Case Studies

Santa Cruz Harbor

Santa Cruz Harbor, situated in Half Moon Bay between Monterey Harbor and Pillar Point Harbor, represents Seaward’s first installation of its SEAPILE Composite Marine Piling in a marina setting. In 1994, the Santa Cruz Port District installed nineteen 13-inch SEAPILE Marine Piles. Two years later, an additional 1,800 linear feet of 13-inch SEAPILE Composite Marine Piling were installed to replace anchor piling for existing floating docks.

By using SEAPILE Composite Marine Piling, the harbor was able to change its construction technique to simplify the installation. Unlike treated wood, the piles are friendly to the yachting community; they can be placed in closer proximity to traffic, such as in the dock corners, where yachtsmen can come into contact with them and not worry about dirt, grime, or abrasion. “We found these piles to be very friendly from an ecological standpoint, inasmuch as they use recycled material,” says Ted Warburton, Senior Harbor Master of the Santa Cruz Port District. “And they are friendly to the installation crews, who no longer have to worry about splinters and infections from the treated piles.”

Operated as a regional facility in accordance with a 1958 federal mandate, the Harbor serves the public in the areas of recreation, commercial fishing, and as a harbor of refuge. The Port also aims to maintain the facility at a very high level of serviceability in regard to function, modernity, longevity, aesthetics, and cleanliness. Currently the Harbor has slips for about 1,000 boats and can accommodate 275 boats in dry storage. Roughly 15 percent of the current vessels are commercial fishing boats; some 35 percent of the pleasure craft are powered boats; and 50 percent are sailboats.

Protection of the natural ecology is also an important consideration for this large facility. Santa Cruz Harbor is the gateway to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest, deepest, and most varied in habitat of all the nation’s sanctuaries. The Sanctuary’s nutrient-rich waters provide a haven for squid, rockfish, seabirds, sea otters, whales, and thousands of other species, some of which are threatened or endangered.