Shilshole Bay Marina Near Completion

Everything's in its place at the tidier Shilshole Bay Marina. The new Shilshole Bay Marina is nearly complete. The slips are larger, the ramps wider and the piers sparkling. And with an additional 4,000 feet of moorage, there is more dock space than ever—for some. To make room for bigger boats, the Port of Seattle—which owns the 40-year-old marina—eliminated more than 400 28 and 30' slips. Overall, there will be nearly 90 fewer slips than before construction began in 2005. “We had too many small slips,” says Sharon Briggs, the marina’s general manager of recreational boating facilities. Boaters now have bigger boats and need larger slips, she says, joking that these days it’s about giga-yachts, not mere mega-yachts. Now you can tuck a 350' yacht into the redesigned harbor, and Briggs says a 150-footer is already considering moorage. The Port of Everett, one of the West Coast’s largest marinas, also went for larger slips in the recently completed 12th Street Yacht Basin project. The new marina has slips ranging from 40' to 70' and, unlike Everett’s older 1960s and ‘80s docks, there are no vacancies, says Director Cyndy Olson. Shilshole’s $80 million renovation replaced 22 of 24 piers. Gone are the Smurf-blue ramps and entryways of green corrugated plastic, along with the laid-back atmosphere that may have been too laid back. In the old Shilshole, dinghies were tied to dock boxes that were surrounded by gas cans and long-overlooked flowerpots. The marina has been transformed. The new cement docks have gleaming white dock boxes and steel pilings in place of the hodgepodge of chipped baby-blue boxes and creosote-drenched wood. “It’s a little more sterile,” says Cal 27 owner Jean Penney. “It used to be a little more homey.” But liveaboards Bob and Kathy Hazen appreciate the new atmosphere, and rules. Dinghies must be tied to special racks that cost an additional $5 per month, and tenants must keep everything either aboard or in their dock box. Kathy Hazen has to hide her planter of pansies sometimes, but she understands why the rule is so severe. Bikes, garbage, tools and other overflow used to get out of hand, adds Bob Hazen. “Some people just make it really miserable to live beside.” New pilings and wider docks are part of the $80 million project. The improvements could come at an added cost to tenants, but Briggs is mostly mum for now about prospects for higher prices.  “What’s the market bear?” she says. New moorage rates based on market value will be set in January, and any changes would go into effect in May. Until then, it will be more than $900 per month for one of the 46 new 70' slips and nearly $300 for a 30-footer. “People are obviously willing to pay for it,” says Briggs. “Look at the wait list.” During construction the wait list for one of 1,411 slips only grew, as the marina tried to shuffle existing tenants from demolished docks to new ones. This fall the marina finally started assigning the first of 300 openings. In addition to a shrinking number of slips, small-boat owners say fairways, the space between piers, also seems tighter. “If you were going out and somebody else was coming in, that would be interesting,” says Penney. For the sailors of even smaller craft, there is now considerably more space. A small-boat and sailing center at the north end features three hoists, a new restroom, expanded dry storage and a ramp where dollied or carried boats can be launched for free. Everett's Olson says that it is becoming more common to store smaller sized vessels out of the water, which in turn is leading to a greater demand for larger slips in marina facilities. In October, Everett Marina had some 75 vacancies in slips 28' feet and under. This was mostly attributed to small boat owners storing their boats on trailers during the fall and winter to save on moorage and maintenance. "We don't want to have slips vacant and not generating money for the Port," says Olson. Everett is considering a slip reconfiguration that, like Shilshole’s remodel, would upgrade its existing facilities to accommodate larger vessels. "We are seeing a trend toward larger vessels, which is why the Port is undertaking this slip reconfiguration project," Olson said. For marinas, say both Olson and Briggs, that means cutting port water space into fewer, more generously sized slices.

 

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