For two seasons between August, 2003, and September 29, 2005, the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center (CSC) had a dock array that exceeded 10,000 sf. A 200′ dock built with assistance under a federal Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) administered by Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife provided six to ten spaces for transient boat dockage and a “safe harbor” for boaters and CSC’s programs in its lee.

On September 29, 2005, the 200′ floating “breakwater/dock” broke at its center and sank in high winds and waves from the west. Wooden docks that had been protected by the “breakwater/dock” were also damaged during the storm.

CSC salvaged the “breakwater/dock” on December 31, 2005, and a large crane placed it on land near the shore north of the Moran property. At that point, CSC’s engineers evaluated the suitability of the damaged assembly to perform its intended function. They determined that, in view of its history and construction, restoring it for use as a wave attenuator would not be cost-effective. However, they did agree that it should be repaired with suitable modifications to serve as a dock if protected by a new, purpose-built, heavy-duty floating wave attenuator in order to continue fulfilling the requirements of the federal grant.

In the Fall of 2007, the first phase of repair began with repairs to the floatation tanks and the addition of 20,000 lb. of steel reinforcement to the structure. In the Winter/Spring of 2008, a dedicated group of board members, volunteers, staff and business partners spent hundreds of man-hours to complete the project. The renovated dock was successfully re-launched in June, 2008.

To protect CSC’s docks, a second round of three B.I.G’s assisted the center in funding a new 335’ floating wave attenuator located to the west of our docks. The new attenuator was launched in the Fall of 2008 and submerged to the lake bottom soon after for storage during the winter months. Engineered and manufactured by Kropf Marine of Parry Sound, Ontario, the new attenuator consists of five sections, each 65‘ long, 12’ wide and 7’ deep with 30’-long stabilizing finger floats that keep the structure from rolling in waves. The attenuator is marked and lighted at night to warn boaters of its presence.

All of the docks are secured to the lake’s bottom with the latest resilient anchor systems by Hazelett Marine of Colchester, Vermont.