BARGES AND TUG UNDERWAY

The tug takes the barges out of the creek.

GOODBY OLD DOCKS

Loading up the barges to take the old docks down river to Cobbs Creek.

CAPTAIN DWAYNE

This is Dwayne - in charge of the demolition and reconstruction.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM URBANNA BRIDGE

Photographs showing the barge at work taking the walkways down. High
tides have plagued us this week as you can see. The rest of week
promises to be sunny and warmer.

DEMOLITION MOVING ALONG

Photographs taken from Urbanna Bridge today - slightly better weather
- progress is good.

DISAPPEARING DOCKS

I took this photo this morning but it's a bit foggy and drear in
Urbanna today, so not such a great image. Here you can see the
walkways are being removed. You can also see the very high tides we
are having of late.

REMOVING THE WALKWAYS

Work has started on removing the walkways - some near Urbanna Bridge
have already gone. All of the decks have been separated from the
pilings and are sitting on the stringers waiting to be lifted off and
carried away. All the mooring pilings and finger piers have
gone. Everything is proceeding according to plan. First floating
dock delivery will be early April.

Nearly all the finger piers have gone!

Loading the barges ready for towing away. Everything going according to plan.

REMOVING THE OLD DOCKS

Even in this very cold month of February, we are still making
progress. Everything seems to be on schedule.

OUT WITH THE OLD

UHYC LOOKING VERY SAD! BUT NOT FOR LONG

TEST PILINGS - FEBRUARY 3 2010

Here is the demolition barge testing for piling depth. Check out the Photo Gallery - click on the photos in the gallery to see full size.

VMRC PERMITS IN HAND

Several members of the dock committee went down to Norfolk to VMRC
and we are now authorized officially to go ahead.

EMPTY DOCKS

Thank you all for honoring the deadline for moving boats from their
slips at UHYC despite the appalling weather. The harbour looks so
strange and empty - must get some photos. Demolition is beginning
with removal of all pedestals.

Upgrading to 50 amps

Our electrical contractor is currently working on quotes for those of
you who expressed the wish to upgrade to 50 amp service. We will get
these quotes to you as soon as we receive them.

Deadline Nears

The deadline for moving boats from slips is January 31. Thank you
for your continued support and cooperation in helping us to
successfully achieve our upgrade to floating docks.

The Ice has Thawed

Was your boat stuck in the ice? Glad to report that the ice (4" in
some areas) has finally thawed. We have had a glorious few days in
Urbanna and this looks to be a great weekend for that big boat move.

FIRST MEETING OF ALL CONTRACTORS

The first meeting of all the winning bid contractors removing and
installing the Sullivan floating docks was held on Monday, January 4,
2010. This was a long meeting with all of the contractors
discussing their overlapping areas of work and coordinating
dates. Everything is on schedule and we will be posting updates and
photographs as soon as work begins February 1.

Do I need pilings between slips?

The New Dock Committee had an optional quote for mooring pilings. The current docks have 2 mooring pilings in between the two boats in the center of the slips. With the floating dock system, because the dock and the boat move up and down simultaneously, most people will moor their boats directly to the finger pier and just put a spring line back to the center of the main walkway dock. Some people have expressed a desire to have mooring pilings put in between their 2 docks to separate the boats. This is purely an option as the finger pier is made and supported well enough to tie your boat directly to. It is up to you and your neighbor to decide if you wish to put in the additional pilings.

Information on Slip Renters

If you rent your slip, don't forget to send UHYC the names and
addresses of your renters. You can email this to us or mail the
information to us at P O Box 404, Urbanna, VA 23175.

When do we have to move our boats?

Approximately January 31st 2010

RESOUNDING YES VOTE FOR NEW DOCKS

Thank you for supporting your Board and New Dock Committee on this very important decision. A letter will be sent to all next week
regarding our next steps in this process - the work is just beginning.

Voting was as follows:

100 votes for
13 votes against
15 slipholders did not vote
1 delinquent pay vote

We had a good turnout at the meeting today - we are still here to
answer your questions.

Regards- Hazel
Treasurer

Floating vs fixed docks and why

Why we are buying brand new docks with Ipe (good, expensive, lasts
forever) where it shows and pressure treated southern yellow pine
(rots in 20 years, exactly same stuff we have rotting right now in
our old docks, for the framing.

Fixed docks made with yellow pine would last 20 years, the reason for
the difference in the longevity of the floating docks versus fixed is
that floating docks will not be submerged on a regular basis thus
diluting the treatment chemicals and rendering it vulnerable to
deterioration. Also The fixed docks are fastened with galvanized
nails and due to being submerged they rust, swell up and split the
stringers thus allowing water to enter the tops of the stringers and
speeding up deterioration. Floating docks are fastened with
stainless screws and will not deteriorate, and the hardwood deck
helps to keep the weather from the top edge of the treated lumber underneath.

Moving our Boats

Who is responsible for moving our boats once the work begins?

This is completely at the discretion of the slip owner. There are
options such as hauling at local boatyards. The New Dock Committee
is looking into various suggestions made at our recent meeting and
will be offering further suggestions in the near future.

Contractors/Bonds etc.

We did not require a performance and payment bond from the
contractor. Having been involved with construction contract bonding
my whole business career, this approach was not taken lightly. It
seems that bonding is not the norm with local dock bidders, so we
would have severely limited competition by requiring a bond, as most
of them are not set up with a bonding company. In addition, bonds are expensive, and would have been added to the bid.

We have taken several steps to protect the association from loss due
to contractor default. There is an inherent factor in the nature of
the project that protects the association. Two thirds of the contract
cost is for the floating docks themselves, and the association is
purchasing them directly from the manufacturer, removing our major
financial contractor risk. We are confident of the financial strength
of the dock supplier, but we are requiring the company to provide
significant financial data, and we will check their credit
references. Since these are made to order docks, a 30% deposit is
normally required with the order, with balance due upon delivery. Our
dock vendor has agreed to reduce the advance payment to 15%, and they agreed to this easily, and they agreed to escrow our deposit in our name until delivery.

Our pending contract with the local contractor doing the work to
complete the project has several stipulations to protect the
association. The contractor will be paid monthly for work actually
performed, less 10% retainage, which will be held until final
approval of the completed project. In addition, before contract
award, the contractor must provide us with financial information and
credit references to convince us of his financial ability to complete
the project.

In addition to the above,, we are subcontracting the electrical and
plumbing ourselves, which further slices the pie, minimizing the
values paid to any one contractor.

Your Dock Committee feels it has taken all reasonable steps to
protect your association from the financial difficulties of the
contractors involved with this project.

When will the docks be finished?

There are many factors controlling the date when the new slips will
be ready for use. First of all, we have not yet established a
starting date for the project as it has not been approved by the
membership. Also there will be a lag time from when the contractor
receives the go ahead and when the project starts. The third thing
that will affect the completion time will be the weather. We will
know more after December 12th.

Floating Docks

Are there any similar docks locally I can look at?

Yes, Norview Marina in Deltaville has a floating dock built by the
same floating dock company that you can visit. If you go to Norview
Marina and drive into the entrance you will see the large storage
shed on the right and to the left opposite the storage sheds before
the travelift dock you will see the new floating docks.

The North Docks

The plan on the website doesn't show how many feet south nor how many feet west we will be moving at the north end of the docks. From the PDF it appears that we are only moving south and not west - but some of that is just the scale and I just want to verify this. Water depth in our slips is very important of course...especially for sailboats with some draft.

The drawing does clearly show the 40 foot westerly move of the docks. That 40 feet is shown relative to the existing platform which is to be removed. VMRC has final say about both of these moves, but verbally told David Laughton and Davis Wilson that these changes would be approved. VMRC did request that we angle the north docks from the end of the 40 ft accessway back towards the shore but still maintain acceptable depths.

What size will my slip be?

What size slip will I have with the new floating docks?

Slips were widened by 1.5 feet, so nominal 16 ft. slips became 17.5 ft. slips. The existing slips are measured center to center of the mooring piles, which are a nominal 1 ft diameter. Thus, the slips as they exist are clear 1 ft less then the original stated dimension (1/2 of 2 piling widths). Therefore, it took 1.5 feet to compensate for 2 feet of finger pier and 6 inches of mooring piling, which are not normally used on floating docks, since you tie up to the dock.