A Boatyard Staying Ahead of the Regulatory Curve
By Bryan Reeves

Seaview East Boatyard located on Salmon Bay in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood has played a central role in the refit of Ocean Watch. Throughout the more than six-month effort, Seaview has generously donated dock and yard space, hauling and launching, crane work, hull repairs, and has completely refinished the bottom of Ocean Watch.

Seaview is an industry leader in many regards, but has been recently recognized for their efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of their boatyard operations. Over the last several years Seaview has implemented innovative stormwater filtration systems at all four of their locations throughout Puget Sound. These systems dramatically reduce the concentration of contaminants such as copper, lead, and zinc, which are known to have detrimental effects on marine organisms, particularly salmon.

Under pressure from environmental groups such as the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, the Washington State Department of Ecology has been tightening its regulations on the allowable level of copper in stormwater runoff from boatyards. Copper is widely used as the active ingredient in anti-fouling bottom paints, designed to prevent the detrimental buildup of plant and animal matter on the bottoms of boats. As a result, copper finds its way all over the ground at boatyards, in the highest concentrations where hulls are pressured washed, and at lower concentrations where hulls are sanded before being repainted. Unfortunately, few boatyards have come close to meeting the often unenforced regulations.

At the Seaview East boatyard, there are two separate water filtration systems. The smaller system is dedicated to dealing with the contaminated water generated at the “wet prep” pad, the only location at the boatyard where pressure washing is permissible. The larger stormwater system handles the rest of the water which collects at the yard, the majority of which falls from the sky.

The smaller pressure-wash water system is functionally closed loop, with the water used in the pressure washers being reused again and again, while the contaminant-polluted solids are filtered out after each use, collected, and eventually trucked away for safe disposal. Excess water which builds up in the system due to rain is evaporated through a custom sprinkler array that is used on warm days. Water from the smaller system never ends up in Salmon Bay.

The larger stormwater system has two stages. Water from around the yard is first pumped into an above-ground bioswale, approximately three feet in depth and lined with a membrane which prevents fluids and solids from leaching out. Grasses, soil, and gravel within the bioswale serve as the first stage of filtration. The water is then pumped into a StormwateRX filter bank before flowing out into Salmon Bay, with copper levels below the new regulatory limits. Photos of both systems are available at Three Sheets Northwest in a slideshow.

While going above and beyond current stormwater regulations has required Seaview to make significant investments in water filtration systems, company President Phil Riise believes these investments make sense for his business and the environment. Having realized several years ago that more stringent regulations were on the way, Riise has been able to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and keep Seaview ahead of their competition.

Given their tendency to innovate and assume responsibility for their impacts on the environment, it comes as no surprise that Seaview East Boatyard was willing to support the mission of the Around the Americas project.

-Bryan Reeves

Harnessing the wind
It is fitting that the sails for Ocean Watch were carefully sewn by hand in a loft in Port Townsend, Washington. In a long, narrow room on the water with large windows, the sailmakers can look up from their work and see the Olympic Mountains on one side and the Straits of Juan de Fuca on the other as they perform their labor of love. To be sure, love is no exaggeration because the women of Port Townsend Sails love what they do with their hearts and souls.

Carol Hasse started the company in 1978 and still can’t believe her good fortune. For her, sailing is a magical experience. “Moving on the water at three to ten knots an hour puts you in touch with nature like nothing else,” says Hasse. “It informs your heart and mind.”

The sails for Ocean Watch were made by hand by people who know the sea. In fact, almost every person at Port Townsend Sails is either a sailor, lives on a boat or owns a boat. This is rare in an age when most sails are manufactured off shore in factories by people who have never even been on a boat. Hasse in fact, learned her craft from master sail maker Franz Schattauer, whose lineage in the business goes back centuries.

The sails will be durable and easy to repair; an important issue on such a long trip. There is great care in the construction and, in keeping with the environment aspect of Ocean Watch, very little waste and easily re-usable materials.

Ocean Watch’s “working” sails (main, roller furling genoa, and stays’l) are made of the most tightly woven Dacron available, Challenge Sailcloth’s Marblehead. The sails are cross-cut and triple stitched with UV coated thread. They are heavily reinforced at the corners and edges. Hand-sewn leathers protect the head, tack, clew, and fabric at reef cringles from chafe. The mainsail has two top full battens and three partial battens. Antal luff slides and reef blocks (provided by Euro Marine) are hand-sewn in position with Spectra webbing. Ocean Watch’s storm jib is made from Challenge’s Spectra “pin-stripe” (a woven Dacron and Spectra fabric).

Sailmaking is both art and a science. But along with the computer-aided design to make sure the shape is correct, there is the power and grace of the sails. “Sailing for me is about sharing an amazing experience with people you love and care about,” Hasse explains. “This is so much more than a business for us. It’s a way of living that is spiritual and we feel blessed that we can work on the water.”

In the sailmaking business, your customers often become your friends. The crew of Ocean Watch is no exception. Hasse has known them for decades and felt a special responsibility when making their sails.

“It’s an honor that our sails will be carrying our friends on their journey,” says Hasse. “It’s also pretty darn exciting!”