Sunset Marina: Floating through construction

CHELAN –Just a few short months after breaking ground on Sunset Marina, Scott McKellar and crew are approaching the completion of the first phase in the newest Lake Chelan attraction. The year-round marina offers floating slips, adjusting with the seasonal water level changes and allowing the ability to moor a water vessel throughout the seasons. The marina portion of the phase has been completed and was celebrated with a grand opening over the Fourth of July weekend.

The $14 million project broke ground in April, and has progressed rapidly. The 168-slip marina has been completed and nearly 70 percent of the 24, 30, and 40-foot slips offered have already been sold. The environmentally conscious marina offers convenient amenities such as water and power stations, solar lighting at each slip, and LED lit ramps, as well as oversized cleats and pilings to ensure sustainability and security.

The 168-slip, year-round, marina offers a variety of amenities to members, however, what separates Sunset Marina from other marinas are the amenities and features that will be available to the public. An 80-foot long gangway stretches over the lake, and offers fishing areas and a cleaning station, seating benches, and a sewer pump out for boats, all of which are free to access and open to the community. McKellar stated that restrooms and a general convenience store, accessible by way of a walk-up window, will also be available for public use.

McKellar, along with HOA Manager Boosinger, and Dockmaster Evans, have put forth a tremendous effort in ensuring that Sunset Marina is environmentally conscious and will aid in preserving the quality of water that Lake Chelan currently offers. All moored boats will be required to have and use bilge socks (used to soak up excess gas or oil within the bilge compartment), as well as environmentally friendly dye tablets inside the sewage tank (used to identify any leaks within the sewage holding tank). The Dockmaster, Evans, will be responsible for enforcing the use and annual replacement of bilge socks and dye tablets throughout the marina. In addition to preventative requirements for the watercrafts, Boosinger stated that in early July, they applied for a Clean Marina Certification through Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (PSA) of Seattle. After a final visit from PSA in September, it’s anticipated that they will not only receive the five-star Clean Marina Certification, but will also be the first marina in Washington State to obtain one. Sunset Marina is also working with Phil Long, of the Lake Chelan Research Institute, and has purchased water metering equipment from Long. “He is going to put a multi-parameter probe off our dock … and it will be the first multi-parameter probe, in a marina, in the world,” said Boosinger of Long’s equipment, then added “it studies the water for many different pollutants and natural elements in the water.” The probe will be collecting key water quality data, and will aid in monitoring and maintaining the quality and purity of water in the lake.

The last item on the list of the first phase in the marina’s build is the clubhouse. Although completion is not expected until October, the “Sunset Club” is well on its way. Once the build has been concluded, the structure will hold offices for the Dockmaster and HOA Manager, as well as a bar and lounge, game room, on-site and overflow member parking, and other attractive amenities to its members.

Phase two of the Sunset project will include 23 condominiums, with a choice of two or three-bedroom units, underground parking, and a year-round pool. The units will be for long-term, residential dwelling only, stated McKellar. The build on the condominium structure is not a certainty, however. McKellar is working on establishing the customer demand for the residential build before ascertaining its construction. “It is highly likely that we will be building condos,” said McKellar, “and if we do that, it will start toward the end of 2018”.

For more information on Sunset Marina, visit in person at 1328 W. Woodin Avenue in Chelan or online at sunsetmarinalakechelan.com.