Mooring to Floats and Piers

We had a boat get loose last night and one of the many reasons this happened was because of this cleat. The harbor is constantly talking to boaters that try to install their own cleats. Our newer floats avoid using them as much as possible.

To work properly, a cleat needs to be bolted clear through a main structural member of the finger float. A couple of small lag bolts won't protect your boat in a big wind.

Mooring to floats depends on using adequate lines and fenders. Extra lines are inexpensive and can save your boat in bad weather. I've posted an article at Suite101 that goes into more detail. Hold on to your hat!

Tags: boating, boating safety

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New Logo for AAHPA

As Immediate Past President of the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators (AAHPA), I am a little prejudiced, but this is a vital organization for successful marina managers and harbormasters. The association just had a new logo commissioned and it turned out great!

The biggest benefit of the AAHPA is the networking and education it provides to members. We live in a world of intense regulation and harbors routinely deal with many natural resource agencies. Another exciting project is a collaborative effort with the University of Alaska Southeast in Sitka to develop an on-line marina employee training and certification program. It will use the Northern HarborsSmall Ports book as a basic text and utilize a number of good Alaska Sea Grant publications as references. Harbor associations in the northwest United States and British Columbia are interested in joining the effort.

Alaska Harbormasters are meeting in Ketchikan later this month for the annual AAHPA conference. It looks to be another great event for the organization.

Tags: Alaska, Marina, Harbor, Boating, Ports

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Fisheries Development Efforts in Valdez

I may have sold an article to Pacific Fisherman magazine on the efforts the City of Valdez has made to improve fisheries infrastructure. It's a highpoint for me to finally sell a story and highlights the great accomplishments that have been made to develop commercial fishing in northeastern Prince William Sound. During the last seven years, the City has built a new boatyard, refurbished a number of floating docks and bought a new Marine Travelift.

Using federal economic disaster funds, the State of Alaska began what they called the Alaska Fisheries Revitalization Strategy in 2003. Valdez applied for a grant to purchase equipment that would help independent fishermen handle their catch. This grant resulted in the purchase and installation of a new heavy-duty crane and fish pump. A cooperation agreement was made with Peter Pan Seafoods and they used grant funds to build a new flake ice production plant. As part of the agreement with the City, Peter Pan will make ice available to fishermen at a greatly reduced price.

Efforts by the City have also fit well with the Valdez Fisheries Development Association (VFDA) Fisheries Business Incubator Project. VFDA is providing training to fishermen in how to process their catch as a value added product and the processing facilities to accomplish the work.

There are several more related projects in development. A new commercial boat harbor is awaiting approval in Congress. VFDA is pursuing a cold storage facility that will utilize waste heat from a local refinery to drive its refrigeration systems. A private businessman is looking building a fish meal plant, which would greatly benefit the fish community.

Valdez has seen an increase in landings of halibut and black cod. Hopefully the benefits of these projects will increase in the next few years.

Tags: Alaska Commercial Fishing, Fisheries Development

Alaska Sea Grant Program Assessment

I had a chance this week to participate in a national program evaluation for Alaska Sea Grant. This is an evaluation conducted every five years to gauge the effectiveness of this program in Alaska and the impact it has had in our communities. Issues I addressed with the Program Assessment Team (PAT) were centered on operation of Alaska ports and harbor. A copy of the poster prepared for the assessment can be seen to the left and I have included a link to it as a PDF file.

Operation of Alaska Ports and Harbors Poster

To quote Sea Grant, "Alaska's ports and harbors are at the nexus of the state's diverse maritime industry. The people who manage our ports and harbors face daunting challenges such as building, maintaining, and expanding facilities; preparing for natural hazards; managing user behavior; training and managing staff; and staying abreast of regulations."

Efforts I have been involved in with the Alaska Sea Grant College Program include:

• Publication of Northern Harbors and Small Ports: Operation and Maintenance
• Development of a Responsible Boater's Handbook on clean and safe boating
• Assistance with the donation of the City of Valdez's 60-ton Marine Travelift to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
• Harbor and marina employee online training that utilizes many Alaska Sea Grant publications
• Involvement with the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators

If you have a chance, visit the Alaska Sea Grant Program website and find out more about this great organization. I hope the PAT sees the merits of this group and wholeheartedly support them.

Tags: Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska Ports and Harbors

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Alaska Harbor Economic Impact Model (HEIM)

Michael Fisher with Northern Economics is very involved with the Alaska Harbor Economic Impact Model (HEIM) project. HEIM has funded by the Alaska Department of Transportation and supported by the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators. The model uses a graphical interface and based in Microsoft Excel.

HEIM is available free of charge. Get the model and related materials on the HEIM download page. Northern Economics will help you develop accurate results with the model at a reasonable cost. Information developed by using HEIM is invaluable in funding discussions of marina maintenance and harbor expansion projects. Funding harbors greatly benefits our entire state.

Using the model can answer several questions.

What is the value of your harbor?
What is the value of adding a slip?
What is overall economic impact of your facility?

Michael has setup an email list for people interested in news concerning HEIM. You can signup on the HEIM website. A frequently asked questions pages is available as reference. We have used the model in Valdez and the results are astounding. The direct, indirect and induced impacts of a new harbor we are planning are shown below. The estimated cost of a new harbor in Valdez is about $25 million. You can see the immediate benefits of the project for the State and community.

Impacts State Borough Local

Sales $41,607,898 $34,286,997 $32,495,160

Employment 509 396 347

Labor Wages $11,798,100 $10,372,500 $10,124,100

Download the model and give it a try. Results are statistically valid for most of Alaska. Northern Economics would work at a competitive cost with other States interested in developing a similar project.

Tags: Alaska Harbor Economic Impact Model, HEIM, Harbor Economics, Marina Funding, Alaska Harbors

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Boating Articles at Suite101

During the last month, I have been writing a number of articles related to boating and boating safety at suite101. Topics discussed include trailering, safety equipment, radio usage, and vessel operations. An index of articles is now available that outlines the topics covered to date.

I have several ideas for future topics. These include cold-water immersion, maritime terminology, GPS navigation, clean boating, and vessel maintenance. The 101 site gives me a good chance to establish a broad reference library of boating articles for its readers. Please contact me with ideas that I can add to the site. I would welcome guest articles for the site. Contact me at boatingsailing@suite101.com with your comments and ideas.

Tags: Boating, Boating Safety, Clean Boating, Vessel Care

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Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators

If you have any involvement with the marine industry of Alaska, you should consider attending the annual conference of the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators (AAHPA). The meeting is set for the week of October 23, 2006 and the Port of Ketchikan is the host. The Port of Ketchikan has made special arrangements for travel and lodging for conference attendees. See the AAHPA website for further details as they develop.

The AAHPA conference brings representatives of ports, marinas, engineering firms, government agencies and equipment providers together for a week of training and networking. Members of organizations based in the Northwest and Canada also attend. The host Port of Ketchikan also has a number of tours and activities planned for the event.

One important training opportunity will be an OSHA approved Travelift operator training course. We are planning on bringing Paul Dopkke of Huff Limited to provide the training on October 23rd. Paul is the official trainer for the Marine Travelift Company. This will be a great opportunity to train harbor staff members on this important equipment.

Make plans to register for the 2006 AAHPA Annual Conference in Ketchikan, Alaska!

Tags: Alaska, Marina, Harbor, Boating, Ports

Boating & Sailing @ Suite101

I have started writing a series of articles for the Boating & Sailing section of Suite101. The site will explore the topics of safe vessel use, boating emergencies, clean boating practices, and vessel maintenance. Boating represents a major growth industry worldwide and more people join our ranks daily.

I will identify relevant issues and items of interest for recreational boaters, then explore concrete ways to address these issues. Our industry is dependent on boaters who enjoy the boating experience and take the necessary steps to protect our natural environment.

Involved in boating safety and environmental protection, both as a Harbormaster and a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, I see the need to address both issues in more detail. I welcome you to join the discussion at Suite101.

Tags: Boating, Boating Safety, Suite101

National Marina Day 2006

Learn about boating and your local marina on National Marina Day. Sponsored by the Association of Marina Industries, participating marinas will celebrate the event on August 12th.

More information can be found at the AMI website.

Tags: National Marina Day, Boating, Marinas

Career Training for Ports and Marinas

A group of us started talking about developing a distance delivered harbor employee training program about three years ago. The costs turned out to be excessive and the program was shelved. During this year's spring conference of the Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters and Port Managers (PCC) in Juneau, I had a chance to meet with Dyan Bessette with the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) Sitka Campus, Eric Olsson of Washington Sea Grant (WSG), and Ray Majeski, Port Director of Sitka and Vice-President of PCC about bringing the idea back to life.

It turned out that the timing of my book Northern Harbors and Small Ports: Operations and Maintenance coincided well with a Title III grant that UAS received to develop distance education programs with industry. UAS asked if it could used as the text for the proposed training program. While the particulars are not quite firm, we are off and running with the program, Two other harbor associations are likely joining forces with the certification effort. They are the Alaska Association of Harbormaster and Port Administrators (AAHPA) and the Harbor Authorizes Association of British Columbia (HAABC). In addition to these two groups, it looks like we may be able to partner with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Small Craft Harbours who actively work with Canadian Port Authorities. Alaska Sea Grant (ASG) has joined in support and is allowing us to utilize their extensive book store offerings as part of the course curriculum.

The on-line portion of the program will involve about eight or more modules that I will describe in more detail below. Once a student finishes a yet to be determined number of modules, they will receive a certificate of completion from UAS. After a student has completed a year’s work at a member harbor of the AAHPA, PPC or HAABC, member cooperating members will issue a certificate of qualification an a certified harbor/marina employee. There is a chance we will be able to develop some On-The-Job training standards as well. These could be things like pump operation or use of fire extinguishers. We picture this qualification as a basic requirement for advancement within a member harbor and transferable between marinas. Each member has the advantage of fully knowing what the training comprises and how it applies to their facilities.

Working with UAS, Eric Olsson and I anticipate completing the first two modules in Facility Safety and Hazardous Material by the end of July 2006. We will begin beta testing soon after that and hope to have some preliminary results to present to the PCC, AAHPA and HAABC groups at their fall meetings. The modules use Macromedia Breeze, PowerPoint, HTML, video and a number of reference documents to support the material being presented.

If you would like to know more about the project, feel free to contact me.

Elements of a Harbor Employee Training Program

Introduction – General overview of harbor operations and management. Completion of module will provide a roadmap to the student describing the training and certification program. Elements briefly covered will include:
• Management – Daily Operations
• Administration – Staff Positions
• Budget Process
• Regulatory Environment
• Maintenance
• Harbor Operations
• Employment Opportunities
• Harbor Trade Organizations (AAHPA, PCC, SG, AMI, ABBRA)
Resource Materials: Northern Harbors and Small Ports available from Alaska Sea Grant

Operations and Maintenance Planning – Harbor operation depends on good planning. Module will cover planning tools and documents that can be utilized by a harbor. These include:
• Marina/Harbor Operations Manual
• Facility Policies and Procedures Document
• Customer Documents and Forms
• Resource Library
• Facility Inspections
• Harbor Economics
Resource Materials: Harbor Economic Impact Model and user’s guide available on-line at http://www.harbormodel.info

Harbor Administration – Harbors for the most part are independent businesses operating within the overarching governmental structure of their community. Good business management will provide the resources a harbor needs for it successful operations. Module topics will include:
• Marina Business Management Software Programs.
• Administrative Staffing and Job Descriptions
• Governmental Relations
• Office Management Practices
• Vessel Mooring Practices
• Risk Management
• Customer Service and Conflict Resolution
• Administration of ordinances, regulations, policies and procedures
• Advertising and Promotion

Fire Safety – Harbors combine a large number of high value vessels in close contact with each other and a number of flammable substances gas and diesel fuel. This module will cover elements of fire safety training and planning. Elements will include:
• Fire Safety Training
• Fire Safety Plan
• National Fire Protection Association Standard 303
• Fire Fighting Equipment
Resource Materials: NFPA 303 available from NFPA

Facility Safety – Harbor facilities need to be monitored to ensure they are in good condition. This focus on safety impacts both your customers and employees. Finding a problem early can prevent much greater issues in the future. Module elements will include:
• Electrical Power Systems
• Floating Dock Freeboard
• Water Rescue Equipment
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Kid’s Don’t Float
• Housekeeping
• Slips, Trips and Falls
• Lighting
• Marine Mammals (This may be considered as a separate module)
• Earthquakes and Tsunami
• Risk Management Practices
• Boating Safety
Resource Materials: Ocean Fury, Alaska Water Wise and Responsible Marine Wildlife Viewing in Alaska available from Alaska Sea Grant.

Hazardous and Other Materials – The future viability of harbors and marinas will depend on developing good environmental stewardship practices. Harbors also need to comply with numerous Federal and State regulations. Industry has developed the concept of Best Management Practices that provide good guidelines for the prevention of boating related pollution. Module elements will include:
• Best Management Practices for Harbors
• Used Oil Collection
• Solid and Liquid Waste Materials
Fishing line, fishing nets and plastics
Hull scrapings and sanding products
Scrap materials generated by vessel repairs
Contaminated fuel or water
Liquid and aerosol paints
Lead-acid batteries
Fish waste
Trash and garage
• Hazardous Material Training
• Federal Laws and Regulations
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (CZARA)
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act (MPPRCA)
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act Title I (MPRSA)
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90)
Resource Materials: Hazardous Materials On Board available from Alaska Sea Grant.

Marine Structures – Effective operation and maintenance of a harbor is dependent on employees having a solid understanding of the marine infrastructure installed at their workplace. Module elements cover major marine structures found in a harbor or small port.
• Mooring Docks
Wood floating docks
Concrete floating docks
Fixed docks
• Anchor Piling
• Tidal Grids
• Launch Ramps
• Breakwaters
Rubble-mound
Permeable wave barriers
• Floating Fish Cleaning Stations
• Gangways

Marine Construction Materials – Marine structures are built out of materials that are designed to withstand use in a severe climate. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages inherent in using each material will help harbor employees make good choices in their maintenance activities. Materials described in the module include:
• Wood
Wood damaging organisms
Wood damage by nonliving agents
Decay prevention
Inspection for decay
Maintenance and repair of wood structures
• Steel
Corrosion
Inspection of steel structures
Galvanic series of metals
• Concrete
Maintenance and repair of concrete structures
• Foam Floatation
Resource Materials: Marine Wood Maintenance Manual: A Guide for Proper Use of Douglas Fir available from Oregon Sea Grant

Dockside Cranes and Straddle Hoists – Harbors and small ports commonly use boat lifts and dock mounted cranes. Safe use of this equipment depends on good maintenance and safety practices. The following topics will be covered in this module:
• Dockside Cranes
Crane inspections
Crane access controls
Crane operator training
• Marine Straddle Hoists
Resource Materials: CD based crane operator training available from ARXCIS.

Potable Water Systems – Delivery of safe drinking water is an important function of most mooring facilities. There are a number of maintenance concerns that harbor employees should take into account at their facility.
Electrical Systems – Harbor electrical systems represent major investments by the community and can cause serious injury or death is not properly maintained. Elements of this module will include:
• Common Electrical Distribution Systems
• Harbor Electrolysis and Corrosion
• National Fire Prevention Association Standard 303
• Lighting Systems
Resource Materials: NFPA 303 available from NFPA and Harbor Electrical Guidelines for Maintenance and Operations available from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

Future Developments in Harbor Operations – What does the future hold for employees and operators of small boat harbors? This module will present information on future developments and reinforce the harbor employee certification program being sponsored by UAS, PCC and AAHPA. Ideas include:
• Harbor Maintenance Management Software – I’m currently working on this with Tryck Nyman Hayes
• Harbor Employee Training – This program is a major step forward.
• Port and Facility Security.
• Responsible Harbor Users Handbook
• Harbor and Port Visual Glossary
Resource Materials: 33 CFR Part 101 to 106 available from the United States Coast Guard.

Tags: AAHPA HAABC PCC Marina Harbor Training