By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

The Kennebunk River Club Boathouse on Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport has been sitting on its original pilings for nearly 120 years. 

The boathouse was built in 1889 at the same time the Kennebunk River Club was founded. It was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1975, and is now being threatened by structural weaknesses. 

The two-story building rests on the banks of the Kennebunk River, close to where the river meets the ocean. The pilings, driven into the ground, support the structure and allow the river to flow beneath the building. A bulkhead wraps around the sides of the grey-shingled boathouse to buffer against the rising river. 

Kennebunk River Club Commodore Dave Goodwin said the boathouse is used for Kennebunk River Club’s private association social events. Club members can host dinners, parties and other social activities there and members can dock their boats in one of 29 slips. The boathouse also has kayaks and canoes available for members.

“It is the soul of activity and the soul of the club. The boathouse is in essentially original condition,” said Kennebunkport resident Stanley Fineman.

But, Fineman said the pilings are failing and the bulkhead that protects the boathouse from the flow of the river needs to be replaced in order to maintain the historic building., Fineman is heading the Kennebunk River Club Preservation Foundation as a fundraising effort to support construction costs.

While the pilings are original, Goodwin said the bulkhead was replaced approximately 30 years ago. 

“Our engineering company has advised us to replace the bulkhead with a steel sheath that will go down to refusal [solid base]. Moving the building won’t jeopardize the structure. Our building mover assures us the building is fairly easy to move because it is basically empty,” Goodwin said. 

Goodwin said the plan is to move the building off the pilings, temporarily place it in the yard, replace the pilings and the bulkhead and return the building to its original position. 

The Kennebunkport Planning Board has discussed the club’s construction plans at their last two meetings. The application was approved at the July 16 meeting and Goodwin said he hopes to start construction by October.  

Goodwin said the construction will move fast because it has to be complete by May the latest so as not to affect the summer season. He said it will be an expensive project, and estimated it to cost several million dollars.

The Kennebunk River Club Preservation Foundation has scheduled an auction for 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 at the boathouse.

The money raised during the auction will go toward the cost of construction. The auction is open to general public with free admission and has a host of items to bid on. Fineman said some of the big-ticket items include box tickets to a Red Sox versus Yankees game, a weekend in Nantucket, in-home dinner for 10, original works of art, sports packages and other vacations. As of The Post deadline, Fineman said there are 36 items available for bids.