The functional requirements for the boat ramp and jetty were determined with direction from Better Boating Victoria (BBV) and Bass Coast Shire Council (BCSC) to provide all-tide launch/retrieval from the boat ramp, and be Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant. Consequently, the deck levels of the jetty were designed to be all-ability accessible with gentle slopes and minimal need for ladders, even at almost all tide levels. The lengths of the jetty landing and slopes were designed to allow for the design vessel (an 8-metre-long boat) to berth (at least on one side of the jetty) whilst providing all-ability access, even at lowest and highest tides.

Considering DDA compliance, all-tide access, and the required draft for berthing, the jetty has been designed so that Landings 5 and 4 are accessible at low tide, Landing 3 caters for mid tide levels and Landing 2 for high tide. Based on available water level data it is estimated that Landing 3 will be submerged less than 5% of the time, while Landing 2 should be accessible at high tide, and Landing 1 should be above water at all tides even during very high-water level events (e.g., associated with storms).

In short, because of designing the jetty for all-access ability and catering for the large tidal range of Anderson Inlet, the lower landings are expected to be submerged at high tide, while the higher landings should be accessible for berthing (on the outer side) at high tides.

A floating pontoon structure similar to the one at Rhyll will require an access ramp from the fixed jetty to the pontoon. The challenge with this type of design is the ramp grade will change significantly during the various tide levels making it DDA non-compliant. The floating pontoon option was not considered by BBV given the desire for DDA compliance.

The bollards on the existing ramp entry were installed to restrict illegal vehicular access to the west-side beach as this was noted in scoping the project to be an ongoing problem. The ramp was therefore regulated for the use of ‘Non-Powered Vessels’ with regulatory signs in place.

The non-powered vessels (kayak, canoes, etc.) have access to the old ramp. The bollards are placed at 1.5m interval to restrict vehicle access.

The purpose of the facility is to encourage recreational boating. The primary aim of BBV was to provide adequate CTU (car trailer unit) parking, with parking bays provided on the south side (closer to the jetty) for other users.

The funding has come from boat license fees and there was push from BBV to provide more parking spaces to boaters.

Council’s maintenance team undertake ramp cleaning for all ramps in the Shire under a scheduled cleaning program. BBV is exploring further options to reduce slipperiness.

The primary purpose of the facility was to allow vessels to berth, not as a recreation facility. Despite this, there is a proposed boardwalk ramp that will be constructed on the east of new ramp to provide access to the windsurfers (this is a part of the agreement between windsurfers and BBV). Fishermen can use this structure to access east of the ramp, keeping in mind that the primary aim of the boardwalk is to facilitate windsurfers.

The design was managed by Better Boating Victoria (BBV) and completed by a BBV appointed Consultant.

The total cost of the upgraded facility is approximately $6 million for both stages. Please note that this is an approximate figure given some further work described in the FAQ's above is to come.