Manatee County officials closed the Coquina Beach North Boat Ramp Feb. 19 as a safety precaution. The ramp will sit idle until a $1 million renovation project commences in December. And the ramp could stay closed to the public until project completion, expected to be next spring — May or June 2016.
While county officials proceed with the permitting and procurement process, boaters will be able to use the ramp at Coquina Bayside South.
Built more than five decades ago, the north boat ramp best accommodates boats 15-17 feet long or smaller. The ramp possibly has never been renovated, said Alan Lai Hipp, Manatee County environmental program manager. He said the drop off at the base of the ramp is severe, likely greater than 4 feet in the center of the ramp.
Officials say this drop off is a “blow-out hole,” the result of prop wash from power loading, the practice of accelerating a boat onto a trailer when water is not high enough to crank it manually.
Due to the blow-out hole, trailer tires can drop off the end of the ramp before the boat floats. This can cause major trailer damage.
Meanwhile the degradation of seawalls and the seawall caps that hold the panels together on both sides of the launch appear to be accelerating.
The project includes increasing the number of ramps to two wider lanes separated by a floating dock and the addition of 28 designated truck-trailer spaces.
Power loading, a convenience for owners of some boats, also can cause the creation of sandbars not far from ramps.
One example of a mishap cited by officials occurred at low tide at the Coquina Bayside South Boat Ramp when the owner of a large boat launched it into a “pond” near the ramp. Power loading by previous boaters had created a sandbar that prevented him from entering Sarasota Bay.
“They did not go very far that day,” Lai Hipp said.
There were reports of a boater unable to launch a 22-foot vessel from a double-axel trailer at the north ramp and a 17-foot skiff launched at high tide having a difficult time landing at low tide.
Renovations will begin at Coquina south in December 2016 and at Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave. W., Holmes Beach, in December 2017. Design modifications at the ramps, to extend the launch to accommodate larger boats and to prevent blow-out holes, are among the changes county officials are considering.
Officials said repairs are being prioritized by need, not frequency of use. They prefer to make all of the changes at one time so they don’t overlook possible future problems.
Dilapidated wood pilings and docks are being replaced by concrete pilings and composite decking. Whenever possible, the county plans to install restrooms and fish-cleaning tables at the ramps.