Residents of tiny Sinclair Island, north of Guemes Island, are finding out just how long it takes to repair a boat dock — a lot longer than they thought, but not as long as it could have been.

Skagit County officials are hopeful the island’s only public dock will be replaced by early September. The dock was sheared in half during a windstorm last November, limiting access for larger boats.

Initially, officials from the county Public Works Department were lured by the possibility of $100,000 or more in disaster funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They toyed with the idea of embarking on a two-year project to build a new $400,000 marina.

Even with federal help, the price tag would have been too high, Assistant Public Works Director Jeff Miller said. Consultant fees on the repair alone would have cost the county $120,000.

So county officials opted to forgo the federal money and fix the dock themselves. A new 55-foot dock will be installed before the end of the summer for less than $50,000, Miller said.

The county hasn’t received final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yet, but Miller expects that to come in the next few weeks.

The job needed to pass muster with the corps, the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, but county staff was able to push the project through in four months when it might have taken six months to a year, Miller said.

Eelgrass was the reason for the daunting pile of federal paperwork. The sea plant controls erosion and is important habitat for crabs and fish.

Sinclair Island, barely one and a half square miles, is home to a handful of mostly part-time residents who rely on the dock to access the developed portion of the island and to receive supplies and mail.