The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-11-05
Fleet Anchorage Discussed
Capt. Smith
 Far0rs Site
 Abope Span
Skipper of Va k obi Says Dredging at Location
 Would Be Easy

tical ideas with regard 10 small poat sacinties are advanced by Capt. Tom Smith of the Yakobi. Capt. Smith 'celieves that the proper place for mall boat harbor is above the new Douglas bridge Rock from the A. !. mine could be dumped from the ,gidge making a rock fill from the here line to the edge of deep water n the channel A rock fill at that ,sint would give small boats excel snt protection from the elements, Capt. Smith declares.
 Dredging operations above the ridge would be comparatively sim ple, as opposed to dredging at the proposed site, where, according to Capt. Smith, dredging would endan- ger the Willoughby Avenue fill, the sosmation of docks in that locality, and the pipe line of the Alaska Elec- tric Light and Power Company and the formation of ice in the still, .and-locked water in the basin be- hind the government dock, would close all but the outer edge of a small boat harbor at that location iuring a cold winter.
 Sea Wall Protection
 A sea wall extending into the chan mel to the edge of deep water at Norway Point would protect the small boats at anchor in harbor above the bridge from fields of ice going out in the spring.
 The cost of the rock fill under the bridge and the sea wall at Norway Point as proposed by Capt. Smith. combined with the cost of dredging at that location, would not, he stat- ed, be as great as the cost of dredg- ing and improving the proposed site behind the Government dock, and the small boat harbor above the bridge would offer accommodation to meet the needs of Juneau for many years to come.
 Further accommodations, if the need arose, could be provided by a rock fill under the bridge from the Douglas side of the channel, and by filling in the deep water channel at that point to a depth of 6 or 8 fathoms with rock from the A. J.. mine. Halibut boats could anchor at any place in the channel if it were filled in to that depth, Capt Smith stated, and he added that he has often anchored his boat, the Ya- kobi, in the deep water channel un- der existing conditions.
 Rock Fill
 Winter storage facilities could be provided at small expense without dredging by rock fill under the Government dock for protection from the elements, and a tier of cradles behind the dock, where small boats could be drawn from the water at high tide for long term occupancy, Capt. Smith said. e5
 Another improvement suggested by Capt. Smith, would increase the eff ficiency uf the upper city float. The channel in front of the Pacific Coast dock, the Cold Storage dock and the City dock, could be filled in with rock dumped from A. J. barges to a depth of 50 feet, which would be pedmitted by Federal authorities. Then the face of the docks could be extended 30 or 40 feet, increasing the space now available for small boat moorage at the upper City float.
 Permit Entrance
 The bar at the upper end of Gas tineau Channel could be dredged to depth permitting the entrance of fishing boats with draft not ex- ceeding six feet at very little ex- pense, Capt. Smith said. The chan nel was dredged several years ago and could be put back to the original depth by dredging operations at two points where streams emptying into the channel have filled it with sedi- ment. By dredging at these two points and putting in fumes to carry the water from the streams, the channel would be permanently op- ened to small boats, Capt Smith said The cost of dredging the chan mel deeper than necessary for small fishing boats would be relatively ex- pensive because of a great deal of rock work, he stated. 1
 One very important feature of the small boat situation is the necessity for i1arbor master, Capt Smith aid. to enforce harbor regulations Existing city ordinances governing moorage at the upper City float have not been enforced. he said, because there has been no one in authority. Tn the event that new and effic- lent small boat harbor is provided; small craft will visit Juneau in in- creasingly large numbers and ap- pointment of harbor master will become a positive necessity.