I would like to thank everybody who rallied to stand my boat up after it rolled over on the ramp at Letnikof. It was an amazing effort by a lot of people, and I sincerely appreciate it. This unfortunate outcome was a result of a dangerous situation we have here in Haines. The ramps that don’t require us to move power lines are steep, and sometimes we are forced to use marginal equipment.
The municipalities of Skagway, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Hoonah accommodate their fishermen while Haines makes no effort. Many townsites provide well-maintained equipment with experienced operators to pull boats and make money doing so.
We also have a gentle sloping ramp that leads to a large parking lot with room for 30 boats or more. Those of us with larger boats are hesitant to use the new town ramp because it requires pushing up high voltage wires to exit the harbor parking lot. Fishermen have been denied the use of the conveniently-located parking lot for boat storage and are forced to maneuver their 30,000 lbs. boats around town to store them. It is a waste, and it doesn’t make sense to not use this option.
The town has the equipment to move boats safely, a gently sloping ramp and a huge empty parking lot to store boats. In utilizing all this we would have a safer system that the borough could profit from. We have a clear way to remedy this situation before someone gets hurt.
Dennis Gudmundson