PORT TOWNSEND — A breakwater in the Point Hudson Marina damaged when a yacht collided with it last week is scheduled for repair next week.

Port of Port Townsend commissioners approved the emergency repair Monday, authorizing Crockett to spend up to $80,000 on it.

A 32-foot rented yacht collided with the breakwater on its way out of the harbor Thursday.

The collision damaged three of the vertical pilings and opened a gap, allowing large rocks behind the wall to spill into the harbor.

Two insurance companies are working out the reimbursement, according to Port Director Larry Crockett.

The boat sustained minor scratches, according to Dennis Brown, who was driving it.

The emergency designation means the job doesn’t need to be put out for bid, he said.

Crockett has contacted Orion Marine Contractors of Tacoma for the job.

“The contractor will be here this afternoon and will present us an estimate,” Crockett said Tuesday.

“I expect it will be less than $80,000 but didn’t want to have to request another special meeting if there’s an overrun.”

At least three pilings will need replacement, with the possibility that a fourth that is cracked at the bottom might be added to that number, Crockett said.

About eight large boulders have fallen into the channel and been moved behind the piling barrier, Crockett said, and a new support beam will be constructed.

The breakwater is not in imminent danger of collapsing but could not withstand another shock, Crockett said.

“If someone hits a piling, they could all go down like dominos,” he said.

The repair will most likely take a single day and be complete by June 11, he said.

“We want to get this done during the week so we don’t mess up the weekend,” he said.

Permits were a possible obstacle, but they were fast-tracked in this case, Crockett said.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has imposed a “fish window” that prohibits shoreline construction until July, but the port was able to get an emergency permit issued Monday.

City construction permits will be a formality, said Crockett, who expects them to be granted by Thursday.

The emergency repair is a “Band-Aid” and does not affect the replacement and repair of the breakwater, which is an ongoing port project, Crockett said.

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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.