Boating Industry Canada August 2015 - (Page 14)

PRODUCTS & INNOVATION TWO CANADIAN COMPANIES join forces to create a solution for the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan AM Games. Above: Notice the choppy water on the outside (foreground) of this shot and the calm conditions inside of the new wave attenuation system by Groupe Narval and Kropf Industrial. BY GREG NICOLL THE PAN AM aquatic events that were to take place at the Ontario Place West Channel in Toronto; open water swimming, triathlon and wake boarding all shared a problem -a break in the breakwater wall that protects the course from swells from Lake Ontario. Depending on the sea effects at the time of the events, fair competition could be severely compromised. The Pan Am Games Organizing Committee realized the situation and sent out an RFP for companies to resolve this dilemma. There were some critical problems standing in the way of this solution; one being ownership of the current break wall as there are several federal and municipal bodies that oversee Toronto's waterfront. So, the questions of whose responsibility it would be to design, maintain and pay for the breakwater fix, had to be resolved. Then, any permanent and fixed structure would more than likely need environmental approval and that requires time and money. More important was the issue of timing as there was a critical and short timeline to put together a solution to be ready for the games on July 10th. Traditionally, a rock wall would be installed, or replacement rock would be used to buffer the shore from waves and surges generated from the lake. Sometimes in stormy conditions, waves with great force would break against the wall, often creating spectacular scenes of water soaring into the air. The breach in the wall was the result of the wall crumbling under pressure from storms over time and was approximately 100 feet across. The Pan Am Technical Committee approached Kropf Industrial from Seguin, near Parry Sound Ontario, a company that started in 1977 as a small backyard welding company and 14 Boating Industry Canada AUGUST 2015 Below: Another view of the amazing difference in conditions the new systems makes.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boating Industry Canada August 2015

Insight
Industry News
Impact - Tim Kennedy
Products & Innovation - Marine Tech Crisis
Propulsion - Going for a Ride
Ad Nauseam
Made In Canada - Scepter
Made In Canada - Steelhead Marine
The Boat Shop - NMEA
The Boat Shop - ABYC

Boating Industry Canada August 2015