Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

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Oldslowandugly
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Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:01 pm

The Governor of New York State has closed all boat ramps and service marinas due to the pandemic. My own is open because they offer no services. But I need to find a sneak way to get my Whaler in the water. I have even heard some are launching from surrounding states and motoring home. I live in Queens and my favorite old sneak spots have been built upon or fenced off.

To those in similar circumstances, what are you doing about it?

rsantiago
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Re: State of New York Closes Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby rsantiago » Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:14 pm

I have a slip in Mamaroneck, but the Harbor Master has not notified us if the ramp or slip will be open by May 1st. We usually will be notified by now. I have to wait and see. I don't see keeping the boat in the slip because of social distancing requirements. I think if the ramp was open social distancing would be manageable.

Maybe you can check the boat ramp next to Beach Channel High School or Garveys Point.

jimh
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby jimh » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:18 am

It was 22-degrees and snowing here in SE Michigan a few days ago. Boating is not really much recreation in those temperatures and conditions.

The governor of Michigan has banned all boating using any sort of propulsion engine or motor, including electric motors--but it is okay to go Kayaking in 35-degree water. Considering there are about one-million registered boats in Michigan (owned by 1-one million likely voters), and that early Spring is a peak fishing season, I doubt the first-term Governor could survive an election right now.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sat Apr 18, 2020 3:41 pm

Beach Channel is closed too. I even heard they will ticket you for launching. Then too I dissagree with lumping fishermen with "recreational" boaters. There is a huge difference between a boat full of partying people and a lone fisherman.

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Phil T
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Phil T » Sat Apr 18, 2020 3:45 pm

Jim - While unpopular, it was a wise strategic move. The ramps were a zoo with 100's of people congregating too close. There are still many many people that don't get it. It is always the few that spoil it for the many.
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jimh
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby jimh » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:07 am

Phil T wrote:Jim - While unpopular, it was a wise strategic move. The ramps were a zoo with 100's of people congregating too close.


PHIL--are you referring to occurrences of several hundred people at boat ramps in Michigan or in New York?

Even before the state-wide ban on boating in Michigan was issued under temporary executive order status, three boat ramps in Leelanau county were closed by order of the DNR, including the ramp closest to me, Northport. There are only parking spaces for about ten trailers at Northport's ramp, and I doubt that several hundred people could be there to launch boats.

Curiously, now the DNR says it did not order the ramp in Northport closed, and they blame the village for that action. This is just typical of the confusion created by the over-reaching and vague measures put in place for counties in Michigan which are far removed from the center of the outbreak 270-miles to the southeast.

ConB
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby ConB » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:33 am

Looks like some boatyards will be opening.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-governor-murphy-governor-lamont-announce

Hopefully Bad Ass Gretchen lets Michigan go boating soon.

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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:52 pm

From what I have seen there are boats stuffed right up to the front gate at every marina. All were still shrink-wrapped. No one was allowed in to work on their own boats and the yards were shut down for any maintenance. Couple that with the cold wet Spring and I figure the earliest any boat will make it in is sometime in May. Some may languish right through July. I am glad I take my boat home so I can work in my driveway. Every nice day I have been hard at it. Now all I need is for the ramps to open.

biggiefl
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby biggiefl » Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:31 am

They just reopened the ramps near me in FL. I don't think closing them was much of a help at stemming the virus as MANY keep their boats on a lift or in a marina. Closing the ramps did not slow down people going for rides. They did however mandate that you could not be closer than 50ft to another boat.
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dtmackey
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby dtmackey » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:06 pm

All ramps in Gloucester MA have been closed to all non-emergency boating activities. The concern is surrounding cities and towns would follow suit in that decision process. Since most ramps have no gates, if they do close, I may be pulling a 2AM launching to get my center console on its seasonal mooring for the summer months. The Whaler is strictly launch and haul for the day, so I'd be at their mercy on that one.

D-

biggiefl
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby biggiefl » Mon Apr 20, 2020 2:16 pm

They actually put giant boulders in front of the ramps here. There were a couple open for commercial guys and had to deal with fish & game.
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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:28 pm

"They actually put giant boulders in front of the ramps here. " Yikes that sounds drastic. Here if there was a gate they locked it. No gate they parked a work truck on the ramp with a sign saying it was closed. Then there is one State ramp that is as far away from the inlets as you can be and it is the ramp of last resort. That one was wide open but it would have been real hard to block it.

jimh
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Re: Collateral Damage: Marina renovation halted due to lack of funding

Postby jimh » Thu Apr 23, 2020 5:56 pm

A very large boating facility in northwest lower Michigan is the Elwood Township marina and launch ramp. This winter the marina was making extensive modifications to the launch ramp, marina offices, showers, and other facilities, as part of a $2-million project. This facility has parking for several hundred trucks and trailera and has a six or seven lane launching area into Grand Traverse Bay.

The prime contractor doing the work was just informed that funding of the project, which was mainly from a State of Michigan grant, has been halted by the state due to budget problems related to COVAD-19. At present the marina is a construction site, not a usable marina. The contractor has halted work. The marina owner, Elwood Township, has indicated that in its current condition, the marina is a safety hazard, and access to it will be blocked to insure public safety.

The Elmwood launch ramp on a nice weekend in Summer is generally extremely busy. If this facility is not restored to a usable condition, the loss of ramp access to Grand Traverse Bay for trailer boaters will be enormous, and I anticipate boats will be trailered to other ramps to be launched. Most other ramps in the area are one-lane or two-lane facilities with very limited parking for trailers. Losing Elwood Marina this Summer will be a huge problem. It appears to be collateral damage related to COVAD-19.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Thu Apr 23, 2020 7:43 pm

That is a terrible consequence of all this. But not unique. When I was searching for open ramps I came to the Point Lookout ramp, right off Jones Inlet, which is by far the most used ramp in the area. It too was undergoing an extensive overhaul. I saw bulkheads removed, the parking lot torn up, and the slip area mostly removed. No construction activity was witnessed. There is no way this is going to be finished for use this season.

ConB
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby ConB » Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:10 pm

And what about all the big boats held captive because the Michigan boat yards are shut down?
Campaign dollars can be held captive also.

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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:08 am

I just took a ride to my marina to see what the situation was. The really big boats that stay in the water all winter were of course there. Other than that there was only two others. Both are fishing guys that wait until the very last minute to haul out- and are the very first to go back in. They took advantage of the warm winter and probably missed the closure by getting in back in early March. Boats stored in the parking area were slowly being uncovered but with the crummy weather it will be slow going. Most were untouched. Still no definite ramp opening info.

jimh
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Re: Michigan Governor Un-Bans Boating

Postby jimh » Fri Apr 24, 2020 2:20 pm

The governor of Michigan announced a new executive order on Friday, April 24, 2020 that exempts boating from banned activities. This new order rescinds the ban on boating with any sort of propulsion engine that was put in place on April 9, or 15-days earlier. The number of human lives saved from death due to COVAD-19 while the 15-day boating ban was in place and directly attributable to the 15-day ban was not announced, nor was the number of Yellow Perch not caught by anglers during that same period.

I don't have any news of the status of boat launch ramps affected by the new order. I expect that several days will be needed to remove roadblocks or other devices used to block ramp access, if ramps will indeed be re-opened. I don't know if there was specific language requiring making boat launch ramps available.

Duckmanreno
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Duckmanreno » Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:51 am

I am dealing with [closed boat launch ramps] in California. My two favorite trout lakes in the northeast part of California are clear and ready to fish, but the ramps are blocked. April and May are best fishing times, and blocked ramps drive me nuts. I was never convinced that stopping recreational angling was necessary. The blanket approach that was taken was silly.
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ConB
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby ConB » Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:02 pm

Northport and Sutton’s Bay, Michigan ramps are open. Elmwood is open but construction work seems to be on hold at this time.
No action at boat yards I drove by yet.

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GGF
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby GGF » Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:02 pm

Excuse me if I take the liberty of extending this discussion a bit further. Boaters planning trips across the USA/Canadian border will be interested in this news:
https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/canadian-coast-guard-to-discourage-u-s-boaters-from-visiting-vancouver-island-during-covid-19-1.4915218

George

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon May 04, 2020 10:38 pm

I am about ready to launch. I went down to my marina for a look-see. A very few boats are in. Again, mainly the "last out- first in" bunch. No water turned on, nothing fixed, nothing ready to go. The docks are covered with busted clam shells. The wind was howling and the water is cold. Now they are predicting frost this weekend. What a year.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby Oldslowandugly » Fri May 08, 2020 1:35 pm

[My trailered boat is] in [the water]. As far as I can tell, the ramps [are] still closed. I found a sneak spot. I'm just in time for a snow event. More boats [are] in than last time I looked.

jimh
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Re: Closed Boat Launches and Marinas

Postby jimh » Fri May 08, 2020 4:58 pm

We had a brief snow flurry this afternoon in southeast Michigan, but no accumulation. A few days ago the air temperature was over 70-degrees.