Work is underway to replace the town dock at Potts Point, which was destroyed by back-to-back storms in January 2024, with a more resilient structure.
The dock, at the southern tip of Harpswell Neck, was damaged in a storm on Jan. 9, 2024, before being finished off by a second storm a few days later. The 26 people who have permits to tie up at the dock have been using a haul-off dinghy to access seasonal floating docks where their boats are tied up.
The dock is being replaced with a sturdier structure that is 2 feet taller and 2 feet wider than the original, at a cost of roughly $200,000. Almost half of the amount will come from an insurance payout for the old dock, with additional reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Voters approved the project at Town Meeting in March 2025. The Harpswell Select Board awarded the project to Custom Float Services Inc., of South Portland, which bid $199,400 for the work.
Scott Dyer, general manager of Custom Float Services, has said the project is proceeding as planned.
“I still feel fairly confident that we will have everything completed by end of May, with maybe a few punch-list items that always occur during the last part of the job,” Dyer told town officials by email on Wednesday, April 29.
Michael Dana, who lives next to the dock and advocated for its replacement, has been documenting the work. Dana said the new structure is shaping up to be much sturdier than its predecessor.
“The dock is going to be a wonderful, robust asset for our town,” he said in an email. “It is being built with substantial structural components, higher and wider. This one should outlast all of us.”
