Naples City Dock closure forces captains to relocate
When the Naples City Dock closes Monday for a nine-month rebuild, the city will temporarily lose one of its most popular spots for tourists and other residents who want to enjoy the Naples Bay waterfront.
But the 14 charter captains who keep their boats at the dock are worried about losing something else — their business.
For some fishing, sailing and sightseeing captains who have long rented slips at the dock, walk-up visitors account for up to 25 percent of their customers. The captains will lose that luxury when they are forced to relocate to other less-popular spots during the rebuild.
“It's a giant mess for all of us,” said John Crimmel, a 20-year fishing captain. “This is our storefront down here. The city is basically putting (us) out of business.”
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City Harbormaster Roger Jacobsen said the city is trying to accommodate the captains. He’s posting signs at the dock that will reroute visitors to Naples Landings, the city-owned boat launch where most of the captains will temporarily operate.
And Jacobsen is directing the first phase of the rebuild to be complete by mid-December, opening up the new dock’s commercial slips to the captains just after tourist season begins.
“I’m trying to help them,” he said. “They do weigh a lot on people walking out to the dock.”
Still, some captains said they don’t have a temporary spot to pick up and drop off customers, and they may be forced to pull their boats out of the water.
Capt. Todd Wilson said he hasn't found a spot for his 40-foot sailboat.
"We're waiting to hear from some people," he said.
The popular Sweet Liberty sightseeing cruise will pick up and drop off at the Landings, Capt. Susan Chaplin said. They will still operate their three cruises per day — at 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and at sunset, she said.
Capt. Ray Aiello said he’ll operate his 28-foot fishing boat at the boat ramp in Bayview Park.
“You’ll get no walk ups, but what you got to do is get creative and find other ways to find business,” he said.
The Naples City Council in March gave final approval to the $6.5 million rebuild of the dock, a nearly century-old Naples mainstay. The project was initially budgeted at $5 million. The dock will be demolished beginning May 8.
The council agreed to pay for the project through a 20-year internal loan from the city’s pool of investments and other cash. The dock’s cash reserves will be used to pay back the loan, but taxpayers could cover some of the costs if the dock can’t afford the annual payments.
The council agreed to rebuild the dock after a consultant said its wooden beams were failing and that the whole structure needed to be replaced. The dock hasn’t been rebuilt since 1983.
Jacobsen oversees daily maintenance issues and told the council that annual repairs cost more than $60,000.
The new structure will include an ipe wood dock, 84 leasable slips, two new bathrooms, a new gazebo and a floating concrete fuel dock.
Jacobsen said the rebuild is necessary.
“If the council didn’t choose to rebuild it, it would go away,” he said. The captains "would have nothing to come back to. There was no more repair left on this dock.”
Capt. Gene Luciano, who keeps three fishing boats at the dock, said he is looking forward to the new structure.
“It’s going to be a major inconvenience, but we’ll make it work,” he said. “And when it’s done, I think it’s going to be beautiful.”
Kelly Brothers Inc., a Fort Myers-based marine construction firm, is building the dock. The project is scheduled to be completed in February.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN ..
Here’s where you can find Naples charter boats during the rebuild of the city dock:
Captain: Mike Klein
Boat(s): Cuda
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 34 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Old Naples Seaport
Phone: 239-777-7787
Captain: Clarence Fleck
Boat(s): Capt. Marvel
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 43 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Pelican Bend Marina
Phone: 239-261-7159
Captain: John Crimmel
Boat(s): Starlight
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 30 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-269-0467
Captain: Tom Robinson
Boat(s): Sea Legs
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 31 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-263-8171
Captain: Ray Aiello
Boat(s): Capt. Ray’s Charters
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 28 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Bayview Park
Phone: 239-777-0237
Captain: Gene Luciano
Boat(s): Dalis, Dalis II, Dalis III
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 46 feet, 34 feet, 34 feet
Accommodates: 18, 6, 6
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-450-4870
Captain: Mike Avinon
Boat(s): Findictive
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 32 feet
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-774-3314
Captain: Geoffrey Crouse
Boat(s): Chasin Tales
Type: Fishing
Size(s): 22 feet
Accommodates: 4
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-216-0378
Captain: Shane Chaplin
Boat(s): Sweet Liberty
Type: Sightseeing
Size(s): 54 feet
Accommodates: 44
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-793-3525
Captain: Todd Wilson
Boat(s): Betelgeuse III
Type: Sailing
Size(s): 20
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Naples Landings
Phone: 239-649-1740
Captain: Elizabeth Bloch
Boat(s): Beula Lee
Type: Sailing
Size (s): 43
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Bayview Park
Phone: 239-354-0305
Captain: Robert Dawes
Boat(s): Island Dreams
Type: Sailing
Size(s): 31
Accommodates: 6
Pick up/Drop off: Bayview Park
Phone: 239-398-1483