Learn the secrets to replace your docks on a tight budget without sacrificing quality or style.
Take a tip from Santa Barbara Harbor. Enlist Bellingham early in your marina construction process and get the marina you want with your limited funds.
For Santa Barbara Harbor rebuilding 500 of their slips without imposing large rate increases seemed impossible. Set to find a way, the Harbor enlisted the help of top marina builder, Bellingham Marine. Together the two set out to achieve the impossible.
With an open mind and a willingness to invest time in the process, you too can rebuild your tired marina without breaking your budget.
Follow these 3 marina renovation tips and discover how.
1. DON’T HOLD BACK ON THE PLANNING PHASE
The tighter the budget the more valuable the planning phase. Get a good understanding of the big picture. Then, sit down with your marina builder and begin to construct a plan that will take you from point A to point B.
Planning Phase Focus
The planning phase should include more than design and material choice. Identify and define these key items:
- Business goals
- Market demand
- Site conditions (including limitations)
- Sticking points (what are you not willing to compromise on)
- Budgetary constraints
- Funding sources
This important step will give you the lens you need to make critical decisions going forward. Everything should point back to your business goals and market demand.
Your site’s conditions – water depth, wave environment, boundaries, entrance channels and your sticking points will guide you toward what’s possible.
Armed with the above information and your ideas on dock type and amenities, your marina builder will be able to identify your options.
Your options package should include:
- A range of approaches including phased construction options
- Permitting requirements and possible workarounds
- Possible system trade-offs
- Optional features and amenities (upgrades and downgrades)
- Future add-ons
A marina builder worth their weight in gold will know what trade-offs can occur within your project. The goal? A solution that is a best fit for your business, your budget and your customers.
Whether you are an investor, developer, owner, operator or just someone interested in the industry, this is one marina development FAQ you won’t want to miss. The pros at Bellingham Marine (and a few of the company’s trusted engineers) tackle owners’ top 12 challenging site questions.
A design/build, single source approach to marina development is often the best way to keep project costs down and meet tight deadlines.
Topics Covered
- Extending existing docks
- Mitigating wave from boat traffic
- Building for high density
- Building and operating in freezing temperatures
- Building in tropical, high-salinity environments
- Rebuilding on a tight budget
- Placement and design, launch docks for human-powered craft
- Options for meeting grating requirements and bans on treated wood
- Building for mixed-use
- Dock that will ground out at low tide
- Dealing with debris on rivers
- Extending pile height
If you don’t find the answers to your question, contact us. Every site is unique and comes with its own questions. We love to talk about marina design and would love the opportunity to talk with you about any questions you have.
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.
As one year comes to a close and a new year begins, we are often asked “what is your outlook for the coming year for the marina industry” or “what are some of the trends you’re seeing and what can we expect to see more of.”
Stamped concrete decks are an easy way to add an architectural detail to your marina facility.
Although much of our comments are logged by editors and shared in their publications, I thought it worthwhile to share some of our comments directly with our readers…
Worldwide, from our perspective, things are starting to turn. Marinas are beginning to see the increase in boat sales trickle down into their occupancy rates, money is loosening up and governments in emerging markets seem to be taking a more active interest in their boating and marina industries. We remain optimistic that in 2014 and coming years the industry as a whole will continue to grow and prosper.
For the marina industry, 2012 continued a steady march forward toward greater innovation, higher customization and a stronger push for value.
The extra wide floating docks at YCCS marina are perfect for accommodating the crowds of people that visit the facility during the club’s annual Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous.
The passing of time is inevitable; another year has come and gone and we are now well into 2013. Part fueled by tighter budgets and part by improvements in materials and technologies, the marina industry is becoming leaner and more advanced.
A look back at the many discussions with owners and developers over the year reveals an ever increasing importance being placed by owners on aesthetics, functionality and last but not least value.
Many of the trends in aesthetics center on customization and personalization. Each year, the number of clients requesting colored and /or stamped concrete docks increases. Rounded finger ends are becoming a standard feature in Australia and are continuing to increase in popularity in the U.S., use of LED lighting is becoming more widespread, and requests for hardwood and composite trim packages are starting to show up in large public projects.