Facility Description

Ownership: The Port’s ownership at Mats Mats consists of 0.5 acres lying in the southeastern inner portion of Mats Mats Bay. The State of Washington has conveyed its reversionary right to oyster lands to the Port of Port Townsend for this property.

Existing Facilities & Use: The boat launch facilities include a concrete plank ramp, an approximately 150-foot loading float, upland asphalt parking lot for eight cars and seven trailers, a mobile fire supply station, and one small rental storage building.

The ramp is one-lane (narrow) with grounding timber floating docks and creosote piles. The ramp has a very gentle slope (less than 6%) that is adequate for small boats but inadequate for boats larger than about 15-feet to 17-feet. The ramp is very long due to the minimal slope (greater than 200-feet). The concrete panels of the ramp are approximately 16-inches wide, six-inches thick, and 12-feet long and have steel eyebolts located on the adjacent sides (nuts and bolts are the main connectors between panels). The ramp panel connections have deteriorated and have failed in many places. This failure has caused some panels to be displaced down the length of the ramp and laterally. Large gaps are present between some panels, and at the northern edge some of the panels are experiencing loss of support material under them. Some measures have been taken to fill in the gaps, but these are temporary fixes. Some riprap has been added to protect the side slope but is missing in some areas.

The timber floating dock is in fair condition. There are 10 creosote timber pilings in fair to poor condition with galvanized steel pile guides attached to the floats. The timber floats are six and one-half feet wide and 21-feet long with galvanized steel hinges to allow for tidal variations. About half of the floats ground out during low tides. The shore side access ramp consists of two planks of wood over an eight-foot gap. No utilities are present on the float. There is one light at the ramp and the parking area is lighted.

A two-lane residential street is the main access point for the launch ramp. Single-family homes are located adjacent to the facility. The upland parking area for eight cars and seven trailers is well-designed and efficiently configured for the limited available space. The upland portion of the site is also well-landscaped, and the roadway and curbs are in good condition.

Public Access, Services, & Utilities:

Regional Access: SR 104 and SR 19

Local Access: Carey Court and Verner Avenue provide access to the site.

Marine Access: The site is located on the southern shore of Mats Mats Bay.

Fire/Emergency Services: Jefferson County Fire District #3

Water: Water service is provided by Jefferson County Public Utility District #1 (PUD).

Sewer: No sewer service is currently available to the site.

Electricity: Electricity is provided by the PUD.

Other: CenturyLink (formerly Qwest) telephone service; Waste Connections provides solid waste collection service. Wave Broadband is the provider of cable and internet services in this area.

Mats Mats Bay Launch Ramp Improvement Plan

Overall, this launch facility is in poor condition, not well configured for boats over 15-17 feet (i.e., narrow ramp and shallow slope), and has limited parking for tow-vehicles and trailers. The relative proximity of this location to favorable fishing areas suggests that the facility condition, rather than lack of demand, considerably limits its current use.

Accordingly, this plan calls for replacing and upgrading the existing facility with a new elevated ramp and associated handling float that would increase the utility of the facility to a wider range of recreational boaters. In addition to these in-water improvements, the facility upgrades would include a reconfigured and expanded parking area on the adjoining one-half-acre Port-owned uplands.

Estimated Capital Project Costs – Mats Mats Bay Launch Ramp:

TOTAL = $1,350,000