Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor/Credit: Lauren Rosenthal

It’s been just over a year since the Carl E. Moses small boat harbor opened, and it’s hard to find anyone who’s not thrilled with the facility. But the city is still trying to figure out how to turn that enthusiasm into long-term commitments.

Ray Guardado is a deckhand aboard the 115’ crab vessel Bering Hunter, and it’s his first time tying up at the Carl E. Moses.

“Yeah, we normally have to tie up out at the Spit, and it’s a long way into town. So this is way more convenient, and the fresh water is right here, and we get internet service here, and they’ve got showers and everything we need up there. It’s perfect.”

Guardado’s effusive endorsement of the small boat harbor is echoed by other users. Jimmer McDonald owns the 42’ Miss Alyssa, and he uses the harbor’s loading dock regularly for his business. He says that’s part of the reason he moved his vessel to the Carl E. Moses as soon as it opened.

“I’ve been here ever since, and I love it.”

He’s not alone in that. But he is one of the few people who has actually bought a permanent slip at the harbor. The city has permanent commitments for about half of the 56 spaces. The other vessels that tie up are transients and only pay rent when they’re in port.

While that doesn’t seem to be hurting the harbor financially -- the Carl E. Moses has already generated more than half of a projected $600,000 in revenue for fiscal year 2013 -- Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin says that in the long run, she would like to see more of that money coming from moorage, as opposed to utilities and other fees.

“The moorage piece of it, it’s strong right now, but it’s probably 33, maybe 34 percent of what we projected for the total year in terms of revenues from moorage, so it’s a little bit behind where we would like to see the moorage rate. But the harbor itself is well on track."

And McLaughlin thinks that momentum is building for more vessels to buy in permanently.

“We’ve got several companies that are teetering on the edge -- you know, “can we get the space in a transient [slip]?” They’re hedging their bets as it were.”

Oystein Lone is one of those people. He owns the 98’ Pacific Sounder, and ties up at the Carl E. Moses whenever he’s in town. But he says for now, it just isn’t worth it to buy a permanent slip.

“Lone: We’ve been thinking about buying one, but so far it isn’t feasible. We spend more time fishing than we would spend in here.
SJ: So what would be the advantages of getting a permanent slip?
Lone: You’d have a permanent spot if it’s going to fill up here. I think it’s starting to, so, you know, we might be out of luck here in a while, and that would be a tough deal."

In November and December, getting shut out of the harbor was a very real possibility. McLaughlin says there were only four open slips, “and two of those were positions that were rafted positions, so outside another vessel.”

But in other months, including right now, when most boats are out fishing, the harbor can look pretty empty. McLaughlin says that’s where more people buying permanent moorage would make a big difference.

She says the city has been marketing the facility to potential customers, and that with a year’s worth of data under their belts, it will be easier to start identifying ways to make the harbor even more attractive.