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Sonoma County Regional Parks › Learn › Planning Projects › Project Directory › All Completed Projects › Doran Boat Launch Facility Improvements › Background
Doran Boat Launch Facility Improvements

Doran Boat Launch Facility - Background

View of Doran Boat Launch from Bodega Head 500

Location

The project is located on the Sonoma Coast at an existing boat launch facility adjacent to Bodega Harbor. Bodega Harbor is located at the northern edge of Bodega Bay. It is bounded by Bodega Head to the north and west and by a spit to the south on which Doran Regional Park is located. It is a soft-bottomed harbor with tidal mud flats and eelgrass beds.

The bay supports California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, and many kinds of fish, including ground fish, coastal pelagic fish, Pacific salmonids, and clam beds. On land, adjacent habitats are mostly shoreline, saltgrass flats, and northern foredunes. The small community of Bodega Bay is to the east.

Bodega Harbor is used by recreational boaters and fishers and by small commercial fishing boats. Principal fishing catches include salmon, herring, various kinds of ground fish, and Dungeness crab. The mudflats also provide clamming. The harbor has three marinas with a total of approximately 450 berths and four boat launches; one of the marinas and three of the boat ramps are operated by Regional Parks.

Project Description

The project consists of repairs to the boat launch ramp, the entire boarding float system, parking lot surface and drainage, fish-cleaning station, and boat wash down area to improve safety and accessibility.

The concrete base of the boat ramp is stable, but the surface has eroded, and safety grooves are almost worn away in the critical tire area. The boarding floats and piles are worn out; the parking lot has a broken and worn surface on the eastern portion and is only dirt and gravel on the west side; and the striping is almost entirely worn away.

Both east and west portions of the lot drain to a low point at the center, where it percolates into a gravel swale and through the riprap. The boat wash down is adjacent to the center dirt area where the parking lot drains. This is an area that is an exit lane from the east portion of the parking lot when it is full.  The area may also be used to position boat trailers for loading or unloading on the ramp, which creates use conflicts and increases the potential for accidents. The problem is exacerbated by the worn parking lot striping that provides inadequate guidance on parking lot use.

The existing fish station is serviceable but has missing roof shingles and a worn wooden cleaning surface that does not meet current food handling standards.

Project Documents