World Marina www.marinaworld.com March/April 2021
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Marina
World www.mar inawor ld.com
March/April 2021 Issue 124
Essential reading for marina and waterfront developers, planners and operators
DRYSTACK SYSTEMS
A Capria semi-automatic drystack
system is safe and silent and requires
less operating space.
racking in pre-designed modules
that fit into an existing shed or
semi-protected construction. It
was not until Hurricane Andrew in
late 1992, however, that the real
havoc wrought on communities,
marinas and drystacks put a stop
to the “well, it happens sometimes”
attitude. Andrew killed 65 people
in south Miami and left an ugly
scar on those who survived
it. Better building techniques
were employed and historical
meteorological records became
part of feasibility studies. Rules
on strength of drystack structures
were implemented, including
foundations, water drainage and
chimney effect on fires. The second
enemy (this time worldwide) was
fire, fortunately a rare occurrence
but a sufficient risk to generate rules
Drystack turns 55:
for drystack fire-fighting (usually water
sprinklers and portable and fixed foam
equipment) and to forbid work carried
out by amateurs while a boat was in the
from the 1960s
shed. Today, the NFPA (National Fire
Protection Association) has standard
303 Fire Protection for Marinas and
Boatyards.
to the 2020s
The early 21st century saw drystack
facilities going bankrupt; something
unexpected a few years before.
The financial crisis was the catalyst
by Oscar Siches that reduced cash-flow and credit,
The clever drystack solution of storing boats in a reduced space emerged and highlighted the importance
in the 1960s. There is no precise date, but there were drystacks in 1965, and of undertaking down-to-earth due
at that time two countries were simultaneously seeking the most efficient diligence, market study, investment and
operational cost calculations before
way that small boats could stay on their trailers out of the water and be
jumping into a new drystack business.
reasonably protected against outdoor weather. Those countries were the
The opportunities were previously not
USA (no surprise) and Argentina (surprise). Argentina has a strong yachting analysed with enough pragmatism to
tradition and boating is a popular leisure activity and sport in Buenos Aires make an accurate (or as accurate as
most particularly. Drystacks were also necessary because of the problem of possible) business plan. I remember
high tide variations (up to 7m/23ft) due to particular wind conditions. Today, visiting Loggerhead Dry Stack in
drystacks north of Buenos Aires offer 146,000 berths. Palm Beach sometime around 2007,
At the time, drystacks were just to allow narrower aisles in the sheds. admiring its Marina Bull forklifts (the
sheds, built without any experience A forklift with negative lift is still the biggest built at that time), the stylish
and constructed purely to withstand the most common boat moving system for offices and shops, and the lighthouse
deadweight of the boats. The innovation drystacks. New systems have been landmark embedded in one of the
took root fast, and new drystacks were created but the drystack business is buildings, only to see it go bankrupt two
popping up in Florida on many plots very conservative and retrofits are years later.
of waterfront land. The 1970s brought rarely seen. By 2005 there were norms to be
forklift technology, and Wiggins Marina Eventually, Nature showed up with respected for drystack operation:
Bull equipment delivered negative Cat 4 and Cat 5 hurricane winds and no work in, or access to, the shed;
fork (descending below the level of drystacks in the hurricane path took drainplug out before stacking; main
the floor from which it was operating off without needing any air traffic battery supply disconnected; and, in
and thus able to pick the boats directly control or flaps. Bellingham Marine most facilities, addition of low level
from the water) and a short wheelbase created its Unistack line; drystack racks to service boats outside the shed.
www.marinaworld.com – March/April 2021 45
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DRYSTACK SYSTEMS
Around 2007, concrete drystacks can compete with any factory in the semi-automatic machinery for stacking
started to appear for the first time. world in terms of design and fabrication is the second most popular choice for
GCM Contracting pioneered this with quality (and its equipment is being drystacks today and benefits from the
Hamilton Harbour in Naples, Florida copied by other manufacturers). The low risk of operational/human error.
as the best shelter for hurricane types of cranes existing prior to this The start of the 21st century also
conditions and fire (rack cells are also were of home-made quality, one-off heralded the first fully automated
separated by concrete walls). Today, inventions to suit specific needs. drystack marinas. At the time, Vertical
the concrete construction is similar, but With a Capria system, a column Yachts built what is today The Port
the technique has varied to Marina in Ft
prove tilt-up to be the best Lauderdale,
method as (1) it is cheaper Florida - a fully
(2) it is faster and (3) less automated facility
surface area is required with a German
for the construction site. crane and
Concrete is favoured by cantilever racks
fire marshals around the that ease the
world (well, North America, load and unload
the Mediterranean, manoeuvre. This
Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, facility was also
Australia, New Zealand one of the first
and Argentina where most dockominiums:
drystacks exist). a legal term by
Buildings like these which a boat
also have the advantage rack can be sold
of being easy to dress up like property/
on the outside to make real estate.
them look like big villas Many drystacks
or shopping malls. Doors, were bought by
balconies, small hanging speculators and
gardens etc., reduce the transformed into
negative visual impact to dockominiums.
zero. Another advantage of Many people had
this construction method to find monthly
is the ability to have extra payment racks
adjacent commercial elsewhere as the
space to give room to F&B, purchase price
and open terraces on the for the space of
top (roof), either for mini the rack had to
golf, F&B, solarium or a be paid in full
battery of solar cells for at acquisition.
the electrical needs of the The uncontrolled
marina. development of
Traditionally, facilities dockominiums
have been protected created a
against the spread of fire shortage of water
with sprinklers but this access for boaters.
Sophisticated automated machinery at Gulf Star Marina uses artificial intelligence Communities have
system has disadvantages:
software to distribute boats for highest efficiency. recently started
all shed sprinklers work at
once – throughout the whole drystack; hangs from the overhead cart, featuring to vote to limit the elimination of water
and boats fill with water (even if two forks that can rotate 360° and access.
drainage plugs are out as dirt inside displace themselves vertically. The Two years ago, Safe Harbour by
the boat blocks the drain holes easily). operator sits in a cabin attached to the GCM continued its innovation by
A 7m (23ft) boat can hold nearly 3,000 forks so as to have 100% control of creating ASAR. One facility – Gulf Star
litres (800 gallons) of water. This means the forks, the rotation, and the three- Marina – is up and running in Ft Myers,
that for a three-tier drystack, racking axis linear movements. It is simple Florida and has experienced high
will be loaded with at least 9,000 kg machinery, providing safety, good occupancy since the day it opened.
(19,850 lbs) extra on every row of boats speed and silent electric operation that Gulf Star features a concrete shed
stored; food for disaster by possible generates no emissions. The company with space for 300 boats on a relatively
collapse of the structure. also builds two-stage launchers for small footprint. This is possible because
In 2010, Argentinian company high tide operations in conjunction boats can be stored three deep on
Capria developed some very ingenious with an overhead crane or forklifts, each rack; and this is how the ASAR
overhead cranes for semi-automatic making the system able to operate with launch and retrieval system proves
operation in drystacks. The company very high tidal variations. This type of unique.
www.marinaworld.com – March/April 2021 47
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DRYSTACK SYSTEMS
The ASAR launch and retrieval system from
Safe Harbour/GCM can store three boats
on each rack unlike traditional storage
models.
The crane is a four-leg structure
running on a rail. It has double tracking
electrical motors running alongside the
shed, double motors for vertical motion,
and the cart supporting the boats and
bringing them to their position in the
rack is electrical and steered by wireless
technology. Both the four-legged
structure and double motors allow
horizontal and vertical speeds previously
unknown in drystack operation.
The system can store boats, cars
or containers and the shed can be
compartmentalised or standard. At
any given rack, a client can store any
combination of a container, a summer
vehicle and a boat. Gulf Star Marina
has been operating since September
2020 at safe speed, and by the time
this article is published the crane
technicians will have finished the fine
tuning (they could not fly from Austria them on the racks for highest efficiency. drystack industry presents a project in
before now) and the system will be With extremely low maintenance which every single stage is innovative.
operating at full speed. The artificial requirements, the crane has a ten year Oscar Siches runs the consultancy firm,
intelligence software learns the usage guarantee for its platform lifting belts. Marina Matters, from Mallorca, Spain.
pattern of the boats and distributes For the first time in many years, the E: oscar@siches.com
www.roodberg.com
Moving forward E-
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b e CK io
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100%
ELECTRIC
The Original
www.marinaworld.com – March/April 2021 49
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