I took a ride last week by car to check out the "new" bulkhead and was quite surprised. It all looks very neat and nice plus water terminals were added.However, upon further inspection of the docking situation, it would appear that the dock deck was raised about 2 feet. ( similar to Cedar ) This will make it almost impossible to get off your boat at low tide. Although there are ladders on the bulkhead, ( off to the side of the slips )they are difficult to reach and will not be much help. There are also poles on the bulkhead so your boat cannot go back far enough in the slip to reach the dock when disembarking. Soooo disappointed with this situation! I foresee a lot of accidents in the future. Genius engineering.
Gilgo Marina
- Thread starter harmsway
- Start date
Don't know who the Town of Babylon consults with about their Marine facilities.
They re-did Tanner Park a few years ago and moved the pump out to a terrible spot, and there were bolt heads sticking out of the bulkhead on the ramp.
My guess is that the person who has that job may be related to someone.
They re-did Tanner Park a few years ago and moved the pump out to a terrible spot, and there were bolt heads sticking out of the bulkhead on the ramp.
My guess is that the person who has that job may be related to someone.
I'm more inclined to think the designer or engineer of this dock project is not a boater and gave no thought whatsoever to the docking aspect. They have created a potentially precarious situation at the expense of the boaters' safety.
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It is my understanding that the Town used Federal monies and the height of the bulkhead was set by the Fed's. The ladders should have been in the center of the bulkhead and with extensions above the deck for something to hold onto.
It doesn't surprise me that the Fed Govt was behind the poor design of the docking situation. It is good however that our tax dollars were not used. Until we actually go there by boat it is hard to say if the ladders are placed appropriately. I do not recall seeng them rise above the deck which would make them very difficult to use safely. As "mature" boaters we are not all agile enough use this type of ladder system. Do the the Feds think all boaters are 21?
I was at Cedar twice last week and was thinking about this thread. At high tide both times I had to step up to my boat. I don't see the dock as being unusually high and didn't see anyone who seemed to have issues. Boats with swim platforms had boarding steps on the platforms, those without them (like mine) were pretty even with the dock. No one seemed to have any need for the ladders (except the kids swimming around). I don't like the short poles in front of the bulkhead because at high tide they are beneath my rubrail but I put a mooring ball out ahead of time to protect the boat. I never went to Cedar before last year but it seems to me like they did a nice job with the docks. Where is your spiral staircase? I'm trying to picture how that would affect your boarding situation.
As I said in my original post, it is LOW tide that presents the problem. We were at Gilgo last weekend and there were several people that were struggling to get up off their boats at low tide. Some brought 5 foot ladders just to get on and off. There is an obvious height difference between high and low tilde and based on how low your swim platform is, it's almost impossible to reach the dock without a boarding plank. We have a Motoryacht and the spiral staircase is up high on the transom from the aft deck to Swim platform. For the most part the staircase works ok but still tricky when the tide drops.
I know you said low tide but my point was that there is so little tide swing around here that if I (and many others) are stepping up to the boat at high tide it's not much of a step down at low tide. Honestly it's about as easy as a place for on/off that I've been to with my boat. I do not have a swim platform however - for me it's harder getting on and off with a low floating dock. I saw someone with a low swim platform who had a portable staircase with handle - maybe that would work for you? Something like this - https://www.westmarine.com/buy/todd--dock-step-handrail--P005_157_002_516?recordNum=5
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FYI - that link is just the handle! Those steps are pricey.
I have a triple step with a handle that I don't use.
Will sell for $100. Same as one in the picture.
I bought a double step as the triple was too much for my boat.
I have a triple step with a handle that I don't use.
Will sell for $100. Same as one in the picture.
I bought a double step as the triple was too much for my boat.
We have the 3 stepper at home as we dock sideways and need to reach up to the boat. It would serve no purpose on the swim platform at Gilgo as my staircase comes up higher. Most boats have a swim platform that sits low on the boat and requires some type of boarding system to reach up to a dock.