Winnisquam boat launch

[bigdog]

Does anyone know if the State of NH has completed the proposed boat launch on Winnisquam?

Haven't heard any thing about this since last Fall ? Did they finish this project or place on hold becasue of funding issues ?

Thanks!
Bigdog

[jst_4_kiks]

yes the state did finish the boat launch. used it a few times last year. its behind Boulia-Gorrell Lumber Co on Fair St in Laconia.

difficult to see but its near the two large round "tanks" on water street
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=laconia+nh+lumber+company&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=0,0,12363038998510092956&ei=YBDkSaHdEY3WlQeo6ozgDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image

[Jeti]

yes the state did finish the boat launch. used it a few times last year. its behind Boulia-Gorrell Lumber Co on Fair St in Laconia.

difficult to see but its near the two large round "tanks" on water street
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=laconia+nh+lumber+company&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=0,0,12363038998510092956&ei=YBDkSaHdEY3WlQeo6ozgDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image

Its super nice and parking for over fifty with Trailers......... Duel load in and or out.. Easy access.. I use it all the the time.

[jayp603]

the public launch on winnisquam is super nice. has 3 or 4 staging lanes, 2 nice ramps, space to tie up 4 or 5 boats, parking for 40 or so. all within an acre or 2, with only about 150 200 feet of shore line. exactly what winnipeasaki needs. maybe they could take a mcmansion to use by emminent domain?

[ITD]

the public launch on winnisquam is super nice. has 3 or 4 staging lanes, 2 nice ramps, space to tie up 4 or 5 boats, parking for 40 or so. all within an acre or 2, with only about 150 200 feet of shore line. exactly what winnipeasaki needs. maybe they could take a mcmansion to use by emminent domain?

And maybe they could take everything you own to pay for it. :rolleye1:

[fatlazyless]

Now, if the State of NH had just a little bit of foresight, they could have built a nice state boat launch ramp facility back in 1938. Newly elected US Senator Styles Bridges (former NH Governor) could have lined up a federal Works Progress Administration project to get one built by local labor......but noooo waaaay would Sen Bridges want a WPA state ramp built onto the 'Big Lake'.... because he was a true Republican:coolsm:!

[jonfinn]

I offer this from the "outsider" perspective. I come to Winnipesaukee a couple times/year to enjoy the lake (and the folks). I bring my boat up, launch it at one of the ramps, enjoy the day, then drive home. Sometimes I'll stay for a week or so.

When I first started launching, I found it confusing that the public launches seem inadequate compared to other lakes. It's kind of a pain to launch at the Meredith docks, pay the 10 bucks, then park 1/2-mile down the road when the hardware store lot is full.

But as I got to know the lake better, I learned about many of the out-of-the way (and free) ramps.

Near my house there's a public boat launch that goes in to Boston Harbor. It's a very well designed facility with a huge parking lot, two launch lanes, plenty of temporary docking, and a dockmaster employed by the state. On a weekend, it can take over two hours to launch (crowded!).

If you think about it, there's a lot of wisdom in the current system. If you're a beginner, you'll launch at Meredith (because it's the Winnipesaukee "postcard"). When you park at the hardware store, you can buy all the things you forgot. Maybe the beginners might get a little "local knowledge" that will help them not be dangerous. Good for the beginners, and good for the economy (but requires a little patience).

My point is simple: The "out-of-the-way" ramps are part of Winni's charm. And from what I've experienced, seem to handle the launching traffic ok.

PS: I'll always be thankful for the folks I met up your way that made me feel welcome. It's why I come back every year.

[ITD]

Now, if the State of NH had just a little bit of foresight, they could have built a nice state boat launch ramp facility back in 1938. Newly elected US Senator Styles Bridges (former NH Governor) could have lined up a federal Works Progress Administration project to get one built by local labor......but noooo waaaay would Sen Bridges want a WPA state ramp built onto the 'Big Lake'.... because he was a true Republican:coolsm:!

Yeah, what foresite that would have been too, considering cars, powerboats and trailers were at best in their infancy then. The national highway system was a twinkle in someone's eye and rail was the main mode of distance travel and the main way to get to the lake.

Good reasoning as usual Less :rolleye1:.

[fatlazyless]

[QUOTE Good reasoning as usual Less :rolleye1:.[/QUOTE]

ah come on...let's not drag ancient history into the discussion.....ok...so maybe 1938 was too soon for a ramp...but how about 1978 with Gov Thompson....1988 with Gov Sununu....or 1996 with Gov Merrill...with regards to a Winnipesaukee state launch?

Newfound Lake, Lake Winnisquam, and Squam Lake all now have state launches. All three were built when Gov Shaheen and Gov Lynch were in office. Good things get built when Democrats are in charge, like the new PSU ice arena in Plymouth.

Governor Bensen; May 3, 2003, and the Old Man of the Mountain.....gone but not forgotten....

If Ames Farm Inn gets litigated out of use as the go-to spot for Winnipesaukee then probably the heat will be on for the state to start looking around. Where-o-where could the state build a Winni ramp? Maybe, right at the Ames location......which already has a long time history for being the Winnipesaukee launch ramp.......who knows....?

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Here is some math around the use of federal pork to build us a boat ramp.

US population 305 million
NH population 1.3 million
Number of boat ramps Feds would have to build to give every US resident the equivalent water access 234.

New Hampshire should be proud to be ranked 48th in federal spending per capita.

New Hampshire is also ranked 5th in federal tax burden per capita at around $7500 per person. (Proximity to great job markets in MA)

So the natural instinct for a New Hampshire resident should probably be that the less boat ramps the feds build for anyone the better. The less of anything the feds do, the better it is for us. "We" would probably end up paying about $2 for every "free" $1 we get from them.

Oh look, i see a boat.
Happy Memorial Day

[jayp603]

give me 150 to 200 % assesed value and i could be living on the lake instead of trailering to it.

[SIKSUKR]

[QUOTE Good reasoning as usual Less :rolleye1:.
but how about 1978 with Gov Thompson....1988 with Gov Sununu....or 1996 with Gov Merrill...with regards to a Winnipesaukee state launch?

Newfound Lake, Lake Winnisquam, and Squam Lake all now have state launches. All three were built when Gov Shaheen and Gov Lynch were in office. Good things get built when Democrats are in charge, like the new PSU ice arena in Plymouth.


Love that democratic logic.Why didn't your dem governors build a Winni ramp while they were in charge?Oh that's right,it doesn't fit your tiresome agenda.

[BroadHopper]

I checked out the Winnisquam ramp a few weeks ago. It is well built and thought out. This should be the model for all ramps. I agree that all the public ramps on Winnipeaukee are inadequate for boats 20' and over. With the exception of the Glendale ramp, but this is not 'public'.

The Newfound Lake public ramp is nice too. When will we get a 'real' public ramp on Winni' ? :confused:

[Basspro]

Is the ramp open 24 hrs a day and is there a charge to use it?

[fatlazyless]

The recently constructed large
state boat launch at Lake Winnisquam, just like Newfound Lake and Squam Lake are all free of charge, and maybe even open 24/7. Built by the state, and funded with money from somewhere?

The one at Lake Winnisquam is actually on the Winnipesaukee River, about 100 yards up river from the lake. It is jigsawed in between Boulia Gourrel Lumber and an old, non-operating waste water treatment facilty, that is now used by the DES for something else. Both sides of the launch area have large chain link fence, topped with 3-6 strands of barbed wire. What the fences are protecting is tough to figure what with a defunct 50 year old water treatment facility, and an empty lumber yard storage area. Everything in the launch area, signs, pavement, paint, fences, barbed wire, docks, ramps, design, installation, porta potties, bulletin board is all brand new, and looks like it was built to last for 100 years.

In addition, there's a new canoe/kayak carry launch on the Winnipesakee River, indicated by a large sign, that is very close to Laconia city hall, just below the Avery Dam. It's maybe 500 yards paddling and drifting down the river from the kayak launch to get into Lake Winnisquam at the Bartlett, City of Laconia, beach area.

That whole area is a good example showing what 200 years with no zoning rules can create. It is now a nice, clean, flowing river, and is the entire outflow of huge, dammed Lake Winnipesaukee. The river has both salmon and bass, and passes through a totally built out urban-industrial-residential-governmental-commercial-railroad-suburban mix that defies categorization.......just call it Laconia....which is unique.

Supposedly, Lake Winnisquam has less rocks in it than Lake Winnipesaukee.

[ITD]

...
Supposedly, Lake Winnisquam has less rocks in it than Lake Winnipesaukee.

:laugh:

Less, you crack me up.....

[SAMIAM]

FLL is right....Winnisquam does have less rocks than the "big" lake.If you are 100' off shore,even a first time boater is pretty much safe.There are no areas like the "Witches" or the "Graveyard" It is a pretty deep lake except fot the southwest shore and the areas south of Mosquito bridge which are not as deep but are very sandy.There are some islands that are a little bony but you'll have no troublr as long as you know black from red.

[flyguy]

Does anyone know if the State of NH has completed the proposed boat launch on Winnisquam?

Yup! It's a beauty. Here it is from the air. (http://www.lakesregionaerials.com/photostore/Laconia_-_Lakeport_g71-State_Boat_Launch_p1415.html)

[fatlazyless]

As everyone knows...a picture is worth a thousand words....very nice work flyguy!

The closed waste water plant is to the left. The two launch ramps and car-trailer irregular shaped parking lot is in the center. The Boulia Gourrel lumber yard sheds and lumber lot is to the right. The Winnipesauee River is in the foreground at the bottom of the photo. Unseen, but very close by, is huge Lake Winnisquam, NH's 3rd largest lake.

Without doing any research, and just based on what I could see, the abutting and defunct Winnisquam waste water treatment plant is located on a beautiful location. It occupies the end of land, directly fronting on Lake Winnisquam and the Winnipesaukee River. Judging from its' red brick design, it looks like it could have been built in the 1940's-1950's, probably discharged into either the river or the lake, and has been closed for years.

Is it a useless old piece of governmental utility junk taking up space on a terrific waterfront location and a good spot for a ................... (fill in the blank)?

[chipj29]

Yup! It's a beauty. Here it is from the air. (http://www.lakesregionaerials.com/photostore/Laconia_-_Lakeport_g71-State_Boat_Launch_p1415.html)
Great picture, that really is a good looking site (for a boat launch ramp).

[fatlazyless]

...slightly off-topic but what the heck....

...not having anything better to do, I googled the defunct Laconia waste water treatment plant and came up w/ a 11/14/07 Laconia Citizen article about Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro having a discussion about Wolfeboro discharging treated waste water into a Tuftonboro creek that flows into Lake Winnipesaukee.

Anyway, it mentions that the Laconia treatment plant (now) next to the Winnisquam boat launch ramp had been the source of large algea blooms in Lake Winnisquam in the 1970's and 1980's because the treated water, discharged into the Winnipesaukee River close to Lake Winnisquam, had been treated but still contained nitrogen and phosphorus.

...so, how about that...?

I suggest that a slots casino hotel be built on that Laconia waterfront peninsular spot and it can advertise "come to the wastewater treatment plant and win big :D!

[chipj29]

I spent the day Sunday on Winnisquam. We used the new ramp to put in. We got there at about 11:30, and it was PACKED. There is def. not enough parking. There are 3 or 4 handicapped spaces (for trailer parking), none of which were in use. From the pic that Flyguy took, I counted 30 other spaces. Not enough. I had to park on the road, as did pretty much everyone who got there late morning and after. I had a brief conversation with the F&G cop who was manning the ramp. He said the town has been good about allowing parking on the road, as long as the cars are not blocking any driveways or access to anything. I had to unhook my trailer to fit into a suitable place.

The ramp is beautiful, and real easy to use. Could use some more parking though.

[BroadHopper]

The city has always been good about parking on the streets with a boat and or trailer. As long as you are not blocking traffic or entry ways. :D

That can not be said about other 'border' towns around the big lake. Laconia reminds me of Rhode Island, in my opinion the most boater friendly state in the nation. :cool:

[SIKSUKR]

The ramp is beautiful, and real easy to use. Could use some more parking though.

I was actually thinking of launching on Winnisquam on Saturday Chip but ended up splashing in the big lake cuz I didn't know where the new ramp was.Could you post directions?Did you have a chart or do you really need one?If so are they available in that area? Thanks

[hilltopper]

The city has always been good about parking on the streets with a boat and or trailer. As long as you are not blocking traffic or entry ways. :D

That can not be said about other 'border' towns around the big lake. Laconia reminds me of Rhode Island, in my opinion the most boater friendly state in the nation. :cool:

This post was from another site I frequent. It's a guy explaining one of the reasons he sold his boat:

"...The final straw was the dumb Laconia law of not being able to store a boat within sight of the road. Some old bird in the neighborhood went around and made a list of all the visible boats here. Complained to the town and they in turn gave me hassle about it. Same thing happened last year, but I pretty much ignored it. Fines were going to be issued this year though. LOL. No place here to store the boat out of sight. Too much money and paperwork to get a variance on my property to allow it. Kinda upset that I can't do with my property as I please. I mean geez, not allowed to keep my boat in the side yard??? Unreal. Anyways, it was the final straw..."

Doesn't sound very boater friendly to me if the above is accurate...

[magicrobotmonkey]

huh if that's true, a lot of my neighbors are getting fined. Heres a link to the boat launch:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=43.525412,-71.477857&t=h&sll=43.525612,-71.474904&sspn=0.006295,0.007724&ie=UTF8&ll=43.525433,-71.477748&spn=0.004566,0.007854&z=17