Rock Island to Get New Dock at Schweibert Riverfront Park

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced recently it would fund a transient boat dock at the existing Schweibert Riverfront Park in the City of Rock Island, Ill., through its Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program. The park is situated midway between St. Louis, Mo., and St. Paul, Minn., on the Mississippi River. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the City of Rock Island, will receive $1,500,000 and match that amount with $565,000 to add a floating dock system that will accommodate 23 transient boating slips.

“Rock Island is a beautiful escape for folks from larger cities in the upper Midwest,” said Julie Morin, grant coordinator with the Service. “The Boating Infrastructure Grant Program provides the opportunity for towns like Rock Island to expand their capabilities to accommodate more visitors and thus provide an economic boost for the local community.”

Funding for the BIG Program comes from the Sport Fishing and Boating Trust Fund, formerly known as the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, which boaters and manufacturers support through excise and other taxes on certain fishing and boating equipment and boat fuels.

Cave Springs Marina Purchased
The owners of State Dock Marina on Lake Cumberland purchased Cave Springs Marina, also on Lake Cumberland, at an auction in late April. Cave Springs was reported to have experienced financial difficulties after it was forced to relocate when the Corps of Engineers lowered
the lake.

Bill Jasper, president of State Docks and one of the owners, said he intends to continue the vision of Cave Spring’s previous owner Ed Slusser, and “complete a marina that will provide the best boating experience possible.”

Plans include paving the parking lots, installing a septic system and covering the outdoor eating area of the restaurant.
Cave Springs customers will receive the same benefits as State Dock customers, such as discounts in the ship’s store and on fuel and admission to events, he said.

Major Drydock Basin Coming to GIWW
White-Spunner Construction, of Mobile, Ala., and Saunders Yachtworks, of Gulf Shores, Ala., broke ground in April on a drydock basin in Gulf Shores, establishing a major vessel-repair complex on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The $10 million-plus project is funded by the city of Gulf Shores, Saunders Yachtworks, and the Economic Development Agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.

White-Spunner received a $5.1 million contract to build the second phase of the project, which has been in planning and design for six years.

The project is expected to last 15 months and to create 180 construction jobs during that time. The facility is on 14 acres owned by the city and its airport authority, leased to Saunders in a long-term arrangement. It is expected to draw customers from the northern Gulf Coast, south Florida and the nation’s inland rivers up to the Great Lakes.

The city of Gulf Shores ultimately will contribute $1.2 million in matching funds, representing a total infrastructure investment of $5.9 million. Saunders already has invested $3.6 million in the Gulf Shores project, including land and construction costs. The company completed a 15,000-square-foot headquarters on the Gulf Shores site in 2009 that includes shops, warehouses and offices. The company will invest another $1.2 million for drydock machinery and lift equipment.

TowBoatUS Now Available at Watts Bar Lake
Onwater towing service, TowBoatUS, is now available at the Tennessee River’s Watts Bar Lake. Capt Shane O’Neal, a 34-year-old from Chattanooga, recently established the service at Euchee Marina in Ten Mile, Tenn.

The Watts Bar Lake location is the latest of five sites where O’Neal offers assistance to Tennessee River boaters. The others are Chickamauga Lake, Scottsboro and Rogersville, Ala.,
and Nickajack Lake.

O’Neal said he opened TowBoatUS at Watts Bar Lake to handle the increase in calls and speed response times, as he previously had needed to trailer his towboats to the lake. Most boaters call for routine assistance such as running out of gas, soft groundings and dead batteries.

“Folks will run their radios all day at Sand Island, then when it’s time to go home their battery isn’t able to start the motor,” said O’Neal.

All five locations have response vessels fully rigged for marine towing and salvage work and ready to go at a moment’s notice, including extra fuel, engine fluids, pumps, dive gear and battery “jump packs” to handle dead batteries. The boats have distinctive red hulls, white bow stripes and “TowBoatUS” lettering along their sides.