Originally Posted by
BobJ
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.
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