TREMONT — As a busy working waterfront town and recreational boating center, Tremont is completing the next stage of improving its marine infrastructure, with an upgrade to its primary boat launch ramp.
The ramp is located at the town wharf, on the Bass Harbor shore in Bernard, one of Tremont’s five villages. Bass Harbor is a busy center of commercial fishing, boatbuilding, marinas, seafood dealers, boat tourism and access to offshore islands. Despite congested conditions during the summer, the harbor has retained its working-heritage character, in keeping with the wishes of voters as expressed in the town’s comprehensive plan.
According to Town Manager Millard Billings, the ramp upgrade’s cost of approximately $100,000 was funded by a Maine Department of Transportation Small Harbor Improvement Program grant of $50,000; the town’s $50,000 match, taken from wharf revenue; and a $5,000 contribution from the Maine Coast Heritage Trust program to preserve waterfront access.
The project included installation of new concrete paving planks to resurface the crumbling ramp. The 26-foot-wide ramp was widened by 10 feet, to 36 feet along its 120-foot length.
A new set of six, 8-foot-wide floats was placed along the north side of the ramp, mirroring the six existing floats on the south side. The town’s public works crew and harbormaster built the floats over the winter and handled installations.
The project provides more space for dinghies to tie up, and more space for people to launch their boats and get them tied off onto finger floats so they can remove their vehicles for the next person in line to launch.
This winter, the town also purchased a half-acre property adjacent to the wharf. The purchase was financed through harbor and wharf revenue.
“It allows us room for future growth,” said Billings. Plans have not yet been firmed up for its use. “It’s all geared toward keeping the working waterfront.”
The town purchased the wharf about 20 years ago in recognition of the community’s need to preserve working waterfront access.
Among the projects to improve the facility and the harbor since then were the wharf’s rehabilitation and creation of two parking areas; construction of the harbormaster shack, floats and float ramps; installation of a seafarer’s memorial; improvements to lighting, hoists and other equipment; and the dredging of the federal navigation area, which improved and expanded navigation and mooring.