Tofino Resort and Marina have installed a new boat dock for community members and sailors from afar.
The new marina would increase moorage capacity from 32 small vessels to about 53. Each jetty includes running water for washing down, each slip will have electricity, and eventually there will be fuel lines.
Project supervisor Gord Plecas from Ruskin Construction Ltd. said the marine structure cost the new owners about $1.5 million.
“There were a lot of considerations that had to be done for environmental side of things. It was a little bit more time consuming and did have some cost values involved,” Plecas said. “The owners decided, through engineering design, that they wanted to go a step further, so there was no hindrance on their part. They spent the money to do it right.”
Construction on the new dock began in mid-April.
Plecas said the biggest challenge for his pile driving crew of six was the inclement weather and working with the spring and early summer tides.
“Keeping the piling and marina straight in line has its strong ambitions to failure,” he said. “There’s a higher rate of failure trying to manoeuver derricks plus keeping marine traffic open to the public. The biggest obstacle here was the heavy flooding tides running at eight knots.”
The new dock is special in the fact that it is the first dock in Tofino to have embedded pipe piles, according to Plecas.
The pipe piles are made from non-weathering steel and on top of each pile there is a white fiberglass cone hat to protect the waterfowl from falling inside.
“All of the material and organics and drilled bedrock is exhausted up through the piling and out through a discharge hose and out into a containment bin. The containment bin is then transported to the safe environment area offloaded into trucks and transported offsite,” said Plecas, who has been working in the marine construction industry for the past 47 years. “Very, very little is put back into the marine environment, as in drill clays or mud.”
Preston Charlie of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation was hired as an environmental monitor throughout the pile drilling process.
“I’m happy to be here and do what I can for Nuu-chah-nulth. I’m happy to do my part,” Charlie said.
Jornic Marine Construction was responsible for installing the floating fir wood structure, which was originally built in Lake Cowichan.
“It’s treated with a product called Chemonite. It’s got a 65-year shelf life on it,” said Ron Kipot from Jornic Marine.
Plecas told the Westerly that everything was going according to schedule.
“We should have the marina over to the new owners by the end of next week. Our projected completion date is June 15. And, I believe, the full marina will be open to the public by the first week of July,” he said.