SBYSF Launches New Dock | Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation

Over 100 Foundation sailors and supporters gathered on the new Youth Sailing Foundation dock Friday evening, June 12 for an impromptu load test. The engineering team speculated that if the dock could survive the festivities, it would probably last another 25 years.

In reality, the evening was a potluck hors d'oeuvre and wine reception with lots of delicious goodies generously provided by volunteers. The 6:30-8:00 event wrapped up around 9:15—evidence of the great time that was had by all.

Cushman Contracting served as the contractor for the dock replacement, finishing the project ahead of time and under budget. Cushman very generously donated all of the equipment used in the project from storage containers to fencing to large cranes.

The old dock was removed just in time. Upon demolition, it was discovered that most of the joisting in the middle of the dock had already failed and the plywood decking was the only thing holding it together.

YC member Sam Sanregret of Capital Lumber made arrangements for the Foundation to purchase the Azek decking for the new dock at less than half of retail price. The durability, anti-slip, and stain resistance of Azek decking made it the ideal choice for this project.

Lastly, Staff Commodore Doug Ewins used all of his Wolfe & Associates Property Services resources to serve as project manager for this project. It looks like Doug’s old axiom of "Right, Fast, Cheap—you only get two" will have to be revised. Chris Gabriel lent us all of his engineering expertise along the way and kept the project headed in the right direction and continues to be a great resource for tying up all of the loose ends.

The final cost of the project is going to end up around $85,000. To date, about $40,000 has been pledged or collected. If you would like to help with this landmark event, your tax-deductible contribution in any amount will be gratefully accepted.

Friday, May 29: The south float of the old dock as been removed and demolished. The long/narrow east and west floats will be removed and demolished today. The main float will undergo an underwater assessment today and will be removed and demolished during Monday's high tide. Bye-bye old dock!

The new dock sections are well underway and are framed and staged near the launch ramp. Some of the decking will be pre-installed, but most will be installed after the floats are positioned and secured at the SBYSF site.

Monday, May 18: The existing Foundation dock, at the base of Marina One, is finally scheduled for replacement. Construction on the new dock is expected to begin later this week and completion is anticipated before the end of June. This may cause some interuption to the first session of the Summer Program, but we are hopeful that in the expert hands of Cushman Contracting Corporation the transition will be smooth.

The Foundation is in dire need of contributions to fund this project. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact Leslie Deardorff by clicking here.