New Cattle Landing Dock

[bilproject]

How's the new dock coming? Work was suppose to start the day after Columbus Day. Could any one post a picture? Been waiting 35 years to see a new dock at Cattle.

[Bear247]

As of the weekend of October 23rd construction still hadn't started...

[Bear Island South]

Still the same old dock as of 10/31.
We are heading up this morning;I will post pictures if I see any activity.
According to the RFP, it will be a floating dock, the contractor has until 12/1/11 to complete.

[Bear Island South]

Construction has started, the concrete decking is off.

[Tired of Waiting]

Originally Posted by bilproject

How's the new dock coming? Work was suppose to start the day after Columbus Day. Could any one post a picture? Been waiting 35 years to see a new dock at Cattle.

And I clicked on this thread expecting to see the local farmers loading and un-loading their "bovines."

ToW

[bilproject]

Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting

And I clicked on this thread expecting to see the local farmers loading and un-loading their "bovines."

ToW

Cattle landing is so named as it was the point where cattle were ferried out to Bear Island to graze. And I thought you were going to say you were tired of waiting for the new dock!

[Tired of Waiting]

Originally Posted by bilproject

Cattle landing is so named as it was the point where cattle were ferried out to Bear Island to graze. And I thought you were going to say you were tired of waiting for the new dock!

Wouldn't that be dangerous? Putting your cattle with the Bears?

No the dock is one ToW I don't have

ToW

[sluggo]

Well the new docks that meredith bought to be installed at cattle landing still havnt been deliverd to the marina. All materials were supposed to be in place when the bid went out to do the replacement. Grape vine says at least december till the new dock gets here so dont hold your breath everyone.

[lakesregionbuilder]

Last I knew the delivery of the docks had been delayed until the first week in December

[fatlazyless]

The new dock looks like a very sturdy concrete and timber construction that floats up & down w/ the lake level, and needs no water circulators to protect it from the ice. Not having any ice eaters cound be helpfull to sno-mo's and ice fishermen haul'n a bobhouse with an atv because there would be no open water down at the snow-mo & atv access entry spot.

The new dock looks pretty similar to the old dock in length and width and construction, except that the new one is a floating dock, while the old one was not. Somewhere, I recall reading this new dock has a price tag of about $125,000.

[MikeF-NH]

I launch from Shep Browns often which I know is just north of Cattle Landing but don't know much about Cattle Landing. Is this a public dock? Is there a ramp? Whats the point of a public dock if there is no ramp???? Just a place for island residents to dock and grab their cars to go into town????????

[Mink Islander]

Yes, it's owned by the Town of Meredith and there's a public parking lot directly above it. No ramp, well, because the slope is so steep there it wouldn't be feasible. And what's so wrong with having a dock the primarily services island residents? They get virtually nothing else from the town. Not such a bad deal.

FLL, I'm not so sure they won't stilll need ice eaters. You wouldn't want the ice locking around the floating sections and squeezing them til they break or bend. For the most part, the ice eaters aren't a big issue there so long as they aim them properly.

[MikeF-NH]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

Yes, it's owned by the Town of Meredith and there's a public parking lot directly above it. No ramp, well, because the slope is so steep there it wouldn't be feasible. And what's so wrong with having a dock the primarily services island residents? They get virtually nothing else from the town. Not such a bad deal.

FLL, I'm not so sure they won't stilll need ice eaters. You wouldn't want the ice locking around the floating sections and squeezing them til they break or bend. For the most part, the ice eaters aren't a big issue there so long as they aim them properly.

Hi MI,
In reviewing my post, the way I strung a few questions together, it certainly seems that I was insinuating that I was calling out how the town spends it's money. Actually, I was looking to see if the dock was available for anyone to use or if there were limitations like a permit or sticker required.

More specifically, I come to the lake for the Spring Salmon Derby each year with a group of 8 other guys (4 boats) and stay for a long weekend. We begin our search for rentals in a few weeks and, in past years, have avoided Island rentals because we didn't want to risk a ticket by leaving boats docked at Sheps when we went to town for supplies or went to Derby HQ each night for a few hours. If the CL docks allow for unattended docking for "island residents/renters" for a few hours then this opens loads of options for us in the area (particuarly on Bear).

That said, I was a bit surprised that your response said that island residents get nothing else from the town. What happens if there is a fire or crime on the island (police/fire service needed)? Who handles it? How is trash disposal handled? These questions are irrelevant to the thread, just answering my curiosity.

IMHO, if the town provides no service, it should extract no tax and islands should be considers "part of the lake...like the water" and thus untaxable and unsupported at the same time. If the town extracts taxes, it should provide the same services to mainland residents - nothing more, nothing less.

[Mink Islander]

Didn't mean to over interpret your comment.

The CL dock is open to the public but has a 3 hour limit currently just like Shep's. No reserved spaces for island residents. Not sure how tightly the time limit is enforced.

Yes, there are fire boats. The Meredith one is over at the Y Landing marina. By the time it would get to most any island property it will be working to keep the fire from spreading to your neighbor's house, but probably too late to save yours. True no matter what town a island is part of. After a series of winter break ins and a generous snowmobile donation, the Meredith PD has winter access to the islands now. No idea whether they have a boat. Crime not much of an issue beyond break ins. A long while back Meredith did provide dumpsters at Sheps but stopped because it didn't like dealing with the mess. Most islanders have a rental slip and dispose of household trash there. I rent at Sheps and use their dumpsters some but more often go to Glendale. My place is in Gilford which does provide dumpsters for island residents. And dock parking reserved for island residents only. Really nice things that no other town on the lake offers.

I wouldn't avoid island rentals just because of the public docks. 3 hours is plenty of time to go out to dinner and enforcement at Sheps is not tight, especially early in the season and in the evening. Just don't leave a boat overnight. My 2cents anyway.

[fatlazyless]

A three hour limit cannot be correct. Maybe it is a three day limit? Will go check the smallish sign in the rear of the lot and get back. It's obvious to me that cars and commercial vans and pickups get parked for maybe a week sometimes without being moved, too.

Cattle Landing is a good spot to launch either a kayak, sno-mo or atv out onto the lake, and there's no speed limit what-so-ever for sno-mos on the ice!

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

A three hour limit cannot be correct. Maybe it is a three day limit? Will go check the smallish sign in the rear of the lot and get back. It's obvious to me that cars and commercial vans and pickups get parked for maybe a week sometimes without being moved, too.

Cattle Landing is a good spot to launch either a kayak, sno-mo or atv out onto the lake, and there's no speed limit what-so-ever for sno-mos on the ice!

I think you misunderstood the reply FLL. The 3 hour sign is for the boats being tied up, not the cars being parked in the lot.

[Bear247]

Does anyone know if the new dock has been completed yet?

[fatlazyless]

Yes, the new dock is complete and open for public use again. All construction items have been removed. Was there today. Probably the three huge fiberglass pipes that hold the floating dock in place while it floats need to be trimmed to size but otherwise it looks complete. Unlike the old dock, this new one has three big vertical fiberglass pipes and pipe holder socket brackets for boaters to worry about.....probably not as user friendly as the old dock but maybe I'm wrong?

It looks like the type of a floating dock one might see at a U.S. Navy base, or someplace like that........super heavy duty and do not think any water circulators will be needed to protect it from the ice......time will tell? It cost $125,000 .....supposedly!

[NoBozo]

Pictures FLL:..?? I have never seen floating docks that will withstand the Crush of Hard ICE. Even down here in RI, in salt water yet, floating docks are hauled out for the winter...OR... they gamble ...OR ...have circulators. NB

[fatlazyless]

www.tmpmarine.com/pages/docks/docks.html

The first diagram is similar to the new Cattle Landing dock, and it has three external pipe guide brackets; one at the outermost end, and two on the south side, along with three big fiberglass pipes which will probably be trimmed somewhat since they are much longer than is ever needed for high water.

[Bear Island South]

We were in Meredith yesterday, I had to take a look and see this floating concrete dock...the dock is sturdy and solid. The contractors did not do a great job with the cleanup however, there is remains of the old cribs scattered on the lake bottom adjacent to the south side of the new dock. Could be a hazard to lower units when the water is low.
The fiberglass piles are an eyesore and take up docking space, I would guess about 7 twenty footers could be at the dock at one time.

[fatlazyless]

Thought I'd bring this up because today's August 20 LaDaSun has it's headline article on a public, Town of Meredith meeting, held yesterday where about 20 Bear Islanders expressed their problems with the dock. Their problems include; #1; the end area cannot always be easily or safely used as the long-time traditional spot for drop-offs or pickups, as was the case with the old stationary dock due to the large pylon and pylon bracket which may be going up & down with incoming waves or wakes, #2, the floating up & down action, caused by either wind or motorboat wakes, on the very sturdy concrete and timber dock, sometimes damages boats tied along side the dock, and, #3, the aluminum gangway as well as the two sets of standard wood construction steps are somewhat of a challenge for people who use wheelchairs.

This dock reportedly cost something like $125,000, and is very different from the one it replaced which was a traditional wood timber type dock. The old dock was a stationary, non-floating dock, constructed with a heavy timber and rocks cribbing below water, and concrete and timber above water. It was probably in place for 50-years or more, before being replaced in late 2011 due mostly to ice damage and old age.

Someone at the meeting had a good suggestion, according to the news article, I thought, of framing over the new floating concrete dock with timbers and building it out about three feet on all three sides, to effectively eliminate the projections that surround the three pilings and make it a more regular shape dock which would create a design similar to the old dock.

[CTYankee]

Who's the wizard that came up with the design of the Cattle Landing dock? Besides not being user friendly it's only the second season and already the lights have stopped working. I can't believe Meredith actually approved of the design and paid 125K.

[Bear Island South]

I use it quite often and its a piece of crap if you ask me...and because the town does not want damage to the pilings in the winter they are running the ice eaters on the side we use to access the ice.

[rick35]

I stopped to check out the dock today and i can see where the piling sleeves could damage a boat. It really is a poor design for docking. Its closer for us than Sheps but we worry about vehicle damage in the parking lot more than damage to the boat. We never use the Cattle Landing as we had damage done to a vehicle a few years back. We heard there was a lot of vandalism in the lot so we've stayed away.

[AC2717]

what a terrible design, why were the pylons not inside of the frame of the dock like everywhere else in the world
how stupid

[fatlazyless]

With its location on the lake, and the free-to-anyone, no restrictions, no Town of Meredith facilities decal required for parking; the Cattle Landing town parking lot and dock makes for a super-duper kayak and canoe parking and loading spot. Some cars seem to prefer to park on nearby Patricia Drive, a steep paved town road, to avoid the summer-time car crunch in the town's dirt p-lot.

For kayaks and canoes, the dock problems listed above apply to motor boats, but do not really apply to kayaks or canoes so much because they probably get dragged up onto the sandy and grassy shoreline, or get tied to the dock, or get dragged up onto the concrete dock. There is obviously a big difference between a kayak or canoe and a motorboat.

Car-top boats like kayaks & canoes only have a very short distance to be carried to get on the water.....thru the 60" fence opening (that is also used by snowmobiles/atv's/bobhouses-in-tow in winter except for the open water problem caused by the ice eat'n, water circulators) and down the short, grassy, somewhat steep, slope.......and what a fantastic, beautifull kayak area it is. It is a short paddle around the bend to the right (west) to the medium big-water area of the lake that's between south Bear Island, Mark Isl, Timber Isl, Governor's Island in Gilford, Meredith Neck, and Stonedam Island in Meredith.

Stonedam Island is a conservation easement island that is all forested and has a hiking trail and several small natural beach areas, and is about a 1 1/2 mile paddle from the Cattle Landing put-in and parking spot. A boating map is strongly suggested because, except for Dolly Island, there are no signs out on the water telling you which island is which and all islands are private property except for Stonedam Island, and maybe Horse Island, which is very small and uninhabited.

And, if you like it here and just won the PowerBall, then there's a terrific house nearby at a very prominent spot www.highdomain.com that's up for sale at 3.2-million dollars, assessed for 2.05-mil with prop taxes of about $2200/month. It has two 'for sale' signs facing the water!

There's not even a sign at the Cattle Landing town dock & parking lot which probably makes it the one and only town facility without a sign ......... so maybe it is supposed to be a secret or something!

And, the 50-cent payphone that was next to the dock for many, many years, attached to the Fairpoint Communications switching equipment, concrete shed located directly on the shoreline has been removed.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

...... so maybe it is supposed to be a secret or something!

Cattle Landing is indeed one of the lakes secrets. Or at least is was.....

[SIKSUKR]

Actually, it looks like there were openings in the dock for pilings and they were filled.

[fatlazyless]

From the article in the Citizen over the weekend, someone from the town DPW says that people just do not know how to tie a boat to a dock or something like that, and there was another town meeting scheduled for tonight, Monday, August 26 at 7-pm for further discussion. Maybe, he'll be there for a little 'show & tell' to demo the correct procedure for tying off a boat to the Cattle Landing dock?

Not having the end of the dock easily usable for drop-offs and pick-ups must be a big disappointment after that was how the old dock was used for about 70-years or more. ...and this is progress.......dag-kna-bit!

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

From the article in the Citizen over the weekend, someone from the town DPW says that people just do not know how to tie a boat to a dock or something like that, and there was another town meeting scheduled for tonight, Monday, August 26 at 7-pm for further discussion. Maybe, he'll be there for a little 'show & tell' to demo the correct procedure for tying off a boat to the Cattle Landing dock?

Not having the end of the dock easily usable for drop-offs and pick-ups must be a big disappointment after that was how the old dock was used for about 70-years or more. ...and this is progress.......dag-kna-bit!

Over the years I have given the Meredith DPW guys a ride to the island a couple of times. They are nice guys but the idea that they know more about docking a boat than people that live on an island is laughable.

[fatlazyless]

...being totally bored out of my my mind and having nothing better to do right now....I googled "Cattle Landing town dock" and came up with a quote from the SBONH forum quoting the Meredith DPW on what's the best way to tie a boat to the Cattle Landing floating dock so as to avoid any damage....

....quoted loosely ......June 9, 2012, from the Laconia Daily Sun .......from the Meredith DPW.......'Loosely tied boats may sustain damage from the floating dock, while boats tied tightly to the vertical timbers and using boat bumpers will be ok'......'It's up to you to put boat bumpers out ......It wasn't the docks fault that the gentleman's boat got damaged.....it's up to you to put boat bumpers out.'