Proposed changes would plug the hole in the basin's wall, which Gibson said had to be done.
"It should never have been opened up in the first place."
Reclaiming land to make a beach was a good idea, he said, but he wouldn't bother about making a lagoon.
"I would just get the little beach back."
In all his years at the harbour people always swam there, he said. There was never a major accident as a result of swimming.
"The launches would be anchored out there and people would swim out and get on them. They were told not to make a mess.
"There wouldn't be one person in Castlecliff who never swam down there."
As for dredging, Gibson said it had to be done at every port. He had seen the suggested spots for discharging dredge material, and said it had to be taken right away "otherwise you are playing sandcastles".
Gibson said he did not believe dumping at the entrance to the basin would work, because the material would wash back in.
There was 1.5 million cubic metres of material dredged out of the port between 1952 and 1988, he said.
Dredging is already done at the Wharf St slipway to clear a channel for the Coastguard Wanganui boat and for fishing boats.
Its effectiveness was patchy, Coastguard Wanganui president Garry Hawkins said, and he predicted it always would be.
Hawkins said he was surprised there had been no injuries to children who swam near the slipway and reclaiming land to make a beach could be a good idea.
"I don't know how much it would get used. It's quite muddy there as it is now," he said.
As for where dredged spoil should be discharged, he said it just needed to go.
Wanganui-Manawatū Sea Fishing Club commodore Mike Trevor-Roper has been contacted for comment.
The dredging and reclamation were both fully supported by Dune & Reserve Excellence (DARE), spokeswoman Ruth Tidemann said.
DARE supported Te Pūwaha's director Hayden Turoa in the dredging of the port, and in using dredged material to create a new community area.
"This is recycling at its best, with abundance for all," she said.
