Staff Writer

Despite many private facilities offering spots to launch your boat, Kennebunkport has no public area to set sail, and only few acceptable spots for shoving off in a canoe or kayak, Town Manager Larry Mead said. 

With some public parking and water access, Mead said Goose Rocks and Colony beaches are good spots to launch kayaks or canoes. Kennebunk and Kennebunkport Harbormaster James Nadeau said where the Mousam River crosses Route 9, near the intersection of Route 9 and Western Avenue and at the end of Grist Mill Lane are also good locations, but he said there are no publicly owned or state sponsored launches for larger boats. 

“It’s all privately owned, and unless someone does a nice thing and bequeaths land to the town, I don’t see it happening because of the high cost of property,” Nadeau said. 

He said Kennebunkport had the option to purchase Doane’s Wharf near the intersection of Route 9 and Western Avenue a few years back, but negotiations fell through and the town lost the option. 

“I was very supportive [of a public launch] because if you have access to the river, you have access to the ocean,” Nadeau said. 

The Maine Department of Conservation and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in conjunction with L.L. Bean, announced Saturday the launch of a new Web site using Google Earth technology featuring state-funded, public recreational boating facilities in the state – some of which are can get you near the Kennebunks. 

The closest boat launches to Kennebunk and Kennebunkport’s coastline are along the Saco River in Biddeford and Saco, or along the Webhannet River in Wells, Maine Boating Facilities Division Director George Powell said. 

“The coast of southern Maine is high priority [for public boat launches], but unfortunately it is difficult to find undeveloped and affordable property,” Powell said. 

The Boating Facilities Division is always keeping an eye on coastal and lake property and works with willing sellers, Powell said, but it is often challenging to find a lot large enough to accommodate a boat ramp with between 40 and 50 parking spaces to accommodate vehicles and trailers towing the boats. Once land is acquired, he said the next hurtle the division faces is going through permitting processes in each town, typically in shoreland zones. 

Powell said 456 public boat launch sites are listed on the Web site, allowing boaters or tourists to search for facilities, find detailed information regarding the facility and get directions to the launch. Previously, the division used longitude and latitude listings for launches, which Powell said were “not user friendly.”

Despite demand for launches along the southern coast of the state, Powell said the division watches coastal property but is not actively seeking a site in the Kennebunks for a public launch. 

Karen Duddy, executive director of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce,  said the majority of tourist coming to the area do not bring boats.

“People come up via boat,” Duddy said adding there are transient ports for people to tie up and come ashore. “There’s not much of a market for public boat launches.”

Even though there is not a public launch, Duddy said there are a number of private clubs and marinas offer slips to dock boats and launches for members. Nadeau said the privately owned launches at Chicks and Kennebunkport marinas often charge by the foot.

“In Kennebunk we have two rivers with wonderful access to the ocean,” Nadeau said, adding he’d like to see a public launch in the area for easier access.