G Dock is shock-free at last
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
The shock on the dock has finally been stopped.
Advertiser library photo • June 18, 2002
Boats that were displaced for nearly seven months will soon be allowed to return to a refurbished dock at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor now that pesky static electricity problems have been solved, state officials say.
G Dock's 77 slips in the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, now static shock-free, await the return of boaters displaced by nearly seven months of work.
Work on "G Dock" began in December and was mostly completed by mid-May, but the Department of Land and Natural Resources delayed reopening the state-owned facility because electricity that somehow built up on the dock's new plastic planks had repeatedly shocked people working on the project.
The zaps were more startling than painful, but they still presented a safety risk, officials said.
"Its like the shock you sometimes get in Las Vegas when you walk across the carpeted floors of the hotels and casinos and then touch a metal doorknob," said Harbor Master Meghan Statts, who was jolted several times.
Engineers had aluminum slats installed between every few feet of dock planking to conduct the electricity away from the walkways, but a few people kept getting zinged. Among them was Ed Underwood, DLNR O'ahu small-boat harbors assistant manager, who was shocked nearly every time he set foot on the dock.
"I just have that magnetic personality," Underwood quipped yesterday as officials performed a final inspection of the project.
Engineers said a person's shoe type, body chemistry, and way of walking could all determine whether or not the individual would be zapped. Finally, at the suggestion of frustrated local boaters, workers painted an anti-static coating on the dock and put an end to the ordeal.
Project manager Dickie Lee said the process cost about $1,600 in material and labor and took fewer than five hours, and that the state was negotiating the cost with the dock manufacturer, a Canadian firm called Technomarine. The entire project cost about $1,036,000.
Some boaters say the finished dock looks great, but that it took officials an inordinate amount of time to solve the problems.
"It's absolutely horrendous that it took this long," said Mac Oliver, a longtime boat dweller at G Dock. "There was a lack of urgency to doing anything here, like no one worried about the revenue being lost from having the slips empty."
The dock's 77 slips normally bring in about $17,000 in berthing fees and extra live-aboard charges per month, and the harbor lost about $120,000 during the seven months the dock was closed. But more money was lost because other slips in the harbor were kept vacant to accommodate boats displaced from G Dock.
Lee said it was important to work together with everyone involved in the project so that the problems didn't cause a nasty legal dispute. And some boaters said they were just glad the work was finally finished.
"For all the bull, it looks nice," said Carl Chamberland, a longtime harbor tenant.
But DLNR O'ahu small-boat harbors manager Stephen Thompson said there was no hiding the obvious: "I think it took longer than it should have, unfortunately."
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
