters (49 ft) long.
Cap Sante Boat Haven hired Bellingham Marine, world renowned floating dock expert, to design their floating platforms. The platforms are rented out as event space.
One of the business strategies of a successful marina operator is that they look for and find opportunities where others see nothing. By approaching the design and operation of their facility with an eye for solutions that capitalize on site-specific features and have long term financial viability they are able to identify opportunities that generate financial profit and wealth.
As many marinas would attest, fees from slip rentals alone are rarely enough to keep a marina afloat (no pun intended). The business typically needs an additional source(s) of revenue. The challenge for the owner or operator is to identify what those sources are.
In an effort to survive a tough economy and build a financially sustainable business marinas are getting creative. A marina in Washington State provides us with a good example of what one marina has done to help build their profitability.