SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

The pleasure boating study of Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters encompassed 12 counties bordering on 2,500 square miles of nearly land locked salt water in northwestern Washington. This water body consists of Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, Hood Canal, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with approximately 2,350 miles of beaches and sheltered inlets bordering these interior waterways. Lake Washington, a 39 square mile fresh water lake connected to Puget Sound by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, was included in this study. The study area was divided into three divisions, North, Central, and West. These were further divided into 19 subareas to provide a more detailed examination of boating facility requirements.

Pleasure boat estimates for the study area were derived from the December 1966 United States Coast Guard Register and a survey conducted by the State of Washington Department of Commerce and Economic Development in 1965. An inventory of existing pleasure boat facilities was undertaken by land, water, and aerial reconnaissance. Marina operators were interviewed to obtain boater use information, and published listings of marine facilities supplemented data obtained from the field investigations. Boat characteristics and boat facility demand by season and location were derived from a questionnaire survey of registered boat owners residing in the study

area.

Registered boats resident in the study area are estimated to be responsible for over 95 percent of the demand for Puget Sound pleasure boating facilities. Therefore, the United States Coast Guard register was considered to be a reasonable base from which to measure facility demand by a questionnaire survey. Approximately 1,600 questionnaires were mailed to a random sampling of boaters living within the study area. Information was obtained on the type of pleasure craft owned, seasonal use, demand for moorage and launching ramp facilities, harbors of refuge, services desired at moorage facilities, and amount of boat damage incurred during 1965 or 1966. Nearly 70 percent of the questionnaires were returned. This unu

sually high percentage return coupled with a telephone survey of non-respondents assures a high degree of reliability for the statistics reported herein.

An estimated 186,000 pleasure boats are owned by residents of the Puget Sound area. Of these, 62,100 are registered or documented craft. There are 94 boats per 1,000 population in the Puget Sound area as compared to 40.8 nationwide, and 53 in the Strait of Georgia area, British Columbia. Eighty-one percent of the pleasure boats are located within the Central Division, while 10 percent are in the West Division and nine percent in the North Division. The nearly two million persons in the study area own these 186,000 boats in the following categories:

area.

A total of 167 marinas supply 15,941 rental moorages, while 185 trailer boat ramps with 221 launching lanes are scattered throughout the study Twenty-three State parks and 14 State marine parks are located along the Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters shoreline including Lake Washington and the Lake Washington Ship Canal. An estimated nine miles of shoreline are occupied by public and private pleasure boat facility developments. An additional 200 miles of shoreline are suitable for development.

Seventy-four percent of pleasure craft owners surveyed own outboards while inboard and auxiliary powered sailboat owners account for the remaining 26 percent. The outboards average 15.8 feet in length and the inboards and auxiliary sailboats 25.3 and 29.8 feet, respectively. Approximately 69 percent of pleasure boat hulls are composed of wood, 30 percent of fiberglass, and the remaining 1 percent of steel, aluminum, and other material. All outboards and auxiliary sailboats are gasoline fueled while about 95 percent of inboards use gasoline and 5 percent use diesel.

A third of all the boat owners use their craft all year around, and nearly all use their craft from May through August. Rental moorage demand also follows seasonal patterns with more boaters requiring summer moorage than winter moorage. All auxiliary sailboat owners and 70 percent of inboard owners indicated a demand for permanent summer rental moorage facilities. Only 31 percent of the outboard owners indicated a demand for this type of facility. A need for an additional 23,400 summer rental moorages and 11,600 winter moorages is indicated for the Puget Sound area, based on the 1966 rental moorage inventory. Covered rental moorage is demanded by 62.6 percent of the boaters indicating a need for permanent summer moorage facilities and by 85.5 percent of boaters indicating a need for permanent winter moorage facilities. Permanent summer wet moorage is in demand by 74.4 percent of these boaters and permanent winter wet moorage by 56.1 percent.

The demand by trailer boat owners residing in the study area indicates a need for an additional 92 lanes of launching ramp at present. To provide for the nonresident boater trailering his craft from outside the region, this value could be increased by about 34 lanes for a total net need of about 126 launching ramp lanes.

Over 36,000 boat owners now use or would use new saltwater picnicking facilities and approximately 22,000 now use or would use new saltwater camping facilities. Harbors of refuge are needed by about 28,000 boaters. Pleasure boat damage during 1965 and 1966 averaged an estimated $850,000 annually with the majority of the damage caused by floating debris.

Total pleasure boat ownership in the study area is projected to increase dramatically from 186,000 in 1966 to 290.800 by 1980 551.100 by 2000, and 1.037,800 by 2020. Registered and documented ownership is expected to increase proportionately. The additional pleasure craft will result in a correspondingly greater demand for boating facilities. Demand for moorages is forecast to grow at the same rate as pleasure boat ownership. From a demand for 39,300

permanent summer rental moorages in 1966, moorage demands are projected to reach 57,500 by 1980, 104,200 by 2000, and 185,300 by 2020. The demand for permanent winter rental moorages is projected to grow from 26,400 in 1966, to 40,100 by 1980, 74,300 by 2000, and 136,400 by 2020. Launching ramp demand is forecast to rise from 280 launching ramp lanes in 1966 to 410 by 1980, 750 by 2000, and 1,350 by 2020. The demands for camping and picnicking facilities, harbors of refuge, and moorage service facilities are also expected to parallel pleasure boat ownership growth.

The existing number of pleasure craft in the study area already places an unmet demand on moorage and launching ramp facilities. The current high demand for adequate facilities and the growth that is forecast for the next fifty years can only be satisfied by substantial additional capital investments. Breakwater-protected small boat harbors, due to high development costs, will require public investment at many locations. Generally, marinas located in naturally protected coves or waterways can be expanded within the capability of the private operator. However, careful consideration must be given to the type of facilities desired by the boater and the location of the demand to insure that the facilities are used once constructed.

The high demand for picnicking and camping facilities suggests that further study be given to determining the need for expanding these facilities and acquiring additional sites to serve the recreational boater. Harbors of refuge are needed throughout the Puget Sound area, as evidenced by the high boater. response for this facility. Consideration should be given to allocating space within protected small boat basins for craft seeking temporary shelter. Also, studies are suggested for providing protected harbors at critical locations specifically constructed as harbors of refuge. The large amount of boat damage reported emphasizes the possible need for a expanded debris removal program. Consideration should also be given to preventing debris entry into navigable waters. Marinas should be planned and managed to minimize adverse environmental effects.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

The pleasure boating study of Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters encompassed 12 counties bordering on 2,500 square miles of nearly land locked salt water in northwestern Washington. This water body consists of Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, Hood Canal, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with approximately 2,350 miles of beaches and sheltered inlets bordering these interior waterways. Lake Washington, a 39 square mile fresh water lake connected to Puget Sound by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, was included in this study. The study area was divided into three divisions, North, Central, and West. These were further divided into 19 subareas to provide a more detailed examination of boating facility requirements.

Pleasure boat estimates for the study area were derived from the December 1966 United States Coast Guard Register and a survey conducted by the State of Washington Department of Commerce and Economic Development in 1965. An inventory of existing pleasure boat facilities was undertaken by land, water, and aerial reconnaissance. Marina operators were interviewed to obtain boater use information, and published listings of marine facilities supplemented data obtained from the field investigations. Boat characteristics and boat facility demand by season and location were derived from a questionnaire survey of registered boat owners residing in the study

area.

Registered boats resident in the study area are estimated to be responsible for over 95 percent of the demand for Puget Sound pleasure boating facilities. Therefore, the United States Coast Guard register was considered to be a reasonable base from which to measure facility demand by a questionnaire survey. Approximately 1,600 questionnaires were mailed to a random sampling of boaters living within the study area. Information was obtained on the type of pleasure craft owned, seasonal use, demand for moorage and launching ramp facilities, harbors of refuge, services desired at moorage facilities, and amount of boat damage incurred during 1965 or 1966. Nearly 70 percent of the questionnaires were returned. This unu

sually high percentage return coupled with a telephone survey of non-respondents assures a high degree of reliability for the statistics reported herein.

An estimated 186,000 pleasure boats are owned by residents of the Puget Sound area. Of these, 62,100 are registered or documented craft. There are 94 boats per 1,000 population in the Puget Sound area as compared to 40.8 nationwide, and 53 in the Strait of Georgia area, British Columbia. Eighty-one percent of the pleasure boats are located within the Central Division, while 10 percent are in the West Division and nine percent in the North Division. The nearly two million persons in the study area own these 186,000 boats in the following categories:

A total of 167 marinas supply 15,941 rental moorages, while 185 trailer boat ramps with 221 launching lanes are scattered throughout the study area. Twenty-three State parks and 14 State marine parks are located along the Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters shoreline including Lake Washington and the Lake Washington Ship Canal. An estimated nine miles of shoreline are occupied by public and private pleasure boat facility developments. An additional 200 miles of shoreline are suitable for development.

Seventy-four percent of pleasure craft owners surveyed own outboards while inboard and auxiliary powered sailboat owners account for the remaining 26 percent. The outboards average 15.8 feet in length and the inboards and auxiliary sailboats 25.3 and 29.8 feet, respectively. Approximately 69 percent of pleasure boat hulls are composed of wood, 30 percent of fiberglass, and the remaining 1 percent of steel, aluminum, and other material. All outboards and auxiliary sailboats are gasoline fueled while about 95 percent of inboards use gasoline and 5 percent use diesel.

A third of all the boat owners use their craft all year around, and nearly all use their craft from May through August. Rental moorage demand also follows seasonal patterns with more boaters requiring summer moorage than winter moorage. All auxiliary sailboat owners and 70 percent of inboard owners indicated a demand for permanent summer rental moorage facilities. Only 31 percent of the outboard owners indicated a demand for this type of facility. A need for an additional 23,400 summer rental moorages and 11,600 winter moorages is indicated for the Puget Sound area, based on the 1966 rental moorage inventory. Covered rental moorage is demanded by 62.6 percent of the boaters indicating a need for permanent summer moorage facilities and by 85.5 percent of boaters indicating a need for permanent winter moorage facilities. Permanent summer wet moorage is in demand by 74.4 percent of these boaters and permanent winter wet moorage by 56.1 percent.

The demand by trailer boat owners residing in the study area indicates a need for an additional 92 lanes of launching ramp at present. To provide for the nonresident boater trailering his craft from outside the region, this value could be increased by about 34 lanes for a total net need of about 126 launching ramp lanes.

Over 36,000 boat owners now use or would use new saltwater picnicking facilities and approximately 22,000 now use or would use new saltwater camping facilities. Harbors of refuge are needed by about 28,000 boaters. Pleasure boat damage during 1965 and 1966 averaged an estimated $850,000 annually with the majority of the damage caused by floating debris.

Total pleasure boat ownership in the study area is projected to increase dramatically from 186,000 in 1966 to 290.800 by 1980, 551100 by 2000, and 1,037,800 by 2020. Registered and documented ownership is expected to increase proportionately. The additional pleasure craft will result in a correspondingly greater demand for boating facilities. Demand for moorages is forecast to grow at the same rate as pleasure boat ownership. From a demand for 39,300

permanent summer rental moorages in 1966, moorage demands are projected to reach 57,500 by 1980, 104,200 by 2000, and 185,300 by 2020. The demand for permanent winter rental moorages is projected to grow from 26,400 in 1966, to 40,100 by 1980, 74,300 by 2000, and 136,400 by 2020. Launching ramp demand is forecast to rise from 280 launching ramp lanes in 1966 to 410 by 1980, 750 by 2000, and 1,350 by 2020. The demands for camping and picnicking facilities, harbors of refuge, and moorage service facilities are also expected to parallel pleasure boat ownership growth.

The existing number of pleasure craft in the study area already places an unmet demand on moorage and launching ramp facilities. The current high demand for adequate facilities and the growth that is forecast for the next fifty years can only be satisfied by substantial additional capital investments. Breakwater-protected small boat harbors, due to high development costs, will require public investment at many locations. Generally, marinas located in naturally protected coves or waterways can be expanded within the capability of the private operator. However, careful consideration must be given to the type of facilities desired by the boater and the location of the demand to insure that the facilities are used once constructed.

The high demand for picnicking and camping facilities suggests that further study be given to determining the need for expanding these facilities and acquiring additional sites to serve the recreational boater. Harbors of refuge are needed throughout the Puget Sound area, as evidenced by the high boater response for this facility. Consideration should be given to allocating space within protected small boat basins for craft seeking temporary shelter. Also, studies are suggested for providing protected harbors at critical locations specifically constructed as harbors of refuge. The large amount of boat damage reported emphasizes the possible need for a expanded debris removal program. Consideration should also be given to preventing debris entry into navigable waters. Marinas should be planned and managed to minimize adverse environmental effects.