Westhaven Floating Dock

[John B 106]

It is an important service especially in the light of the mandate by city council to get rid of the grids. Bruces business is an asset to us all too.

I'd really hate to think that Council have decided to get rid these guys by making the ground rent/ lease so expensive that its uneconomic for them to continue.

[Guest]

The word is John B has hit it on the head in the post above. Sure there is a commercial aspect to it but should it be that commercial we lose a seriously valuable service to the Akl Harbour? I think the ACC needs to consider the 'social good' that the dock provides and take that into account a lot with the commercial aspect.

 

Anyone have any idea who one would speak to in ACC about this? A few comments/letters many help keep this valuable service.

[tuffyluffy 76]

I havent used the floating dock services, but i have used Bruce at Mast and Spar several times and id hate to lose his services. Its just so handy to have him and his gantry there.

[tuffyluffy 76]

The word is John B has hit it on the head in the post above. Sure there is a commercial aspect to it but should it be that commercial we lose a seriously valuable service to the Akl Harbour? I think the ACC needs to consider the 'social good' that the dock provides and take that into account a lot with the commercial aspect.

 

Anyone have any idea who one would speak to in ACC about this? A few comments/letters many help keep this valuable service.

 

 

Now would be a great time to fire the question at John Banks and Len Brown etc etc. Politicians have an aversion to pissing people off before an election.

[Guest]

The word is John B has hit it on the head in the post above. Sure there is a commercial aspect to it but should it be that commercial we lose a seriously valuable service to the Akl Harbour? I think the ACC needs to consider the 'social good' that the dock provides and take that into account a lot with the commercial aspect.

 

Anyone have any idea who one would speak to in ACC about this? A few comments/letters many help keep this valuable service.

 

 

Now would be a great time to fire the question at John Banks and Len Brown etc etc. Politicians have an aversion to pissing people off before an election.

 

Excellent thinking there Tuffy

[wheels 543]

Yea now is the time to nail the Politicians to the dock. Ask who is going to be the greatest supporter of Boating for the common man and suggest that who ever it is will be the one that will get the votes.

And I suggest the one that pushed for Auckland to be changed from the City of sails to the Big little City is possibly not in support of boating.

[John B 106]

A couple or few years ago Swashies had their parking changed to pay and display not just until 6 pm like everywhere else , but something stupid like 9 or 12 at night. That was done purely because they're a bar and thats a way for the city council to get more money.. targeted revenue earning in other words.

If you go anywhere in the Beaumont st / Halsey st area on a sat you'll see pay and display mon to sat.. there's a hundred free parking spaces but you still have to put a pay and display ticket on the car or risk being fined or towed, revenue earning. Over the last few weeks we've had this ridiculous bus lane saga going on... pure revenue earning.

Of course , Westhaven is just a local area, the tip of the iceberg with residential areas being targeted at 3 am for spurious ticketing.

So my personal impression is that the current council has become fixated with money earning rather than serving its community, and that culture is what they're applying here with the floating dock and Mast and spar.

 

The ground they're proposing they move to earns no rent now.

Not since they put the trawler in there what.. 5 years ago?.. the one that pulled all the piles and caused all the mayhem to the boats around it.

[tuffyluffy 76]

A couple or few years ago Swashies had their parking changed to pay and display not just until 6 pm like everywhere else , but something stupid like 9 or 12 at night. That was done purely because they're a bar and thats a way for the city council to get more money.. targeted revenue earning in other words.

If you go anywhere in the Beaumont st / Halsey st area on a sat you'll see pay and display mon to sat.. there's a hundred free parking spaces but you still have to put a pay and display ticket on the car or risk being fined or towed, revenue earning. Over the last few weeks we've had this ridiculous bus lane saga going on... pure revenue earning.

Of course , Westhaven is just a local area, the tip of the iceberg with residential areas being targeted at 3 am for spurious ticketing.

So my personal impression is that the current council has become fixated with money earning rather than serving its community, and that culture is what they're applying here with the floating dock and Mast and spar.

 

The ground they're proposing they move to earns no rent now.

Not since they put the trawler in there what.. 5 years ago?.. the one that pulled all the piles and caused all the mayhem to the boats around it.

 

 

Couldn’t agree more. I received two, $200 tickets on my car. One for no WOF, one for no rego. They'd both expired one week earlier and I hadn’t noticed. So, straight away I headed round to VINZ and sorted it all out and posted the receipts to the council with an 'opps, sorry, I’ve fixed it' letter.

 

There response to the letter was...... pay up, hence we're now off to court on a great big time and money wasting exercise for all involved - me, the ratepayers, and the courts. Im not paying the farkers, no way!

 

The really stupid thing is that if the Police had ticketed me, I’d have automatically received 28 days to fix the matter with no fine.

 

Furkin revenue gathering, pea brained bureaucrats, and I’m not at all sorry to hear that heaps of them are losing their jobs - good farkin riddance I say.

 

And then there is the bus lane fine fiasco.......

[wheels 543]

It's happening everywhere. Local councils have completely lost sight that they are there to the citizens and not serve it Too the citizens. They all go on about trying to keep rates down, but if we got rid of half the beaucracy our rates would be down.

I get right royaly peeved off at things like, we have recylcing, but there is no market at the other end, so it all goes into the tip. So we sort out the plastics and Glass and so on and then we pay for the collectors and sorters at the transfer site and then they throw the lot into the same truck and off up to the landfill it all goes.

[Chewing Gum 17]

Yes I use both the floating dock and Mast and Spars.

Both run by real good guys doing a fantastic service.

We need to fight hard to retain them both.

Losing the use of the grids was bad enough and the marina charges are becoming ridiculous.

This will be just another way to stop the average person being able to afford to enjoy boating in the Auckland area.

[Crocket 12]

Is it the same as the 1 back in the late 80s?

We used to use it every Auckland trip we made for sailing. It was a ritual. Sail down Thursday night, time it for a clean early Friday morning, in to westhaven to empty the boat and we were good to go for the weekend. I remember it being pretty popular at times. Got in early 1 time and had to wait our turn

[Fogg 427]

The word is John B has hit it on the head in the post above. Sure there is a commercial aspect to it but should it be that commercial we lose a seriously valuable service to the Akl Harbour? I think the ACC needs to consider the 'social good' that the dock provides and take that into account a lot with the commercial aspect.

 

Anyone have any idea who one would speak to in ACC about this? A few comments/letters many help keep this valuable service.

 

If you think that MAFF or some other official body would be concerned about the implications (from a boisecurity perspective) then I would make sure they are aware and are making strong representation . They could have the biggest influence to be honest.

[PaulR 3]

Another aspect not yet discussed.

 

The City Council is wanting to upgrade the area. Fine in itself as some aspects are old tired, dirty and overdue but in the same breath, they want to make the area open for people to enjoy, to enjoy the harbour views.

 

So they want people to come and see the harbour. Guess what. Any boat on the harbour looks better than no boats.

 

Boats moving look better still but as a simple rule of thumb, the boats on the harbour always seem to be on the opposite side of the harbour and are simply too far away.

 

So perhaps looking at boats closer, at anchor or on a marina or mooring. But guess what

 

The boats on marinas and moorings are just sitting there doing nothing. How exciting can that be

 

Most people (non yachtie or boating types) could become bored, progressing to VERY bored very quickly. Then they won't bother to come back.

 

What is needed is activity, movement, happenings, anything

The viaduct has proved this helps retain people in that area.

 

So what about things happening

 

Haul out yards are good, but sorry OSH is alive and well. I still think were are very fortunate in NZ that we can simply walk into a yard and have a gander amoungst the boats, see whats happening and who's up

 

So a marine activity, safely a few yards of water away but still close and visible should be a "marketing bonus" to the city. People can see boats, coming, up, blasted, down and away. A continual procession of constantly changing boats, happening just there but a safe OSH distance away.

 

Compare this to when a fishing boat comes to a jetty in small harbours, e.g. Whitianga, Maungonui etc. Trucks, boats, men working, fish being unloaded etc all good activity and lots of the locals and tourists all come and have a look to see what is happenng.

 

Taking the Floating Dock and Mast & Spars rigging barge away will really generate a big vacuum just where the city needs marine activity.

 

Yes I use both services often.

 

Interestingy I too have been asking Sharpie (Ken) for a few years about his lacking coffee service!! Perhaps as soon as he gets better

 

The great thing with the floating dock is that all the hard work is done for you

 

Bruce is very knowledgable rigger, very practical and most helpful.

[wheels 543]

You know what? some of you guys need to stand for council!!

Hey Squid how bout you. You do nothing all day

[Guest]

Me? A politician? Yeah right. (What's that line of Jimmy Buffett's - Not a lawyer a thief or a banker? He should have added politician, or is that covered under the second option?)

[Guest]

I made my ex-GF sand the bottom of Black Fun on there one saturday....on her birthday.....with a hangover......and with a 1m northerly chop running straight onto the dock. The screaching/groaning noise as it pitched against the piles for 8 hours and it poured with

rain probably contributed to the the demise of the relationship.

 

Or perhaps it was because it was the black anti-foul getting under her nails?

 

Either way it did a bloody good job of removing the fouling on BF and in my life

 

Keep it! It saved my life !!!!!

[wheels 543]

Yeah if she couldn't handle that, she ain't a keeper.

[Guest]

The screaching/groaning noise as it pitched against the piles for 8 hours and it poured with rain probably contributed to the the demise of the relationship.

You talking about the dock or the Ex in that bit?

 

Life saving equipment??? I suppose it's worth a crack. Add that to the list of reasons to stay

[Guest]

The Floating dock KM - although they sometimes sounded similar

[Guest]