wooden boat: Percival Landing OK for Wooden Boat Fair
BY KATHERINE TAM
THE OLYMPIAN
OLYMPIA — Percival Landing is sturdy enough to hold the thousands of people expected to descend on the downtown boardwalk for next week's Wooden Boat Fair, officials said.
Tests this week involving garbage cans filled with water show that the landing, which is aging and starting to deteriorate, can support the weight and will remain open, said Dave Okerlund, a parks planner.
The annual Wooden Boat Fair, set for May 13 and 14, draws up to 6,000 people on a sunny weekend for its wooden boat display and popular children's boat-building booth, said Hal Van Gilder, who heads the organizing group. Most of the activities stretch from The Oyster House to the grass field by Olympia Avenue. That's also the oldest stretch of the boardwalk and dates back about 30 years.
The most recent evaluation of the landing cited ongoing concerns with a piling under the now-closed wooden vehicle pathway and a support beam near the Motherhood statue. The boardwalk is supported by some 600 pilings that share the load so it's not disastrous when one deteriorates, but officials need to keep an eye on the deterioration, Okerlund said.
A consultant suggested a load test using garbage cans filled with water to see if the areas can support the weight.
So this week, officials placed 40 garbage cans of water on one part of the landing and 50 garbage cans of water on another, Okerlund said. The load was equivalent to 80 pounds per square foot. They measured the difference in elevation before and after. Both tests passed, he said.
“In one case, there was zero change, zero deflection,” Okerlund said. “And in the other, the landing deflected by less than one-16th of an inch. We are confident the landing is safe for the throngs coming with the Wooden Boat Show.”
A study in 2004 found that some of the pilings that support the landing need to be replaced. The observation deck that extends beyond the boardwalk was closed because the pilings are being eaten by marine borers. The city banned cars from the wooden vehicle path off State Avenue a year later.
Last month, officials cut power to the public boat docks because the aging electrical system is no longer up to standard and might be dangerous. The change affects the docks off Olympia Avenue, where 841 people moored last year.
The power shutoff won't disrupt the
Wooden Boat Fair, Van Gilder said. Most of the boats are self-contained, and they will likely have generators.
The city is lobbying the Legislature for $9.6 million to finance reconstruction of the landing. A redesign has been developed that would have less of the boardwalk hanging over the water and use nonwood material that could better withstand the marine setting.
Meanwhile, officials are going after a $1 million grant to replace the electrical system, make the gangway to the docks more wheelchair accessible and replace some floats that have started tilting, said David Hanna, associate parks director. They'll know in September if they get the grant. If the grant doesn't win approval, they'll probably tap the $125,000 a year in city funds earmarked for inspections and interim fixes.
Katherine Tam covers the city of Olympia for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-704-6869 or ktam@theolympian.com.
