Anacortes Small Boat Center

Minutes of General Meeting, Monday, December 5, 2011,

Anacortes Yacht Club

Gaining meaningful public access to the waterways of Fidalgo Island by the creation of a usable, multipurpose small-boat center to enable the on-water launch and use of small boats

Present: Andy Stewart (vice-president), Jane Billinghurst (secretary and OARS), Carl Franz (Sea Scouts), Don Pinter (Sea Scouts), Greg Denman (ACMC), Dustin South (Anacortes Parks & Rec), Dale Fowler (Port of Anacortes), Vince Sellen (Anacortes Yacht Club), Steve Orsini (Lido 14 Fleet 78), Bill Short, Boshie Morris, Ian Sloan, Beth Bell, Doug Cassidy, Chris Anderson, John Pope, Roger Jewett

Absent: Norm Havercroft (treasurer); Pat Barrett (president); Board reps from Hole in the Wall Paddling Club, Anacortes RC Sailors, Anacortes Sea Venture Scouts Crew 4081; ex-officio Board members Anacortes Chamber of Commerce, Anacortes School District, Skagit Valley College

Vice-president Andy Stewart called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.

Treasurer’s Report

In the treasurer’s absence, it was reported that we have about $14,000 in the bank with $3000 more to come from the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce when Pat Barrett submits the final paperwork from the Quick & Dirty Boat Building Contest at the Waterfront Festival.

Hoist

Dale Fowler reported there were three primary issues.
1. To repair/replace the rollers that allow the crane mast to rotate
2. To extend the boom
3. To move the winching mechanism

The rollers have been fixed and are now fully functioning. The engineering has been upgraded and they can now be greased as part of a regular maintenance schedule. The rollers still use the UHMW bushings.

The Port has asked two crane companies in the state to bid on items 2 and 3—the original company and one other. The bids have been received and the Port will choose one company to supply drawings. Once drawings have been received, the Port will include ASBC and any other interested parties before any plans are finalized. Both crane companies estimate it will take two to three months to fix the problems.

Beth Bell expressed concern that there had been no meeting with the Port to go over other concerns that have arisen during operation of the hoist. Steve Orsini expressed concern that what the crane company delivered did not appear to match the drawings that were approved. ASBC does not want to get in the way, but mentioned how well the process orchestrated by Becky Dardon worked when making refinements to the plans at Seafarers Memorial Park.

Dale Fowler says he is confident the hoist issues will be resolved. The adjustments call for more reach than even in the original design proposal. The target weight for the lift is still 3,500 pounds.

John Pope raised the issue of rigging getting caught in the I-beam, and Dale will consider a material to prevent rigging from getting hung up there.

Dale mentioned the Port has moved lights from the west to the east side of the pier.

Andy Stewart wondered if the pivots should have bearings instead of UHMV. Dale reported that Superior Systems feels the plastic is up to the task especially now the pivot can be greased and will be inspected and maintained on a regular basis. Andy Stewart wondered how it would be inspected if not under load at the time of inspection. Beth Bell wondered if an extra set of parts should be fabricated now in case of failure at some future date. Dale will check the inspection protocol and look into the possibility of extra parts.

Concerns were also raised about the speed of the mule. It could really use more power. Dale acknowledged this.

ASBC mentioned its concern that the crane company did not do a good job of creating a user-friendly hoist, and the crane was down for about 7 to 8 months in the 18 months since it was installed. Dale reported that the crane company did not give any hint that it felt responsible for the problems and took a long time to respond to the bid request to fix them. He acknowledged this was a problem.

Dale assured ASBC that Port will work hard to ensure that nothing in the revised plans is left to interpretation and that the Port will work to find money for the fix. He did not give a specific time line as to when ASBC will be invited to give feedback on the selected company’s drawings, but he reiterated, and Bill Short agreed, that the Port wants this to be a project that everyone can be proud of and the Port regards ASBC as being a partner in this endeavor.

Meeting with Cap Sante Marine Advisory Board

Boshie Morris reported no action as yet.

Yard Billing

Don Pinter reported that for nine months, $3622.24 has been collected, with another $1900 expected, plus money from two tenants for the next three months. There have been some problems collecting money, and clarification is needed on whether monthly rents are pro-rated or not. There are also problems when people take their boats out of the yard. Have they left for good or do they want to retain their slips? Letters should be sent out to check their intentions, and we need a better system of monitoring who is in the yard in any given month. John Pope mentioned that the rental agreement has been revised since it was originally drafted to include more elements. Insurance should also likely be reviewed. A committee should review standards and procedures in the yard.

Gin Pole

Carl Franz reported on the 30-foot gin pole designed by AYC member and engineer Ed Kennedy. Andy Schwenk will provide the mast. The Sea Scouts will build the pole. ACBC will need to purchase a small hand winch with an automatic brake and a couple of bags of cement for blocks. Ed Kennedy would like to be paid for his design.

It was agreed that 30 feet should be sufficient for the pole, which will be placed near the fence and can be moved if necessary. It was suggested Steve Orsini might have good ideas on final placement as he uses the yard. John Pope suggested parts be kept within the perimeter fence on the north side so they don’t get stolen while the pole is being assembled.

There was discussion about liability, and it was decided ASBC needed a more detailed plan from Ed Kennedy giving specs for all the components (mast, cable, boom, gooseneck, etc.) and the weight it can handle. These specs would then be posted in the yard. The design should have Ed Kennedy’s engineer’s stamp and guarantee that it will do the job. ASBC understands that Ed Kennedy will charge more for this work, but feels it is important to do this properly because of the interface with the public. Carl will talk with Ed about this. We will wait on getting the winch in case the final specs affect what winch would be most suitable.

There was also discussion about how much cable might be needed as the line needs to be able to reach from the top pulley to about 4 feet off the ground for small boats. This might affect the size of winch spool needed.

Dues

Vince Sellen mentioned that AYC members now have the option to pay their ASBC membership with a click of a button when they renew their AYC memberships online. We were all very impressed. We can get a copy from AYC of who has paid this way. Many complimentary remarks were made about the AYC web site.

Rotary

Pat Barrett reported in an email read by Andy Stewart that he, Pat, will keep in communication with the Rotary Club to ensure there is a dialogue if any of our plans have an impact on their park.

Publicity

Vince Sellen agreed to find information he has on file about the club that he will give to Dale Fowler so Dale has something to hand out to people when they ask about ASBC.

Renewing Memberships

We need a system, and a system that makes it easy for people to pay.

Next Meeting

In view of the January holiday on the first Monday of the month, our next meeting will be 6:30 pm, January 9, 2012, at the Anacortes Yacht Club. Secretary Jane Billinghurst will inform members of the change in the meeting date.

Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.