UPDATE: Children's Beach Boat Ramp

The completion of the new Children's Beach boat ramp has been delayed yet again. This time until the 27th of this month. This past friday they removed the cofferdam and flooded the ramp. I was down there today and everything looks fine except for one thing. It looks to me that there isn't enough water to launch a boat in the new ramp. The pitch looks to be much too shallow. I was there this afternoon about an hour after dead low tide and there was only a foot and a half of water in the ramp. Not nearly enough to launch a boat. At high tide, it looks as though you would have to back your vehicle half into the water to have enough water in which to launch your boat. I hope I'm wrong about this but I've talked to several other people and they all said the same thing, there doesn't seem to be enough water in the ramp at either tide to launch a boat. If anyone has been down to the ramp lately and think differently, please leave a comment in the comment section.
Here's a picture of the new ramp I took today-
Click on any picture to enlarge.

There are several nesting pairs of Ospreys I've seen around the waterfront lately. Here is a pair I saw at Jackson's Point this week-


Batten down your hatches and check your ground tackle. There's a pretty good easterly coming.

Click here for the latest marine weather forecast

Getting Ready

Things are finally starting to get busy around the waterfront. Two mooring companies are putting moorings in the water. The crew above was working off of Francis Street Beach today setting gear. It's very difficult to load the moorings which are stored on shore into boats without the use of the children's Beach boat ramp which is not completed yet. You have to go to Grey Lady Marine and use their facility for the time being.

Speaking of the new boat ramp, your guess is as good as mine as to when it will ever be done. I was told by a marine official that the new ramp would be ready by this Sunday, April 15th. I'm not sure they will meet that deadline. I'm thinking it will be ready to use my early May. Three quarters of the concrete slabs have been laid in place and a small part of the finger piers are built. Here's a picture of the construction I took yesterday-


There was a little buoy tender working off Brant Point late this afternoon. She was replacing buoys 11 and 13 when I grabbed her picture-
Click on the picture below.

Nantucket Waterfront News

M/V Iyanough Problems?

The very first day the SSA's M/V, Iyanough arrived here, I noticed large areas on her hull and superstructure that looks to be dimpled. I'm not sure if dimpled is the proper word or not. I took the picture below this afternoon. I circled the dimpled areas in red-
Click on any picture to enlarge.


Here's a closer shot-


I'm not a shipbuilder and I have never aspired to be one but something doesn't look right. I have never seen a ship dimpled like the Iyanough. Is this common practice in today's shipbuilding? I'm surprised they let her out of the yard looking like this. Is there anyone here that is familiar with shipbuilding that could provide some insight on this? If so, please leave a comment in the comment section. Thanks.

I added a new feature on the left. Click on the picture for a weather radar of the east coast.