NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A huddle of Newport Beach dignitaries assembled Thursday on the Marina Park public docks to celebrate a long overdue achievement.
The city, at last, installed its first human lift designed to provide people in wheelchairs, or with other disabilities, access to boats.
Christian Buhl, founder of California Inclusive Boaters, had been pushing for this kind of tool for seven years, talking it over with Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon. The two talked, batting back and forth what it might cost, engineering difficulties and how the city could make it a reality.
“[Christian] told me about the problems they were having at the yacht clubs and getting insurance,” Muldoon said.
That was over a year ago. Muldoon then brought the item to the city council, which approved it unanimously. City council members Joy Brenner and Diane Dixon were both there in celebration of the public introduction of the lift.
The city device itself, a Reliant 450 lift, was $3,000, and required troubleshooting and custom installation by Swift Slip Dock and Pier Builders for an additional cost of about $5,000.
The lift, attached at a single point on the dock, can hoist and swing a person 18 inches above the dock. Harbor Master Paul Blank said the mechanical arm may even be able to do 24 inches, but that has yet to be tested.
For years, Buhl struggled to find a taker for his plan to grant easier access to handicapped boaters. The transfer can be tricky, with one member of Buhl’s club requiring nine people to lift and transfer him from the dock to the boat.
His club has access to four boats, which it uses to get members on the water, including members of the Special Olympics boating teams.
As Buhl talked about how ideal the temperature, wind and current were, his club member was lifted by the mechanical arm to a brief burst of cheering.
“This is a final, really important tool,” Buhl said.
The dock, located at the public docks at 1600 W. Balboa Blvd., will offer access to the lift from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.