Volunteers Install Docks at Yacht Club

Lake Ontario has been experiencing some very high water levels in the past few years, and the Rochester Yacht Club (RYC), located on the Genesee River at the south shoreline of the lake, has suffered the consequences: a good number of its 164 slips have not been usable. Working with Meeco Sullivan, and doing all of the installation work themselves, RYC members were able to reclaim some of those slips with a brand-new dock from Meeco Sullivan. It’s part of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation plan that RYC launched in 2016.

Meeco Sullivan won the dock replacement contract in December 2019 and delivered the steel dock sections to the site in May 2020. The dock includes 16 fingers ranging from 30 feet to 40 feet, creating 34 slips.

Meeco Sullivan engineers developed a unique, non-visible steel pile system that provides club members with unobstructed views of the marine basin. The system consists of a pile at the end of each finger fastened internally, with the only visible piece being a small round disc that the pile nests into. “This is a great assist to navigators, since they don’t have to be on the lookout for piles while coming into their slip,” said Steve Psaila, Meeco Sullivan’s regional sales manager.

RYC chose black locust decking for the new dock, since members were adamant about selecting an environmentally friendly wood. Black locust is better than ipe from an environmental standpoint because it is less rare and reproduces faster. But it is also more difficult to work with, so some pieces of the decking had to be hand planed to fit correctly.

One of the biggest challenges of the project was making sure that RYC members, all volunteers, would be successful in installing the new dock. To make the project run as smoothly as possible, Meeco-Sullivan compiled a step-by-step instruction manual for the dock installation.

“Another component of the support was communicating the install stages to the crew, detailing what specific products each delivery truck contained,” said Psaila, who was on location most days during installation. He said that Meeco Sullivan was in awe of the hard work and dedication displayed by RYC members.

RYC is happy with the results and pleased to have the additional slips available. “The product was exactly as bargained for, and the delivery was on spot and on time, so our club could enjoy the new docks for a full first season in 2020,” said Pat Basset, RYC facilities chairman and project manager.