Sooke Public Boat Launch

[SIRA]

A single finger launch and extremely poor parking (how did this get approved in the first place with that design) just isn't worth what's being asked.
How is it Esquimalt survives and thrives with ~$50/yr annual passes (even a commercial pass is only $100) and they have a great launch, though admittedly not the greatest cleaning station.

Not that it matters at this point but in order of importance to get me to use the launch it'd be

Fix the parking - 30%+ more spots at least and room for bigger boats (mines only 15ft)
Another dock/finger - a single is a nightmare in busy times. You're going to try and run derbies from here with one?
revamp the fee's, give transparency to the costs and come to a compromise.


way down the list is a cleaning station.


That's just my 2 cents.

My order of priorities is I'll get done what I can get them to do in the order I can get them to do it.

 

[GDW]

Just keep going Terrance and abandon this thread. mostly just unhappy people are going to post here and my bet is no matter what you do they'll have one complaint or another. I know because at times I can be on of those people!

I always thought this was a good facility. No toilet was a pain and cleaning fish on a log or the dock wasnt fun either. Problem 1 is solved and 2 is in the works! My boat can fit in almost any spot so parking was ok for me and I'm usually there early or late - I've never had to park on the road.

I can of course see the issues others have pointed out and I do agree the initial design was poor but all that can be done now is move forward. I'm used to paying to launch but the annual pass is certainly not worth it for me. $120 for a resident of colwood right? $10/day is fine though if there's a parking spot for me.

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

Wow.. Give yourself a big pat on the back.. Big deal !! Forget the fancy gucci fish cleaning station and listen to what the people are telling you.. Parking parking... Oh and calling the tax payers of Sooke freeloaders. Your not making to many friends here.. Keep up the good work !!

 

[SIRA]

I completely understand why putting my own money into improvements would cause someone to become visibly enraged.

 

[SIRA]

Fix the parking

The boat launch parking problem is not a show stopper if you count the free parking on the road (and there is no rational reason not to). It is the hotel and convention center that has a problem with parking, and we're working on that.

 

[SIRA]

A sponsor offer has come in to build the fish cleaning station canopy structure, so all we need is to do is get the table fab'd and we're good to go. The sponsor suggested we consider a hip roof design. It'll have gutters.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

I recommend that the roof overhang be a little bigger so that your not getting rained on when gutting fish. Suggest ~3' from table edge to outside edge of gutter. Also, if you have structure above, you can have the hoses hanging down over the table.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

Offtopic, but this fish cleaning table will fit well with that bloody ugly hotel that looks like a fish processing plant from the water! BTW that's not a knock on the design of the table and structure... that looks good.

 

[wolf]

I recommend that the roof overhang be a little bigger so that your not getting rained on when gutting fish

So you wont have rain gear on if its raining?? 5 mins more isnt going to hurt you added roof is going to cost way more than you may think ..just get it done the easiest and cheapest Terry ....Good luck

 

[Fisherman Rob]

Then easiest and cheapest is not roof at all. What's the function of the roof if not to cover you from rain and sun?

 

[wolf]

Your missing the point enough of what he wants and what the other guy wants etc just get it done your out in the sun or rain all day its NOT a big deal..... the summer fishing is here the faster its up the better so PEOPLE can clean fish and I wont have to kick them out of my spot and off my table which i pay moorage for....which I have to do CONSTANTLLY it pissses me off to come back to MY spot I pay good money for and theres a guy parked in it .... and I when I tell them to get off the dock and out of my moorage spot they say in a minute.... even had a guy last year in my spot was lucky enough i parked the boat outside asked my clients to stay put ...
asked him to move and he got into my face telling me he will move whens hes damn good and ready to.... so i started to untie his boat and threw his fish back into his boat told him this is a private dock and to get out ......and if he had a problem go to the marina manager and talk to him.....

And yes I it was a bit tense for a bit and it wouldnt have ended well all for what , someone thinking there entitled to do what ever they want to do.....

 

[SIRA]

I recommend that the roof overhang be a little bigger so that your not getting rained on when gutting fish. Suggest ~3' from table edge to outside edge of gutter. Also, if you have structure above, you can have the hoses hanging down over the table.

With the thing conceptualized in CAD we can change dimensions pretty easily. There's a marine sewage pump on the float in a shack I want ripped off to have the canopy enclose the whole thing, so there will be running design changes. I'm not sure how high the actual pump is, but I wouldn't mind seeing a halibut slab on top of it to make use of the space which is about 7'X8'.

There's an issue of wind gust down there, so we're modeling to 150kph, and the bigger the roof gets the more problematic the stability is. If we enclose the sewer pump we add two more posts, which probably does the job needed with a bigger roof overhang. The water rails were designed into the table so you don't have to reach up with fish guts running up your sleeve to get a hand on the hose, and it tends to clutter up the scenery less positioned underneath. We don't need hose retractors underneath either.

In any event, all suggestions are welcome!

 

[SIRA]

So you wont have rain gear on if its raining?? 5 mins more isnt going to hurt you added roof is going to cost way more than you may think ..just get it done the easiest and cheapest Terry ....Good luck

Easiest and cheapest doesn't attract sponsors. Someone sees a Gucci fish cleaning table. I see a media backdrop that makes sponsors look good, not to mention Sooke generally. The entire facility is about economic development, not necessarily fishing. It's a showcase, and I want it to be "derby central" on Gary Cooper's Nice Fish TV.

 

[profisher]

Put the cleaning table on the east side of the outer section of dock. The water is shallow and there are a couple of large boulders there also that make it useless for tying up a boat. Anywhere else and the crowd gathered around the table on busy days will interfere with the coming and going of guys dealing with their boats. It should be as far away as possible, not in the way.

 

[casper5280]

Like how he has a sign on the door so everyone knows what a dumb butt he is. It's not like he couldn't fit in that spot. Some people I just don't get.

 

[SIRA]

Fish cleaning station concept drawings

Once I have the base drawings done we can stretch it out, make the roof bigger, and move it around the dock to visualize what's going to work

 

[SIRA]

We're planning the first annual "fund the boat launch derby," and I'm wondering if the $60 local/ $120 out of town annual pass would go over better if it was also a derby ticket.

They are talking about making the passes available for purchase at city hall come Tuesday.

 

[Saxe Point]

We're planning the first annual "fund the boat launch derby," and I'm wondering if the $60 local/ $120 out of town annual pass would go over better if it was also a derby ticket.

They are talking about making the passes available for purchase at city hall come Tuesday.

Great idea. Great news. Keep going!

 

[Discus]

if the $60 local/ $120 out of town annual pass

Can you tell me more specific info about Local ? Sooke only ? Langford ?

 

[SIRA]

Sooke resident or taxpayer, basically. I'm not sure what they are doing about businesses. If we have a business class sponsor, the employees of the business should be able to get the local rate regardless of where they live.

Oh yeah, I cant say the word "sponsor." Donor.