Harbor facilities shut down for winter
By Sam Bari

Harbormaster Sam Paterson announced at last week's Harbor Management Commission meeting that marine facilities will be shutting down for the winter.

"The East and West ferry pumpouts will be decommissioned during the week of Oct. 15," he said. Paterson also announced that the harbor patrol boat Eastern will be hauled for the season during the same week. All three marinas have already started hauling and storing boats for the winter as well as decommissioning moorings.

Police Chief Thomas Tighe, the harbor commission's executive director, reported that the new harbor patrol boat ordered by the town will definitely be completed and ready for delivery in December. Ribcraft of Gloucester, Mass., the manufacturer of the boat is laying up the hull this month and will finish the assembly before the first of the year, the police chief said. A Ribcraft spokesman said that the town could inspect and water test the boat before it is delivered. A delivery date has not yet been set.

The commissioners discussed the possibility of recommending that the Town Council pass an ordinance to set a minimum size for boats on moorings after Paterson pointed out that several moorings were being used to anchor 11-foot inflatable dinghies. "These boats are too small to rate a mooring," Paterson said. "They should be secured at the dinghy dock. People who no longer have a bigger boat don't want to lose their moorings, so they attach an inflatable dinghy to show that the mooring is being used," he said. "That isn't fair to boaters on the waiting list who have proper size boats and deserve a mooring," he added. No decision was made on the matter and it was voted to be scheduled as an agenda item for the December meeting.

Commissioner Andrew Kallfelz asked why the commission is not using credit cards on the Internet to complete transactions and do business. "It would be so much easier for mooring holders to go online at their convenience, fill out their application, and pay their bill. It would reduce town man hours and make life easier for everybody," he said. Harbor Clerk Paula Swistak said that the town has never accepted credit cards because of the cost, and the Web site is not set up to handle transactions. "It would be easy to build the cost of credit card transactions into the mooring fees," Kallfelz replied. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about people forgetting to mail in checks, or not being able to come to the harbor office when they are open. Our receivables could be greatly reduced," he added.

Commissioner Bob Bowen suggested creating a harbor commission Web site independent of the town Web site and linking it to the town. "Other towns on the bay have been very successful with that system," he said. Applications can be filled out and processed, questions can be answered by email, and payments can be made 24 hours a day. An interactive Web site makes perfect sense for our needs," Bowen added. Kallfelz recommended forming a sub-committee to oversee the Web site. Town Council Liaison Julio DiGiando said that he would talk to Town Administrator Bruce Keiser about the credit card possibilities. The commission voted to continue discussion of an independent Web site at next month's meeting.

A presentation by Hazelett Marine of Mallets Bay, Vt., a marine construction and mooring equipment manufacturer, is scheduled for the November Harbor

Management Commission meeting. Boaters are encouraged to attend. The Hazelett elastic mooring system is allegedly maintenance free and was developed to allow boats to ride out stormy weather with more security and less wear on the components. Conventional mooring systems employ a chain to connect an anchor to a buoy. During storm conditions, chains straighten into a rod of steel and the elasticity of nylon line reaches the limit of its stretch. The Hazelett Elastic Mooring System implements an elastic rode or pendant that absorbs peak loads and maintains a much lower, steady pull, keeping boats pointed into the wind in stormy weather. Under extreme loading, such as the impact of a breakaway boat or a surge in the water depth, the elastic rode can elongate up to 300 percent. Another quality of the elastic rode is its alleged long life. It is also better for the environment because the elastic does not rust or deteriorate. A factory test of seven-year-old elastic rodes claims to have performed the same as when they were new.

Although price and warranties were not available, the commission said that the allegedly superior mooring system was worth exploring. The company was invited to make a presentation to the commission as well as interested boaters.