Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave R
Yup, most towns in NY have a great plan for public dock use and it's a fantastic state for recreational boating because of it. The popular towns charge for a stay and the less popular towns don't charge and often have incentives (free shore-power, bathrooms/showers, laundry facilities, shuttle buses etc.) to encourage people to stop and tie up (and spend money locally). It's simple supply and demand and based on extensive cruising there, I can say it works quite well. The warm and welcoming atmosphere I have experienced in NY waterfront towns is exactly opposite of what I experience here in NH. We could do so much better...
Meredith and Wolfeboro could be raking in big bucks all the time. Alton, Center Harbor and Weirs Beach could fill their docks with overnight boaters that pay a reasonable transient fee and spend a lot of money at local businesses. Imagine the bar bills people would rack up if they did not have to pilot their boat back to their dock in the dark. Additionally, imagine the breakfast joint revenues the next day... I think we can all agree that areas that have a few thriving restaurants typically also have thriving retail and hospitality establishments. People want to go where other people go.
One other thing that could really help with crowded town docks is to allow rafting where there's space for it. That's pretty normal outside NH too... It's crazy that with all the space between docks in Meredith that they don't allow rafting there; it's ideal for it. A Dockmaster could even offer discounts to incentivize people to allow rafting to their boat.
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Reads like plan to make the docks a miserable, unavailable place for local residents. Thanks goodness our policy makers know that maximizing dock and breakfast(!) revenues is NOT our ultimate goal