Wooden Ramps at Sea Clubs
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4055
Printed Date: 18 Aug 25 at 10:25pm
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Topic: Wooden Ramps at Sea Clubs
Posted By: Guest
Subject: Wooden Ramps at Sea Clubs
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 3:18pm
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Anyone on here a member of a club that has a wooden ramp set on wooden piles at a sea club? At Whitstable we are having a few problems with the ramp and would like to learn from what others have done to maintain their ramps ... |
Replies:
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 3:48pm
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Well we buried ours for 7 or 8 years, the storm has just exposed it the
weekend gone as can be seen below. 
I'm surprised you've got problems with your slip, we were very envious of it, it was built around the same time they buried ours in shingle, but then ours was a recycled version of one built back in the seventies from discarded railway sleepers and track. |
Posted By: radixon
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 4:14pm
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not sea but inland they replaced the ramp at the centre I work at. Let me know if you want pictures. ------------- |
Posted By: 29er310
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 4:21pm
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At my sailing club (itchenor), they have to pressure hose the slip nearly daily in the summer at low tide to get rid of any weed which has decided to set up shelter on it, otherwise it becomes very slippery. The whole of the sailing club is on a decking which is on piles sunk into the mud the planks have to periodically replaced otherwise they become a bit dangerous. ------------- ---------------------- International 14 GBR1485 29er 310 for sale Laser 138462 for sale Optimist 4626 For sale |
Posted By: Villan
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 4:42pm
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Ours (Inland) is concrete, and then wood. I dont theres anything done to maintain it, other than periodically replacing the dry-slope ski matting on it. ( When parts get pulled up by trailers or whatever. ) ------------- Vareo - 149 "Secrets" http://www.TandyUKServers.co.uk" rel="nofollow - TandyUK Servers |
Posted By: radixon
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 5:39pm
Which rips your wetsuit or skin!! ------------- |
Posted By: tmoore
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 7:07pm
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our local council decided to put anti-foul on llandudno slipway and now its lethal. the first time we used it after it was done the tractor (big farm one not the little lawn mower style) slid and water came as high as the cockpit. luckily it didnt stall and was hastily reversed but suffered some engine damage due to the water. as for maintenance, a pressure washer would be good. better still would be strategically placed railway grip (along tyre tracks) to allow grip but leave gaps to put boats should the need arise. ------------- Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse |
Posted By: clip
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 10:02pm
| Took a walk past Herne Bay Sailing club the other week, they have a metal base with wood ontop, think they remove the wood over winter to keep it in good condition |
Posted By: Matt Jackson
Date Posted: 18 Mar 08 at 10:52pm
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Yep, the base is made of railway track bolted together and the slats are 5 heafty bits of Elm nailed to end rails. The slats are lifted over the winter or they go missing in the staorms. Of course you have to spend a day at either end of the season lifting/laying but at least they stay in fairly good condition. As there is smallish gaps between each slat you always have something to brace your foot against pulling the boat up. They wood used to get treated once a month with chlorine to kill the weed (not sure you could do that these days) - my Dad used to be known as Captain Chloros as he did it mostly. ------------- Laser 203001, Harrier (H+) 36 |
Posted By: Steve H
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 8:18am
| We're the other side of the Estuary at Leigh and we have have wooden storage racks and ramps. The ramps are made up of old railway tracks, sleepers and double dipped planks. WE have a couple of work parties every year to replace old planks and make repairs to the ramps. Main problem this year was a few steel clamps failed due to corrosion. |
Posted By: Guest
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 12:13pm
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ANyone got any thoughts/experience on the costs of ramp replacement? ------------- |
Posted By: lazy mavis
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 12:25pm
what are the problems you are having with the ramp? ------------- whatever |
Posted By: Guest
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 1:27pm
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Storm damage; bolt holes getting elongated by wave action etc etc ... Just wondering if there were any marine engineers on this forum ... ------------- |
Posted By: foaminatthedeck
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 6:02pm
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I have some experence, in the major mainternace that need to be carried out was replacment of the cross beams, these were fixed with large coach bolts. Rick if you post some photos or a specific problem then maybe more help could be given. |
Posted By: ratface
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 9:48pm
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what is actually wrong with the slipway Rick? as my coastal club did repairs/maintained the slipways over the winter and had to do several things to it i.e setting it in concrete and treating the wood ------------- http://www.blym.org.uk/ - BLYM http://www.blym.org.uk/hydrs/index.htm - Hertfordshire Sailing team Uk-Cherub 2644 Laser 4000 -4089 |
Posted By: Lukepiewalker
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 9:53pm
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Although we are an inland club, I will offer some experiences. Our wooden ramps were horrible slippy. We ended up screwing strips of wood on for grip, which eventually started to break off. You could try wrapping chicken wire round the slats for a bit of grip, but I'm not sure about longevity. We ended up building an arrangement with some hard to describe hard resinny/plasticky stuff sort of a square honeycomb if you see what I mean. Very grippy indeed, and doesn't rot like the wooden ramps did. A bit hard on the knees if you land on it though... ------------- Ex-Finn GBR533 "Pie Hard" Ex-National 12 3253 "Seawitch" Ex-National 12 2961 "Curved Air" Ex-Mirror 59096 "Voodoo Chile" |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 10:33pm
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Can i just ask why are the ramps made out of wood nowerdays? Surely there must be a more effecient composite matterial which would be gripier, cheaper and last longer ? ------------- |
Posted By: Webmuppet
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 10:43pm
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I guess that some kind of reinforced concrete might be the most technically suitable solution, but this might involve the use of heavy machinery and expensive engineering skills. Something than involves railway sleepers etc. is more manageable and offers a low-tech solution with relatively simple maintenance issues Nigel ------------- I am the milkman of human kindness, I will leave an extra pint (Billy Bragg) Graduate 2530 'Galaxy' |
Posted By: SimonW
Date Posted: 19 Mar 08 at 11:12pm
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What about using recycled plastic boards, like http://www.centriforce.info/fencing_casestudies.html - these? I can't offer any first hand experience of using them in this application, but I know they are quite cheap and easy to handle. Simon |
Posted By: Chris Bridges
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 8:09am
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Our concrete slipways at Rutland are rarely slippy (apart from the steep sides!!). Could you not just make concrete ramps? More expensive to begin with but little maintance (I think, i have never seen them doing anything to them) in the long run.. I think ours are quite old now aswell and they are still in pretty good condition |
Posted By: Mark Jardine
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 8:49am
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Topic back on track...
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Posted By: BarnsieB14768
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 8:56am
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With the issue of longshore drift and coastal errosion of the beach, the concrete option is not possible as the footings would eventually be undermined and removal of the concrete would be prohibitive if required in 15 years time. Rick, probably the best way forward would be to recess the heads of the planks with square plate and bolt through the middle of the plates. This would increase the bearing surface and reduce the slop that a bolt hole may generate. This is how the old ramp was held together years ago and it lasted for a life time but was removed each winter. When the ramp remains in place each winter, there is no easy answer and with teh size of the waterlogged planks, removal each winter would be very difficult as we know. Bye for now Barnsie |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 9:07am
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Well done that man!Posted By: Guest
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 10:12am
John Pollit & Stuart are well on the case with remdial repairs so the ramp can be used; just wondering if there were other clubs with a similar challenge. Thorpe Bay are just about to put a new ramp in and I'm getting some details from them ... ------------- |
Posted By: Dan MPS
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 4:05pm
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Hi Rick, you dont want to even know how much the new ramp is costing at Thorpe bay! Its a hidious amount! Dan ------------- |
Posted By: Lukepiewalker
Date Posted: 20 Mar 08 at 4:52pm
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http://www.fibreglassgrating.co.uk/homepage.html I think this is the stuff we have, if it's any help... Or maybe the marina specific stuff they do... ------------- Ex-Finn GBR533 "Pie Hard" Ex-National 12 3253 "Seawitch" Ex-National 12 2961 "Curved Air" Ex-Mirror 59096 "Voodoo Chile" |