Ice problems in cold climates may present rare opportunities for unique solutions. Burns 

 Harbor Marina in Indiana takes advantage of the hot water return from a conveniently 

 located steel plant to keep the berthing area ice-free during the winter months. Many large 

 industries or powerplants require large volumes of water for heat exchange systems and are 

 normally located near large bodies of water. With proper planning, the Burns Harbor 

 solution could be repeated in many areas, and the result would be a more efficient use of a 

 common resource. 



Another innovation that has proven useful and effective is shown in Figure 158. The 

 major function of these conicaUy shaped plastic pile caps is to keep birds off the pilings and 

 the marina neat and clean. Before pile cap, sharpened spikes were used to keep birds off 

 pilings, but a few unwary creatures were impaled on the spikes. The change to these 

 ecologically acceptable items solved the problem and improved the esthetics of the marinas 

 where they have been installed. In large marinas, cones with distinctive colors have been 

 used in different berthing areas to aid patrons and guests in finding their shps. 



Figure 158. Conically shaped, plastic pile caps. 



Finally, Figure 159 shows a schematic of a gangway counter-balance system encountered 

 at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, British Columbia. This system is designed to support 

 most of the deadweight at the lower end of the gangway and thus reduce the amount of 

 flotation that would otherwise be needed for a landing on the floating system. 



256 



