2. Vice Commodore's Report
Let’s hope the “Seattle Snow-Fest” is history. While the “Snow-Fest” was in town it made life on the docks interesting. Art Mauldin lost lots of sleep keeping his eye on one of the roofs on Dock 1 which showed some signs of distress due to the weight of the snow and the subsequent rain. As a precautionary measure, Art and I contacted each of the individuals concerned and gave them the option of moving to the “U” or the reciprocal dock. Fortunately, everything turned out fine and, if we don’t get any more heavy snow, the remaining suspect roofs will be replaced this summer and we won’t have this matter hanging over our heads in the future. The unseasonably cold weather, not to mention a few leaks, also necessitated turning off the fresh water on Dock 1. In places where the water had either leaked or burst from the pipes, ice formed, creating a slippery and hazardous situation. We are currently in the process of replacing the water line on Dock 1 in order to prevent this from happening in the future. The cold weather also caused the sump pump in Cummings Hall to break, creating quite a mess. Again, Art stepped forward to correct the problem and replaced the pump. So, the next time you see Art, give him a big “Thank You” – he deserves it.
The weather also created a delay in the start of the Waterfront Construction project on the pile caps. Waterfront’s schedule had to be pushed back so our project will be starting later than we anticipated. However, we still plan on completing the scheduled work for this year.
On January 10th we had a successful docks work party. Projects ranged from re-inspecting some of the pile caps to determine any damage done from the snow, to cleaning out unnecessary material behind Cummings Hall, to checking fire hoses and other miscellaneous repairs. Thanks to all of you who participated. In case you missed out on this work party, the Docks Committee is planning to have similar work parties once a month. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the Club and to work off some of those pounds gained over the holidays.
As you can see from the above, our docks require an enormous amount of on-going maintenance. Added to the “routine” things we have several major projects in the offing. For example, we have the Fire Code Compliance project which includes the fire vents, draft curtains and stand pipes. We have the docks electrical upgrade. We have environmental compliance issues. The Fire Code Compliance and the electrical project alone are huge undertakings costing many thousands of dollars. The amount of coordination required to complete these tasks requires an enormous commitment, not to mention a major responsibility. For many of the items, we don’t have much time to complete them before we face penalties from the Fire Department. In order to make the position of Docks Chair more manageable, I’ve worked with the Docks Committee to develop an organization chart and establish guidelines which outlines the tasks of each of the six major areas of responsibility. These have been shared with the Bridge and the Board of Trustees and supported by them. The organization chart and the guidelines are contained elsewhere in the Bilge Pump for you perusal. We now have a framework in which to attack the tasks at hand – that’s the easy part. What we need now is for people to step up and volunteer to take on one of Vice Chair or Sub-committee Chair positions. By breaking the tasks down into smaller components, we’ve made them more manageable. Please take a moment to review what each position entails and if you have an interest please let Art Mauldin or me know as soon as possible. We have a long, proud history of volunteerism at QCYC -- let’s keep our tradition alive!
House Chair Jim Damery has been busy keeping the House in excellent repair. We’ve installed commercial-grade freezers in the kitchen to replace the old, malfunctioning residential freezers. The old freezers would self-defrost, leading to loss of food and a general mess. Jim has also been researching replacement grills for the patio since our current ones are rusted out. Prior to Opening Day, the burgee on the outside of the building will be re-painted. Please thank Jimmy for all that he does for our Club.
Plans are also moving forward at the Outstation. The permits are, hopefully, in the final stages and we should have a new transverse dock and electrical upgrades by spring. The reason for the delay is that the city reversed itself and is now requiring a permit. In conjunction with the AAC, we are finalizing the lighting upgrades to the Clubhouse and P/C Dick Timmerman is busily constructing new bookshelves and cabinetry to improve the appearance and functionality of the interior to complement the fireplace and flat screen TV being contributed by the Tarettes.
In closing, I’d like to reiterate my request for volunteers for committee chairs during my Commodore year. As you’ve no doubt figured out by now, I need all the help I can get!
There are lots of opportunities (big and small) and they all contribute to make QCYC the special Club it is.
Fair Winds,
Ed Jennerich
Vice Commodore
