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Thread: Dry storage options in San Francisco Bay?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    96

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    Alameda Marina is down to just the single 3 ton hoist at the far end of the yard and there are spaces available. Tugs for trailers are not typically used although I have seen a couple over the years. Most just use their cars and it works pretty well. You can use nearly any car to move an Olson 30 around the yard. Hitch weight limits etc. are irrelevant as you will never go more than 3 mph. I used a 1980 Honda civic to tug the SC 27 around with a $15 hitch I bolted to the bumper and never had an problem.

    I haven't had any issues with the hoist although I know that it was down for a while at some point last Summer (I think). The biggest issue for me is the lack of dock space at the hoist. Back when the other hoist was working there was plenty of dock space available at the hoist location since that hoist was at the guest dock. (Well, maybe not plenty of space on a Friday before three bridge.) Currently there is room for two or maybe three boats at the hoist dock so there is pressure to relocate to the guest dock quickly at times. This is a hassle when doing this stuff solo. The routine becomes launch, get the motor mounted, park the trailer (or get it out of the way), motor to guest dock, walk back to car (and park trailer properly if needed), drive car to guest dock and then begin prepping for sailing. Off the cuff I think this adds about 20 minutes to what used to be a 20 to 30 minute process and a lot of work. Other than that Alameda Marina works well. I do miss the collection of different small businesses that used to be located at the marina and the yard closure is a big loss. (I need to get my rig down in the coming weeks and that will now be a challenge.) The chandlery is still open and WM is just up the road so that is also a plus. And Sal's is right across the street. But it is not what it used to be and I expect it will continue to degrade. Progress...

    One more note on Richmond: if you are coming from the South part of the Bay Area you will need to drive through one of the worst stretches of traffic (highway 80 through Berkeley) to get to Richmond. Unless you want to drive through SF. Richmond does have an advantage in available yards now as KKMI and Svendsens are both up there now. (At least I think that's where Svendsens moved to or maybe they are just Bay Marine now.)

    Good luck and if you relocate to Alameda let me know and I'll try to stop by and say hello.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    2,095

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    Storing at Alameda Marina would get you through the SHTP next Summer and maybe the next one, since the developer won't have permits for awhile. There are at least 3-4 other Olson 30's on trailers there.
    Agreed. The permit process with the City of Alameda is taking a very long time. The Planning Dept. hasn't even finished with their marina master plan review. They could very easily send it back to Bay West for further revisions. Once their review is finished, sometime in the next few months, the Planning Commission (a citizen panel not the City department) will decide on what their recommendation is to the City Council. That could take a week or it could take 6 months. Then, at some point after that... could be the next meeting, could be a year down the line, the City Council will vote to approve the project or not.

    At the same time, permits will have to be issued by the State Lands Commission, BCDC and the Army Corps of Engineers, at a minimum. I don't know if Bay West has their act together enough to have started those processes already. I do know that nothing moves fast at the BCDC, and the last time I called them, about 7 months ago, they hadn't heard a word about it. Because of all this, I can't imagine any sort of demolition happening at the Marina for at least two years. It's also possible...highly unlikely, but possible, that the City will re-zone it back to "Inudstrial" from "mixed - use" which will kill the housing project.

    Note that "no demolition" does not mean that the hoist will be maintained, though there are reasons within the use agreement that could be the basis of a good lawsuit if Bay West let the last hoist disintigrate.

    It's mast-up storage so if you have a way to get the boat and trailer to the hoist you can be sailing pretty quickly. I dry-sailed Rags from there for almost four years, using our Honda Odyssey to move my 5,500# boat between its parking space and the hoist. The trailer was another 2,500# or so. There are no mules so you have to roll your own (literally!)

    Alameda is a shorter drive for you than Richmond. The downside is it's a long motor out the Estuary to the Bay, although sailing in the Estuary has its charms. You're in the central Bay much more quickly from Richmond, so that's the trade-off.

    The last thing is what Alan mentions about Alameda Marina's hoist. Those of us who dry-stored there almost missed some races when the hoist was INOP. It sounds like it may be even less reliable now.
    Last I heard, the marina's position is that they are renting you a storage space and the hoist availability is not guaranteed.
    What's annoying as *F* is that a brand new 3 ton jib crane and 3-ton hoist is about $10,000, all up. There are companies online that sell this stuff, I'm not making up the number out of the air. Add another $10K to get it installed. Considering the millions of dollars that Bay West would be spending if their plan is approved, 20 bills for a spankin' new hoist is less than chump change.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
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  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    907

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    Thanks for all the feedback ... I made a deposit on BYC ...

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Wilsall, Montana
    Posts
    10

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    Quote Originally Posted by jamottep View Post
    Thanks for all the feedback ... I made a deposit on BYC ...
    That’s great to hear, we are going to be dry storage neighbors! When do you arrive?

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    907

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shad Lemke View Post
    That’s great to hear, we are going to be dry storage neighbors! When do you arrive?
    And I just got accepted! I'm not sure how I'll get organized to move in ...

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