Boat Ramp Repair

biglurr54 · Mar 17, 2011

I have a question for you guys about a boat ramp repair. In my home town (Troy NY) there is a boat ramp that has been completely let go. It is on the Hudson River which is tidal. The ramp has been in rough shape for as long as I can remember. At least 8 years. It appears to just have been a path to the water that the town made and then they put in left over pavement from other jobs when ever they had it. The last 10 feet are all gravel and river rock. The black top part has huge holes in it and is completely deteriorating. I fear that it soon will not be usable. I have a Yukon xl 4x4 and a 18 foot aluminum crestliner and its a challenge to get out. My question is should I fill in the holes with concrete? I typically fill the holes with rocks dirt and drift wood so i can launch but every time I go its worse and worse and filling materials are running low. The tide doesn?t reach the area that needs repair and its only a few deep holes and one side that?s crumbled away.

Do you guys think the town will get mad if I fill it in with concrete?

What concrete should I use?

Should I fill the hole with rocks and pour concrete over the rocks?

Its nice because the launch about 1/2 a mile from my apartment and its right where the good fishing is, so I will be using it a lot this year. Next closest ramp is about 10 miles down river.

dockwrecker · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Fill the holes with an engineered fill such as ground asphalt or a road base mix and compact thoroughly. If the holes are deeper than 12", you'll need to compact in lifts and with an elephant's foot or a roller. You can apply a concrete cap over the engineered fill, 4" minimum depth. I'd use a 4000 psi mix, 4-5" slump with 2% air entrainment and a plasticiser admix to get it to flow properly around the rough edges.

ezmobee · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

I don't think you should do ANYTHING near a waterway on your own.

robert graham · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

You gotta know a lot of cities, towns, municipalities and states are short on money these days, but I can't imagine why anyone would care if you did some improvements. I'd try and get by as cheap as possible, maybe some heavy gravel, rocks, broken up concrete,whatever, then filled in with concrete, either from bags or a concrete truck. Contact the local concrete delivery truck folks and let them know you'd love to have any excess or left-over concrete dumped right there. They often have extra that they need to get rid of before returning to the plant. If you're really worried about the town getting upset over this, go over there and tell/ask them what you're planning to do. Good Luck!

biglurr54 · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

That seems like a bit more work than I am capable of doing. It also seems like it may cost a bit more too. Im looking for a cheap easy patch. Like a bag of quicrete each time I use the ramp for a week. I agree with you ezmobee. Im worried about doing anything near the water. They are dredging up stream to remove PCB's so the health of the river isnt a huge issue but it can still be considered illegal.

ezmobee · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

biglurr54 said:
I agree with you ezmobee. Im worried about doing anything near the water. They are dredging up stream to remove PCB's so the health of the river isnt a huge issue but it can still be considered illegal.

Yeah that's what I was thinking. My uncle owns a cottage on a river and you can hardly do anything to your waterfront without all kinds of permits, etc.

KingHardcor · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Sad state of affairs if a man can't make repair, at his own cost, to a neglected boat ramp so he can use the water. Is it still legal to use the ramp?

If it's still legal to use then I would fix it. The municipality should be thanking citizens for taking initiative to better their community without using taxpayer's money.

I'm not saying for you to, but I would get a few bags a quicrete and a bucket for water and fill them in. A local homestore to me sells them for around $4 a bag, not too bad.

Heck, there is so much red tape and bureaucracy to do anything anymore, is seems no one really knows what can and can't be done.

If you had a flashing yellow light on your truck and a yellow vest on I bet no one would even look twice at you!

Again, I'm not saying you should do this, but it's what I would do.

H20Rat · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

KingHardcor said:
Sad state of affairs if a man can't make repair, at his own cost, to a neglected boat ramp so he can use the water. Is it still legal to use the ramp?

If it's still legal to use then I would fix it. The municipality should be thanking citizens for taking initiative to better their community without using taxpayer's money.

I'm not saying for you to, but I would get a few bags a quicrete and a bucket for water and fill them in. A local homestore to me sells them for around $4 a bag, not too bad.

Heck, there is so much red tape and bureaucracy to do anything anymore, is seems no one really knows what can and can't be done.

I was going to post literally the EXACT same thing, complete with vest to make it look official! Yeah, there are better and more proper ways of doing it, but a couple bags of quickcrete and some 5 gallon buckets is really all you need. Compared to how its been repaired in the past (driftwood and rocks) this is a HUGE improvement!

wifisher · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

It may be worth a trip to city hall, board meeting etc. They nay be able to send a grader to level it off if they know it is a problem. A lot of towns would be willing to fix things like this if they knew about them. If you put down caoncrete "patches" it is a lot harder to smooth it out. If they don't want to do anything to fix it, then I would say go ahead with the sackcrete. Not sure that I would tell anybody I was doing it though. Just in case. And don't leave an empty cement bag in your truck after you launch.

robert graham · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Is this a real public ramp or just an old dirt road that runs down to the river? Is this private or public property? If it's in fact open to the public then it may well be their Responsibility to maintain the ramp in safe condition or close it, and I'm sure closing it's the last thing you want to see! Maybe just a bag or two of Quickrete every week and in a month the ramps in better shape. It would be like some local environmental guy to see you doing it and cite you for dumping or something! Need to think about this! Good Luck!

Hank496 · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Speaking now as someone whose neighborhood association owns a dock on a tidal river, the last thing you want to do is try and repair it yourself. The paperwork/approval process to repair is staggering for a property owner. The point is there is a lot of regulation. I know the old line about it being 'easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission', but do you want to be begging forgiveness from the town, state, Corps of Engineers and EPA?

5150abf · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

As the old saying goes, it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission, I really doubt anyone is going to say anything if you dump a couple bags of Quickcrete, can't do any harm.

jayhanig · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Hank496 said:
Speaking now as someone whose neighborhood association owns a dock on a tidal river, the last thing you want to do is try and repair it yourself. The paperwork/approval process to repair is staggering for a property owner. The point is there is a lot of regulation. I know the old line about it being 'easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission', but do you want to be begging forgiveness from the town, state, Corps of Engineers and EPA?

What are the chances of getting caught? I'd go for it. Don't discuss it with anyone. Let it be a mystery to all concerned.

ziggy · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

i'll assume a public ramp. everyones concern is probably on track. darn shame too. a citizen is willing to do a quick repair on something that many can use and benefit from. and the citizen likely has to jump through how many hoops.... good grief. i'm all for protecting the environment/?, but man, a few rocks and a bag of concrete. i just can't see anything bad happening from the repair. i can see lots of good for folks that use that ramp though..

good luck in your decision..

Stachi · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Do it under cover of night wearing a black Ninja outfit

...lol...seriously ... just do it when no one else is around. You can always say it was like that when you arrived, and you saw the empty bag on the ground and figured you should take it home and dispose of it properly...just sayin....

scoutabout · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

It would be nice to think you could get a few like-minded citizens together and have a day of ramp patching - sort of like the community garbage pickups you sometimes see. However, propose this to any city hall bureaucraft and they will be talking liability for injury and insurance on "non-certified" changes to public infrastructure before you could fill your first hole. Sadly, covert is probably the way to go...

Stachi · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

scoutabout said:
It would be nice to think you could get a few like-minded citizens together and have a day of ramp patching - sort of like the community garbage pickups you sometimes see. However, propose this to any city hall bureaucraft and they will be talking liability for injury and insurance on "non-certified" changes to public infrastructure before you could fill your first hole. Sadly, covert is probably the way to go...

Ninja ?? lol

dockwrecker · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

OK my solution is overkill for a private party, I know that, but since I get paid to do this stuff every day, what I put out is a permanent fix. Filling it completely with roadbase is the cheapest way but temporary. I don't think you'd get too much static about helping your local township eliminate a trip/fall hazard, but yes some city hall troll would probably whine that it makes it your responsiblity to maintain and you liable for when it will eventually go bad. Take pictures of the holes to city hall. They'll either fill them in or close your ramp. A gamble yes. I'd think they had a bucket or two of base laying around somewhere, they don't want to get sued either. Hope it works out.

NYBo · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Call the highway department for the area to see if they will drop a little asphalt into the holes at the end of the day.

Stachi · Mar 17, 2011

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Call your township and ask to speak to the dispatcher for the pothole repair crew...go to the source... he may just own a boat himself...lol

Boat Ramp Repair

Petty Officer 1st Class

Lieutenant

Supreme Mariner

Admiral

Petty Officer 1st Class

Supreme Mariner

Seaman

Vice Admiral

Chief Petty Officer

Admiral

Seaman

Vice Admiral

Master Chief Petty Officer

Admiral

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant

Admiral

Lieutenant Commander