The losers would be several boats now tied up at Ala Wai transient berths, space that would go to the boats from the yacht club if the deal is approved.

The state land board today will hear a request that the state accept the used dock for the Ala Wai Harbor as a gift.

Jud Lohmeyer, who has his 42-foot sloop in a transient slip, and others boaters have formed a group called the Displaced Boaters of Ala Wai Harbor to oppose the donation and stop the eviction. Lohmeyer has filed a lawsuit against the plan and wants the state to allow the boats in the area to stay their full 120 days, through the end of April, because there are few relocation options for them right now.

"We have contacted every single marina on the island and been told there is no room," Lohmeyer said. "The state has created its own problem and we are only following the state regulations for cruisers and boaters. It is not our chosen path. We are only asking them to follow the rules."

The yacht club is about to start work on its final $400,000 phase of construction to replace all of its aging docks, and has offered to give the state a floating modular dock that could be moved across the harbor to replace the state's F dock, which has been condemned.

Commodore Todd M. Wyrick said the old dock still is usable and the donation would benefit the state.

The Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor has had little investment for repairs or maintenance for decades, and concrete spalling and other problems have forced the state to condemn about 120 of the nearly 700 slips in the harbor. That has contributed to years-long waiting lists for a public berths.

If the land board votes to accept the dock today, the state wants to quickly move the boaters who are using its transient berths. Yacht club construction would take 60 to 90 days. If the state does not accept the gift, the yacht club would have to pay to have the dock removed, Wyrick said.

Richard Rice, Small Boat Harbors administrator for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the gift will allow up to 40 boats to be given permanent births.

"Last fall the Waikiki Yacht Club offered the dock and I saw here is a chance for improvement to the whole harbor," Rice said. "It's unfortunate that anyone has to be inconvenienced, but you don't have a construction project without making changes."

Rice said the transients slips are in the harbor's 800 row and are permitted for 30 days at a time and up to 120 days in a calendar year. Those boats will be asked to move while the yacht club is under construction, which could begin next week.

Lohmeyer, who lives at the harbor and pays $300 a month for his slip, has been on the waiting list for a permanent birth for nearly two years. He said the donation is a bad deal for the state because the dock is old, it will cost thousands of dollars to refit and install, and the state will not be getting any income from the transient births while yacht club boats are there.

He wants the land board to turn down the donation.