For upper harbour boaties the dredging of Tanners Point boat ramp this week emphasises the scarcity of upper harbour ramps.
The sand build up around the ramp is done as required every two or three years, says Carl Bosselman of Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
The Tanners Point ramp is the only one north of Katikati until Pio Shores at Bowentown.


Clean out at Tanners Point.

The ramp at Beach Road, Katikati, was built by boating club members about 30 years ago. It is only a half tide ramp, says boating club spokesman Don Wallis.
'We are very short of ramps and boat parking. This is an issue we will be taking up with Carl.
'North of Katikati there's really only the Tanners Point one. The Pio Shores boating club built one but they are desperately short of parking there.”
Thirty years ago the then Tauranga County Council promised a boat ramp at Tuapiro, says Don.
The money has been sitting there ever since. The Tuapiro money was used to pay for a study of possible all-tide ramp locations, says Western Bay of Plenty district councillor Sam Dunlop.
There were only two options, Kauri Point North or south. Upgrading either the Tanners Point ramp or the available parking area will be at the expense of a small recreation reserve that is well used by Tanners Point residents.
Access to the ramp is limited by a narrow road and steep access. The ramp works well most of the year. It is congested over the summer peak – when most users are from out of the region.
'It's not a Katikati problem. The Tanners Point and Bowentown users are from the Waikato and Hauraki,” says Sam. 'It is a regional facility.”
It could also partly explain why the public submissions on the Kauri Point options received no support from the boating public.
'Complacency killed the cat,” says Sam. 'Both the north and south Kauri Point options were put to the public. Because of objections from the community it will not be done at this point in time.
The funding has been left in the long term community plan.
'The community will get the opportunity to make more submissions. If it fails then this community will have to make do with several small facilities.”
Tanners Point only provides access to the channel and boats then have to motor five kilometres to open water. For the first part of that trip the boat wash disturbs pohutakawa trees along the foreshore. Any increase in boat traffic from Tanners Point will exacerbate an existing problem.
The boat ramp at Beach Road, Katikati, is 300-400 metres long. Making that an all-tide ramp would require another 150 metres or so of ramp – and a two kilometre dredged channel to make .9m at mean low water.