New Cattle Landing Dock

CTYankee · 08-21-2013, 12:06 PM

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 · 08-21-2013, 05:50 PM

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 · 08-21-2013, 09:44 PM

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 · 08-22-2013, 07:52 AM

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 · 08-22-2013, 09:59 AM

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 · 08-22-2013, 01:58 PM

Quote:

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 · 08-26-2013, 04:01 PM

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

fatlazyless · 08-26-2013, 07:54 PM

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 · 08-27-2013, 09:47 AM

Quote:

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 · 08-29-2013, 10:18 AM

...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.'

08-21-2013, 12:06 PM	#1
CTYankee Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Guilford, CT and Bear Island, NH Posts: 29 Thanks: 483 Thanked 20 Times in 9 Posts	Poorly Designed 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.

08-22-2013, 07:52 AM	#4
AC2717 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maynard, MA & Paugus Bay Posts: 2,577 Thanks: 755 Thanked 355 Times in 267 Posts	what a terrible design, why were the pylons not inside of the frame of the dock like everywhere else in the world how stupid __________________ Capt. of the "No Worries" Last edited by AC2717; 08-22-2013 at 02:02 PM.

08-22-2013, 09:59 AM	#5
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,757 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,012 Times in 737 Posts	....kayak put-in & parking spot! 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. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 08-29-2013 at 11:56 AM. Reason: ... corrected 48" fence opening to 60" fence opening

08-26-2013, 04:01 PM	#7
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	Actually, it looks like there were openings in the dock for pilings and they were filled. __________________ SIKSUKR

08-26-2013, 07:54 PM	#8
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,757 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,012 Times in 737 Posts	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! __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 08-27-2013 at 07:06 AM.

08-21-2013, 05:50 PM	#2
Bear Island South Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Southboro, MA Posts: 579 Thanks: 75 Thanked 384 Times in 170 Posts	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.

08-21-2013, 09:44 PM	#3
rick35 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bear Island/Merrimack Posts: 807 Thanks: 58 Thanked 203 Times in 130 Posts	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.

The Following User Says Thank You to AC2717 For This Useful Post:
Frosty (06-25-2014)

08-29-2013, 10:18 AM	#10
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,757 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,012 Times in 737 Posts	...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.' __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake!