Here at Shoreline, we’re fortunate enough to work with some really great people, businesses, and organizations. The relationships we’ve built are the reason why we get up in the morning and are so passionate about what we do. Over the last 28 years, we’ve had the privilege of building and maintaining numerous docks for the Kelowna Yacht Club. There’s a fascinating history here, and we’re proud to have been a part of it all these years.
So, we’re sharing that story with you in our Okanagan commercial dock feature article. We deeply value this relationship, and we greatly appreciate the time we’ve spent working together.
The start of a beautiful working relationship
As a long-time member of the Kelowna Yacht Club, our founder Bob Jones knew he’d be a great candidate to help the club build and expand their marina. In 1983, when Shoreline Piledriving opened and embarked on its initial journey, Jones knew his ties with the club would help him design slips that would exceed the club’s expectations. This began the start of a working relationship that’s spanned decades.
In fact, if you were to take a quick peek into the Shoreline office, you’d likely spot a filing cabinet proudly entitled, Kelowna Yacht Club. And if you were to pull open the drawers, you’d find paperwork and building plans dated as early as 1990.
The largest freshwater marina in Canada
If you’ve ever cruised past the marina in your boat, you’ve no doubt seen the rows of occupied boat slips filled with the gently bobbing sailboat masts, yachts, and speed boats, backed by the downtown sights of Kelowna. For boat lovers everywhere, it’s a truly beautiful sight.
However, it wasn’t always this big. What is now home to over 1,000 boat slips began back in 1979 when Robert Graves, the Federal Government Coast Guard engineered the first floating breakwater for the Kelowna Yacht Club. From there, Shoreline stepped in and built the entire marina over the years. The floating dock system incorporates everything from mains, sub-mains and fingers.
Building sustainable floating marina docks
The Kelowna Yacht Club marina has been created using a variety of different construction materials, including:
- Moisture Shield composite decking
- Large Douglas Fir timber
- Concrete floating fingers
- Polystyrene-filled floatation tanks
If you look close enough, you can see that many of the original components are still there. We’re proud of this as it goes to show that our handiwork withstands all weather systems and require minimal maintenance. It also validates all the time we spent researching and planning to make sure the marina performs as it should year after year.
The Clean Marine BC program perfect partnership
Every decision we make takes into consideration the environmental impacts of our building process and servicing of our Okanagan lake docks. By working with the Kelowna Yacht Club, we’re reinforcing the value of the Clean Marine BC program and helping to minimize the impacts of recreational boating on the environment.
In fact, the yacht club boasts a Clean Marine BC certified 4 anchor eco-rating! They also demonstrate our shared values by:
- Keeping docks clean and well maintained, without the continued use of foam floatation
- Replacing creosote pilings with steel
- Ensuring spill protection kits and visible and easy to reach
- Implementing mandatory holding tanks, with a complimentary sewage pump-our facility accessible to guests
- The removal of onsite fueling stations
- Refusing on-site boat maintenance
- Providing extensive onsite recycling collection
As proud as we are to be aligned with such an amazing organization, don’t just take our word for it. Thom Killingsworth, Executive Director of the Kelowna Yacht Club, recently had this to say:
Bob and the team at Shoreline have been a great partner of the Kelowna Yacht Club for years. Their collaborative approach, along with deep rooted network of trades within the Okanagan, not only adds tremendous value, but makes them great to work with. I am certain we will be working together for many years to come on the maintenance and upkeep of our basin, which happens to be one of the largest fresh water basins in North America.
For more information on the largest fresh-water basin in North America and the current water levels, learn more in our previous blog article: High Water Levels: Can you boat on Okanagan Lake right now?
