May 12, 2004: Ten days before the official dock opening, the barge and support boat are still on site, but the shape and character of the new dock are clear. Thanks to Nick Reid for the aerial photo.

May 11, 2004: In the final stages of construction, the grated gangway has been installed -- providing access to the floating docks -- and the remaining tall pilings have been cut and capped.

The barge is still on location, but not for long, as the grand opening of the new Education Dock is scheduled for May 22! 

April 30, 2004: The floating docks arrived via barge this week and are being fastened to the tall steel pilings at left.

This morning, the Tuf as Nails women's rowing team from the Port Townsend Rowing Club made a pass under the new pier.

April 2, 2004: Most of the railing is installed, as is the metal grating lining the edge of the walkway. The deck planks are still missing, however!

Standing on the dock looking seaward, the tall pilings at left mark where the floating docks will be tethered. The black hosepipes visible "underfoot" are part of the seawater-source heat pump system that will eventually provide heat for the Northwest Maritime Center buildings.

March 9, 2004: All the stringers are set and the handrail posts are going up. Each post is cantilevered out from the stringers so that the edge of the walkway may be lined with metal grating -- the better to filter sunlight to eelgrass below.

The distinctive T-shape of the pier is now becoming clear.

Feb. 18, 2004: The dock at sunset, with Port Townsend's Victorian-era waterfront and Olympic mountains as a backdrop.

The Caicos Corp. barge is temporarily away at another job site, but when it returns, workers will install the rest of the stringers. Those horizontal timbers will tie together these disparate clumps of piles.

Jan. 30, 2004: The first stringers were installed this week, giving construction workers a narrow platform on which to walk.

The pier's walkway will be supported by three wooden stringers placed side by side.

In this photo, a welder works at the base of one of the piles, affixing the pile caps.

Jan. 19, 2004: Seen from the bay side of the project (looking toward shore), a forest of piles stands sentinel.

All 38 of the piles were set in place by mid-month. Then the process of pounding each one securely into the sediments began. The cylindrical pile-driving hammer is seen here attached by cables to the crane boom. When it's operating, the thudding vibrations can be felt across town!

Jan. 5, 2004: The "vibrating hammer" used in the first stage of pile placement is seen here in action. Initially, the 100-foot-long steel piles are not pounded into place, but are slowly eased into the mud with this vibrating machine. The ear-splitting racket of the actual pile-driving comes later!

By now, the footprint of the 290-foot-long dock is largely set by the pattern of the piles.

Dec. 18, 2003: The Northwest Maritime Center dock grows day by day as each new pile is placed.

On this sunny winter day, when the Cascade mountains are gleaming on the horizon, the viewing potential of the new dock is clear.

After a week of stormy weather, this kayaker finally got out on the water to take a close-up look at the dock construction process.

Dec. 8, 2003: The construction of the new Northwest Maritime Center dock began this week, a milestone heralded by the arrival of this piledriver barge. 

In this picture, a diver working for dock contractor Caicos Corp. exits the water after checking the state of the seafloor.

A test pile was driven on Monday and the first of 38 steel piles for the new dock were driven on Tuesday. 

Nov. 25, 2003: The demolition of the Northwest Maritime Center dock continued this week with the arrival of a barge and crane. 

Aided by two men in a boat, the crane operator yanked off the long wooden deck stringers and pulled out the piles (which will be recycled offsite as fence posts).

Dock demolition was completed by the Thanksgiving holidays.

Nov. 13, 2003: The demolition of the 1930s-era dock at the site of the future Northwest Maritime Center began this week, with workers tearing off the rails by hand.

A dilapidated roofed structure at the end of the pier was also pulled down, leaving only bare horizontal surfaces to be dismantled and old pilings to be yanked out.