For boaters in the greater Los Angeles area, the construction of a new, state-of-the-art marina has been a much anticipated event. Cabrillo Way Marina, located in the hub of LA’s waterfront community was in the planning stages for many years before finally moving forward with construction. In 2009, General Contractor, Dutra, awarded Bellingham Marine a contract to rebuild the marina.

The new marina features a 39 acre deep water basin with 41 acres of planned landside amenities. Extensive excavation and dredge work allowed engineers to more than double the size of the original basin and greatly expand the marina’s number of berths from 520 to 700. “The team’s ability to think outside the box and approach the rebuild from a unique angle, afforded the Port of LA the ability to increase its number of berths,” said Jill Shimamoto, Project Construction Manager for the Port.

The existing marina at the site was long past its useful life and was becoming a safety hazard. Exposed electrical wiring, overhead utility lines and rotting timbers were some of most obvious concerns. Outdated slip sizes, constructed for narrow beam boats had also left a number of the marina’s berths vacant.

Today, Cabrillo Way offers a much different picture. The old wooden docks have been replaced with beautiful concrete floating docks complete with the latest amenities and accessories. One of the innovative features of the new marina is the placement of sewer pumpout hydrants below the deck of the pontoon. The hydrants are accessed by a hatch in the deck. This design avoids having any equipment protrude above the walkway. Another notable feature of the marina is the use of single slip berths and dedicated power pedestals. This means each boat has a finger pier on either side as well as its own power center.

The docks at the new marina were designed for the ultimate in user convenience and comfort. “We selected the Unifloat concrete floating dock system for its solid feel and proven performance,” remarked Chris Grossi, Design Project Manager for the Port of LA. “We wanted a dock system that would last a long time and provide our tenants with the best experience.”

Slips completed in the first phase of construction are open and have been filled with pre-existing slip holders. The second, and final, phase of marina construction has also been completed. The Port anticipates that those slips will be opened up to the public during the first quarter of 2012.

As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.

Contact: Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; www.bellingham-marine.com.

Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine

Boaters and visitors to Canada’s Powell River are enjoying the city’s new marina facility at the North Harbour. The harbour was completely renovated to address failing infrastructure and a growing waiting list for larger berths. Bellingham Marine, world renowned marina builder, supplied its Unifloat, concrete floating dock system, for the project.

The Unifloat system was selected by committee members for its quality, performance and proven service life. “The committee is very pleased with the aesthetics of the final product and feedback from the community has been positive. User’s are very impressed with the stability of the entire float network.” said the Chair, Councillor McNaughton, of the Waterfront Committee.

For the project, everything from the top of the gangway down was replaced and upgraded including a new dock system, potable and firefighting infrastructure, power centers and security services. Bellingham shipped the new floats to the job site in March and construction was completed by early July.

The project also included reconfiguring the harbor to increase the number of berths from 278 to 315 and to provide a greater number of slips for boats over 25 feet. According to the City of Powell River, there had been an increasing demand for larger berths and there was a large waiting list of boat owners with vessel 28 feet and larger wishing to moor at North Harbour.

The new reconfiguration allowed the marina to increase its available moorage space by 19% from 7,943 feet of chargeable moorage space to 9,500 feet. The improvements and greater moorage area will result in increased revenues for the marina.

Powell River’s marinas cater to a range of boaters who enjoy fishing, scuba diving, kayaking and cruising through the many islands that dot the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. The waters around Powell River offer some of the world’s best cold-water diving and fishing.

As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.

Contact: Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; www.bellingham-marine.com.

On September 2, 2011, Bellingham Marine, world renowned marina builder, entered into a two year agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to participate in a program titled IMAGE. This is a voluntary program to promote compliance to prevent the hiring or continued employment of people who are not authorized to work in the United States.

As part of the IMAGE program BMI voluntarily agreed to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program and process all future employees through the agency’s E-Verify program. Bellingham will also provide ICE with a hiring and employment eligibility verification program that includes at least one annual internal Form I-9 audit as well as companywide hiring procedures to prevent the employment of unauthorized workers.

The goal of IMAGE is to curtail the employment of unauthorized workers through outreach, education and training. The IMAGE program also promotes employment eligibility programs such as E-Verify, which fosters compliance through this partnership. “As a federal contractor, the IMAGE program and E-Verify are instrumental in assisting BMI with building a comprehensive immigration compliance program,” remarked Beth Vonnegut, Director of Human Resources for Bellingham Marine.

As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame dock systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.