The Boathouse bounces back
Two years on from devastating storm damage, the future of iconic Nelson waterfront venue The Boathouse appears to be sound – literally.
At 9am on February 1, 2018, Boathouse committee member Ali Howard arrived at the venue to see the water in Nelson Haven well above the usual high tide mark and threatening to rise further.
By mid-afternoon, a storm surge had ripped through the floorboards of the century-old building – one of a number of coastal properties damaged during ex-tropical cyclone Fehi.
At that stage, Howard realised that a show by visiting buskers scheduled for that evening would not be taking place.
Two years on from the devastation, the venue has hosted the buskers event that was unable to go ahead, as well as a number of musical acts, weddings and functions, since reopening in November 2018.
Following a fundraising campaign to pay for repairs and improvements not covered by insurance, things are largely back to normal.
Boathouse Trust chair Annie Henry said there was a sense of gratitude to everyone who had contributed to the rebuild, from Howard’s project management and the rebuild committee, to the Boathouse committee supporting bringing the venue back to its former glory.
With a few minor aesthetic alterations, the building has maintained its classic look, with materials recycled where possible and reinforced where necessary to futureproof it for years to come.
‘‘These are now memories that can be enjoyed by everyone,’’ Henry said.
However, when shows resumed, musicians, staff and audiences soon noticed a difference in the sound quality. It was initially thought that this was due to the more solid new floorboards in the main hall.
In fact, the improved acoustics are the result of a major project, although its physical presence is hardly noticeable.
The Boathouse committee engaged acoustic engineering company Bladon Bronka Acoustics to provide a report which was used as the basis for a plan featuring Auckland-made Asona panels covering bass, medium and high frequencies.
The project was led by Howard and Boathouse member Malcolm Anderson. Installing the panels took more than 700 hours by over a dozen volunteers drawn from Boathouse members and the Nelson Jazz Club, led by an experienced builder, using scaffolding and a scissor lift to reach the sixmetre-high ceiling.
‘‘Being a 1906 wooden building, nothing is straight, square or symmetrical, and every bay, beam and wall is a different length, which made for lots of initiative and working things out as we went along,’’ said Howard.
‘‘It was time-consuming to install 72 panels – like fitting square pegs into round holes.’’
From the total cost of around $45,000, $20,000 was sourced from the Rata Foundation, $3000 from the Mainland Foundation, and the remainder from Boathouse funds.
‘‘As soon as the installation was complete, we received a fantastic response from musicians and the public,’’ said Howard. ‘‘At one of our Friday evening performances, we had text messages sent in the middle of a gig saying how great the sound was.’’
Stage two is to be completed after summer, on the upper sections of the end walls, to complete the acoustic plan.
Other work has included a complete rebuild of the boat ramp, the last item to be built under insurance.
The new deck and ramp are engineered to high standards to withstand future adverse weather events. The project was done by Atlas Building Services, which had to contend with tides, winter weather, and resurfacing work on the adjacent road.
The committee is also working on the boat storage for members, and renovation of the kitchen entrance.