In early January, Elliott Bay Marina of Seattle, the largest private marina on the West Coast, announced the completion of their new N-Dock that adds almost 1,000 feet of new dock to the marina. From planning to completion, the project was three years in the making. The new floating concrete structure replaces the previous dock built in the 1990s.
The new dock is more robust than its predecessor and has three Yacht Power Centers that make the outside of the dock ideal moorage for superyachts up to 300’. The inside of the dock has permanent moorage for vessels up to 38’. The new dock will also provide increased wave attenuation, making the entire marina basin calmer overall.
The dock was built by International Marine Floatation, a leading manufacturer of floating concrete structures, in Surrey, British Columbia. Dock sections range in length from 125 feet to 165 feet long, with the largest segments weighing over 1 million pounds. The dock was towed in seven sections, two at a time, over 5 months from the Fraser River in British Columbia.
The previous N-Dock had a treated timber wave fence on it to help mitigate wave action. The timber wave fence had reached the end of its lifespan and needed to be replaced, although the dock itself was in good condition and still had many years in its life span. Replacing the existing wave fence was not an option as that would have involved placing a large quantity of treated lumber in the water.
The wave fence was replaced with a concrete “brick” technology that did not exist in 1990 when the marina was built.
Due to Elliott Bay’s Clean Marina Certification and interest in environmental best practices, the retired dock was donated to the Port of Poulsbo. This will allow Poulsbo to significantly increase their guest moorage and amenities for boaters at little cost to the Port. The old fingers for the existing 38-foot slips were reused and mounted to the new dock, and all the power centers and dock boxes were replaced.
“This improvement will benefit not only Elliott Bay Marina,” said Dwight Jones, general manager, but “the entire region will be positively affected by the increased supply and quality of moorage for visiting super yachts. We look forward to hosting the world!”
