Watchet Marina Update...

[tonybarebones]

After post welding inspection by the company repairing the gate, the inspector found
two further hairline cracks, despite the gate being inspected for cracks when first delivered. And none being identified.

The marina operators therefore requested the entire gate be tested with ultra-sonics. The test revealed three more cracks. All cracks have now been ground out and welded.

The anticipated date of its return to Watchet is around 28th May 2015.

The plan is to reinstall the gate in the first week of June using a mobile crane on the North East Pier once all the relevant criteria including that laid down
by the District Council are met. Structural engineers are considering the ground conditions as no records exist.

If the East Pier cannot be used the marina operators will bring a crane barge into the Outer Harbour.

Once the gate is in place it will lie flat and the marina will continue to be operated utilising stop logs until the ram and electronics are installed.

The entire hydraulic and electronic operating system is being updated and/or replaced. The whole project has been slowed down by the simple fact that
it has been found that all of the original construction drawings for the site refer to the gate in its original incarnations as a mechanical system later
topped up with a different hydraulic system. The ram has had to be redesigned from scratch as it is a custom unit.

In the meantime the marina has continued to undertake dredging in the Outer Harbour on behalf of the Landlords. This should improve access depths as well as
hopefully reduce the mud inflow into the marina itself.

Some dredging has taken place in the marina but not a full programme as there is little point until the gate is in and working. Once this is completed a
substantial dredge programme will commence.


The marina is open to visitors but advise people phone ahead first so as to advise of the access restrictions. There will be severe restrictions when the
gate is reinstalled.

James Burnell

Marina Manager

Watchet Harbour Marina

01984 631264

 

[PCUK]

Great to hear progress is being made. If the dredging finally works I'll be back next spring to take up my berth again.

 

[peterhull]

According to the Free Press today the gate has still not been fixed and Watchet Boat Owners Association are getting thoroughly fed up with the management of the Marina and with West Somerset District Council who own the Marina.

The mismanagement is staggering, the gate was damaged last September 2014. September 2015 is not far away, that will be 12 months with the gate out of operation. Deadlines have come and gone, I really don't know how the Marina can go on like this. The loss of revenue from boat owners which have gone to other locations must be substantial.

Come on Watchet Marina and West Somerset District 'get a grip' for goodness sake and for the sake of the town and visitors and holuday makers.

 

[bitbaltic]

We were trying to make something of this week as we had set it aside for cruising and SWMBO had taken the week off. With the weather being as it was we were always likely to be quite restricted and we got as far as Portishead from Cardiff on Wednesday. With stopgate tides in Bristol and Lydney and Watchet being busted flushes all we could do was turn around and come back to Cardiff yesterday before the perpetual rain set in. Now we are at home! It's not Watchet's fault that the weather is so poor but it does illustrate how, without Watchet, there are very few choices for cruising in the uper channel if the weather is unsettled.

Agree the delay/failure to resolve gate problem (let alone silt) is beyond the pale. I do not think the marina can go on; I expect the marina will end up an all but abandoned drying harbour which is what it was in the first place.

 

[solitaire11]

As above, I think it's goodbye watchet.. Such a shame.

 

[PCUK]

I wonder what it would take to re-direct the stream back through the marina. That is the only long-term solution as the gate can be sorted but the silt can't without drastic changes being made. Get some more cash from the EU before we leave?

 

[watchet]

After a significantly troubled time, the planned gate installation date is August 4th. This is weather dependent and not set in stone but looking highly favorable. Official notifications/ notices to mariners are to be issued this coming week as the marina will be closed for a day or two to boat traffic. There will be a large crane barge and tug in the Outer Harbour.

The report that the marina had written as part of the process of trying to establish what went wrong with the whole project of the marina build (and how to go forwards) was shared with all stakeholders last year. One of the things that was/ has been considered was to reopen the Washford river and let it flow back into the harbour. Unfortunately the cost of doing so is well into 7 figures and the resulting effect deemed negligible, the historical evidence shows this albeit the impounding wall was not in existence at that time.

 

[PCUK]

In that case surely a training wall could be designed to draw silt out by tide run?

 

[tonybarebones]

Notice to Mariners

No 1 of 2015

29TH July 2015

Please note that Watchet Harbour Marina will be closed to traffic on Tuesday 4th and

Wednesday 5th August to allow installation of the tidal gate.

The Outer Harbour will remain open with limited access however please note the crane barge TMS Maverick and tug M.T.Goliath will be operating within the harbour.

A listening watch will be maintained on VHF channel 80.

For any more information contact Watchet Harbour Marina on 01984 631264 / 07969 138938 or pop into our office where someone will be happy to help you with enquiries. The

office is open 7 days a week 8am - 5pm.

 

[pondfish]

Anybody know the date when the firework weekend is on,
I phoned the marina office but they didn't have a clue I found that strange ???

 

[ribdriver]

Saturday August 16th

 

[bitbaltic]

Is there any chance that shallow draft boats will be able to stay afloat somewhere within the marina once the gate is back in? We draw 1.2m but don't want to go aground. Or is the previous still applicable ie the marina will still be drying.

 

[single]

Is there any chance that shallow draft boats will be able to stay afloat somewhere within the marina once the gate is back in? We draw 1.2m but don't want to go aground. Or is the previous still applicable ie the marina will still be drying.

I draw about the same and we were only slightly in the mud on the outside of the first hammerhead as you go in. I think the water was about 1m.

 

[PCUK]

Is the marina going to be dredged once the gate is complete?

 

[bitbaltic]

View attachment 52865

Is the marina going to be dredged once the gate is complete?

In fairness to the marina this whole episode must have cost them a fortune, can they really afford to be starting a dredging programme... I also got the distant impression the dredger they had wasn't incredibly effective. But I hope something can be done as we would love to get over there and support the local businesses a bit before the season ends.

 

[trapezeartist]

As already commented, the gate is due to be refitted next week.

We went in for a night this past week. There was no problem getting over the stop logs, the HW window seemd to be only a little less than normal. Once inside we were moored alongside C pontoon with our 1.85m bulbed fin keel. We dried with mud all around us, but the boat sank in with no problem, sat upright and the lines didn't need adjusting. The only downside was when I forgot myself and attempted to pump the heads :disgust: . It took an awful lot of pumping of "clean" Bristol Channel water to flush everything through.

It was sad to see the place in the state it is. It looks like a lot of berth holders have upped sticks and gone elsewhere. There were even more crumbling wrecks than when we have been there in the past. But it was gratifying to look around and think that I might have one of the most desirable boats in the marina: not something that I'm used to!

The town was as quiet as ever; we just ignored the pavements and walked down the middle of the road. I like places like that. The beer and the fish-and-chips in the Star Inn was as good as ever, there was a definite upside.

I do think visitors have been unduly put off by the mud problem. It didn't really bother us, and the other virtues of Watchet made it all worthwhile.

 

[watchet]

Once the gate is installed there will be some berths capable of taking shallow draft vessels (around 1m) at impounded level but these will be the hammerheads and very limited as of course everybody wants them.

Dredging will continue within a few weeks. The dredger is currently finishing up a third party contract in Sharpness.

The machine has the performance, the biggest issue is the sheer complexity of the equipment with regular technical issues.
A pumping/ pipeline technique is the only vaguely efficient way of dealing with mud disposal due to the tidal window of getting other vessels in and out on a daily basis. However a few interesting variants of this are being looked at, especially as the third party demand for the machine is rising.

Different contracting dredging options are regularly revisited but the sheer cost means that only a small amount of dredging could be undertaken this way. A significant amount of dredging charges go on the mobilisation and de-mobilisation costs before actual dredging commences.

The cost of dredging - in any form - is why the marina wrote a report on what went wrong with the marina design and build (especially the mud issues) as an attempt to get all the major stakeholders to sit down and try and find a way forwards that is sustainable, not just for the marina but for the town.

 

[CuttyStark]

The amazing Watchet fireworks are on Saturday 15th August, hopefully the new gate will be fully operational by then. If not, you can still go, there will just be some restrictions on arrival and departure times which the Marina Office can update you on.

 

[pondfish]

watchet not knowing a lot about the technical details can you tell me what is the point of the stop logs if they don't keep the marina full of water,
surly if the logs were taken out or not even put in the first place a large amount of silt that comes in with the tide water would go out with the tide water
where as now with the logs in place the tide leaves at a slower rate giving more time for the silt to deposit,
sorry if this is a numpty question.

 

[bitbaltic]

watchet not knowing a lot about the technical details can you tell me what is the point of the stop logs if they don't keep the marina full of water,
surly if the logs were taken out or not even put in the first place a large amount of silt that comes in with the tide water would go out with the tide water
where as now with the logs in place the tide leaves at a slower rate giving more time for the silt to deposit,
sorry if this is a numpty question.

Silt only falls out from suspension in the water column when the water is almost still. If the water is moving at any rate whatever, the silt remains in the water. So it's not about the rates at which water moves in and out, it's about the time the water column is stationary.

This is the reason the Bristol Channel is always brown: the water is never still, so the silt is always suspended making it brown not blue.

Watchet's problem is that the marina's design has (in whatever way) caused the water once impounded (by either stop logs or the gate) to be too stationary for too long. This gives the opportunity for silt to fall out of the water and fill the marina and this is what has happened.

Once the silt has been deposited it is very difficult to entrain it (get it back into the water column) again, because the speed of water flow needed to do so is very high. (The fact that silt can only be deposited when the water flow is very small, but can only be picked up and entrained when the flow is very high, is to do with the way the silt grains pack together when they settle). This aspect of silt is why the Bristol channel still has mudflats despite the strong tides flowing over them every day.

It is also the reason why watchet cannot now be dredged by using tidal forces/flow through the gate.

The way forward is to excavate the marina mechanically and then install some system which keeps the water turbid when impounded so silt cannot settle. Many marinas achieve this by allowing a stream to flow through; watchet say above that they have a report which says this solution, even if adopted, will not work for them. As a consequence they would need to consider some more elaborate mechanical agitation system.