DOWNTOWN MARINA PROGRESS

by Port Captain Fred Higham, MROC Chair

The redevelopment of the SPYC Downtown Marina is well underway. The marina was vacated as of June 1, 2023. During June and July our staff was busy preparing for the demolition.

Items including cleats, line hangers, piling caps, access points, cameras, life rings, fire extinguishers, and floating ladders were removed for repurposing at other SPYC locations. The Staff removed the power pedestals for resale to members and others and relocated the floating docks and access ramps to the Sailing Center. They removed the awnings and benches and decommissioned the utilities.

On June 26, 2023, I visited the SF Marina Factory outside of Gothenburg, Sweden , to see the fabrication of our docks. I was impressed with the production techniques and quality control procedures. The factory has a concrete plant on site where they mix the cement and aggregate while constantly monitoring the water and air content of the slurry. The individual dock sections are constructed with EPS Styrofoam cores and protected steel reinforcements. Test samples are taken from the pour for each dock section. The samples are strength tested at 7, 14 and 28 days after casting. Each section is custom designed and cast with channels through the foam and concrete to accommodate our unique utility requirements. All utility chases are located inside the cast sections. The section design drawings were pre-approved by ATM, our consulting engineers, and Speeler and Associates, our general contractor, before they were cast. The factory has 5 production lines, and 4 lines are dedicated to producing our docks. Our dock system includes individual floating concrete sections of varying sizes. As of today, 21 docks have been cast.

It is expected that the last of our units will be cast by September 1, 2023. Once cured and finished they will be loaded on a ship for transport to Tampa Bay. Several photos of our completed docks, and docks in progress are included with this report.

As of this writing, the shipping schedule has not been finalized. Our marina expected completion date will be updated as shipping and receipt dates are finalized. It is exciting to see this project, which has been in the works for the last four years, come to fruition. With a 480-volt, three phase electrical system, the new marina has a significant electrical upgrade. In addition to our permanent slips the new marina will have 470 linear feet of floating dock along the north side for use as flexible transient docking. This could allow docking of 4 -100 footers, or sixteen 25 footers, or any mix in between; that mix can change hourly depending on member demand.

I look forward to the completion of this project which will provide our members with a world class amenity to enjoy long into the future.