Alton Bay boat ramp

[noreast]

Now there saying closed Monday and Tuesday, Weather must have set them back.

[upthesaukee]

From The Baysider newspaper FB page:

News from New Hampshire Fish and Game arrived too late for this week's edition: The Downing's Landing public boat access facility in Alton will be closed on Monday, May 21, and Tuesday, May 22, to allow for the installation of a temporary floating dock to replace the degraded courtesy docks at the boat ramp. The closure will begin on Sunday evening, May 20. Please check NH Fish and Game Department's Statewide Public Boat Access Program’s web page at www.fishnh.com/access/index.php for any last-minute schedule updates.
During the installation, the entire facility will be closed to the public to ensure a safe and effective work site. The ramp will be closed and there will be no opportunity to launch or retrieve motorized boats, sail boats, canoes, kayaks, or other self- propelled watercraft during this time period. The parking area for the ramp will also be closed to the public and there will be no fishing from the shore.


This is not a bad idea considering the Derby this weekend and the effect any delay could have on launching and parking for participants.

Dave

[GBGX2]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...13449475333311

[Gould1]

I wonder if they are doing both docks or just one? The Facebook article calls the replacement docks "temporary" I wonder if they have larger plans for the facility?

[JADAQ]

Originally Posted by Gould1

I wonder if they are doing both docks or just one? The Facebook article calls the replacement docks "temporary" I wonder if they have larger plans for the facility?

The way I took it was that they are putting in floating docks, I’ve seen these around the lake and it’s a good concept, that way they can just remove them at end of season to prevent ice damage.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by JADAQ

The way I took it was that they are putting in floating docks, I’ve seen these around the lake and it’s a good concept, that way they can just remove them at end of season to prevent ice damage.

That's how I interpreted it as well. Floating docks are idea for this application and very common around the country for public ramps. I hope they install 2 of them.

If you ever want to install a dock for just sitting on, don't use a floating dock. They are terrible for that because the motion from waves is all jerky and unpleasant.

[upthesaukee]

Drove by this afternoon and there is one floating dock installed, which appears to be about 3-4 ft wide. I did not stop, park , and walk in, so I do not know about the posts.

IMHO, if they were removing both docks, which they did, they would remove all parts of the dock.

Dave

[Gould1]

I really like the fact that F&G is doing this repair work. However, if there is no one to monitor what goes on down there, "like most public ramps" it wont take long for damage to start to set in. All it takes is one person to back into the dock with a trailer or smash into it with a boat at night and it's down hill from there. I hate to be a negative Nelly but that's just reality. That ramp used to have a HUGE drop off at the end of the concrete from all the power loading that went on down there. So bad that I thought I was going to rip and axle off my trailer pulling the boat out one day. I'm not sure what its like now that they redid the ramp.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Gould1

All it takes is one person to back into the dock with a trailer or smash into it with a boat at night and it's down hill from there. I hate to be a negative Nelly but that's just reality.

Like this?....



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oq0...&feature=share

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Gould1

I really like the fact that F&G is doing this repair work. However, if there is no one to monitor what goes on down there, "like most public ramps" it wont take long for damage to start to set in. All it takes is one person to back into the dock with a trailer or smash into it with a boat at night and it's down hill from there. I hate to be a negative Nelly but that's just reality. That ramp used to have a HUGE drop off at the end of the concrete from all the power loading that went on down there. So bad that I thought I was going to rip and axle off my trailer pulling the boat out one day. I'm not sure what its like now that they redid the ramp.

I've used dozens of public ramps with these kinds of docks over the last 20+ years and have never seen one damaged as you described. They are pretty rugged and there's a lot of incentive not to hit one with a boat. I realize boat ramp follies are pretty common and wildly amusing, but rarely do they result in damage to the ramp infrastructure.

The power-loading damage at this ramp was fixed by extending the concrete deeper into the lake and has not been a problem since. FWIW, the dock that this new dock replaced was more likely than not damaged by ice, not boats.

[upthesaukee]

I headed down to the Bay post office and took a little detour over to the launch area. Very nice dock.

A short section on land with a hinge connection to the 1st section, which is of course connected to section 2. All heavy duty connections. Dock is quite stable, although wind was blowing out, so not much wave action to see. Unfortunately, I left my phone at the house, so no pictures.

Note, the dock is anchored by two heavy duty stainless chains that extend from the corners to their anchors, in crisscross fashion. They are marked by a small orange round buoy.

Overall, looks nice. I will probably deploy fenders when I launch and recover my boat, due to the low profile of the dock, which is probably too low for contact with the rubrail.

Dave

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

Drove by this afternoon and there is one floating dock installed, which appears to be about 3-4 ft wide. I did not stop, park , and walk in, so I do not know about the posts.

IMHO, if they were removing both docks, which they did, they would remove all parts of the dock.

Dave

There were pics on facebook of the posts they removed.