Located in what was once a vacant lot along National City’s Sweetwater River flood channel, Pier 32 Marina is a welcomed addition to the city’s waterfront infrastructure. After a 19 year effort to provide the city with public access to its three-mile bay front, National City and the Port of San Diego, which owns the land, succeeded. The new 250 slip marina provides first class accommodations for vessels up to 120 feet and public access to the city’s waterfront.
Pier 32 Marina, LLC, owner and operator of the new marina, awarded world renowned Bellingham Marine the design/build, turn-key contract for the project. “Bellingham Marine was a tremendous resource in the design process and helped us to gain back critical slips that were lost when the basin was completed. In the end we had less water than we had anticipated. Bellingham Marine came up with a number of different layouts finding one that maximized our number of slips,” said George Folgner, Project Manager and Representative for Pier 32 Marina, LLC. “Top executives at Bellingham Marine all the way down to the installation crew were very responsive to our needs and were a pleasure to work with.”
The state-of-the-art marina at Pier 32 provides single slip berths for vessels from 25 to 60 feet and side ties for vessels up to 120 feet. Pier 32 Marina affords club members the latest in modern amenities. Slip side services include electricity, water, internet, TV and phone. A pump-out dock is on site installed on the southeast side of the marina for easy access by tenants and visitors. A section of the marginal walk was widened to accommodate dinghy racks and fire suppression equipment is located along the marina’s main walks. Shoreside facilities include locker rooms, laundry services, a second floor community lounge and deck, a fitness center and a swimming pool and Jacuzzi.
Strict attention was paid to detail to ensure the new marina had the look, feel and ability to operate as a first class yacht club. Southern yellow pine walers with chamfered edges were finished with rod protection caps and a special low profile fendering. A portion of the slips were fitted with special finger-to-walk connections to accommodate sportfishers or stern-in mooring. Gangways feature a unique arched design with special angled handrails – powder-coated white to provide a seamless look with the rest of the marina.
Bellingham Marine’s scope of work included design, manufacture and installation of the docks, installation of piling, construction and installation of the pump-out dock, installation of barrier-free access gangways and installation of dock utilities.
As the world’s leading marina design/build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat saltwater systems, Unideck freshwater systems and Unistack dry storage systems for marinas worldwide.
Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; ph. 360-676-2800, fax. 360-734-2417, email. bmi@bellingham-marine.com
Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine.
