The Ladysmith Maritime Society, (LMS), is hard at work replacing C-Dock at the Ladysmith Community Marina.
Approximately 800-feet of dock need to be replaced, and 300-feet have been replaced so far. LMS is waiting on fibre meshing to replace the existing wooden planks. Replacing a dock is ‘back breaking work’, LMS executive director, Richard Wiefelspuett said.
“It also poses logistic challenges. You have to put the boats on the docks somewhere else. The fingers have to be disconnected. The boat houses need to be disconnected. Electrical and water services are integrated into the dock, they have to be disconnected. And to get all that done, I don’t know how many thousands of planks had to be lifted up with crowbars to get to the innards of the dock.”
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Once the electrical and water lines have been pulled out, the old dock section can be removed and replaced with a new one. Then everything that was disconnected has to be reconnected.
“It’s a tedious process, especially when it’s cold, wet, rainy, and snowy,” Wiefelspuett said.
LMS has designed the new dock to be environmentally friendly, and increase longevity of the structure. It is expected to last for 25 to 30 years with proper maintenance.
The new dock will be far more stable and accessible than the previous one. The surface will be flat, and wheelchair accessible with no steps or stairs.
LMS is investing $450,000 for the work – 50 percent of which is funded by a B.C. Gaming grant. When finished, LMS will have an upgraded sewage and pump out system, flotation renewal of the museum and workshop boat houses, and upgrades to the welcome centre.
The work is expected to be completed by April 2020.