Devin Teer, Jake Archer, and Hayden Weihl were able to mix pleasure with business at the Harmar Rowing Club/Marietta High School Boathouse on Gilman Avenue Tuesday.
The three Tiger Navy rowers got to swim in the Muskingum River, and also help attach four brand new sections of dock, lowered into the water by a boom truck, operated by Mike Schaad of Contractors Building Supply.
Teer, Archer and Weihl were just two of several local people on the scene, lending a hand.
"Those docks are extremely heavy, nearly 1,000 pounds apiece," said MHS boys crew coach Eric Dowler. "And these things aren't going to happen without volunteers and the support of the community and the community foundation."
Dowler said the money used to construct the docks for the Harmar Rowing Club was obtained through the Marietta Community Foundation.
"We proposed a grant, and they accepted it and gave us $5,000," the coach said. "It was estimated that the project of building the docks would cost about $20,000. But with the help of everybody and everybody putting all their efforts together, we did it for about $5,000."
Doug McKenzie, a rowing enthusiast and supporter, gave credit to Contractors Building Supply. "They've been a great help," he said. "They gave us a discount on the lumber, donated a (boom) truck, and have done everything they can to support us."
Helping to defray costs, the club was also able to sell three sections of the older dock, which were not in the greatest of shape. "They were pretty much unsafe," said Susan Barengo, a former president of the Harmar Rowing Club. "So when we got the money for the new docks, we were thrilled. This has been a dream come true, and by building these new docks ourselves, we've saved about $15,000 - and that's awesome."
After the boom truck was loaded with the four sections in the Harmar Rowing Club parking area, the vehicle had to navigate the straight and narrow dirt road adjacent to Marietta College boathouse to reach the river. Then, from a relatively steep bank, the truck used its outriggers to stablize itself before lowering the dock sections, one at a time, into the water below.
With the volunteers at the scene, everything appeared to go like clockwork. From start to finish, it took about 1-1/2 hours to put and link the sections of dock in the water.
"Once it hits the water, it's pretty easy to move them around," Dowler said.
The docks will be put to good use at 5 p.m. Monday when the Harmar Rowing Club hosts a "Learn to Row" camp for students. The first session will run from Monday to July 31; the second one, from Aug. 3 to Aug. 7. More information on the camp can be obtained by calling Barengo at 525-4346, or going to wwwtigernavy.org. "We will have now almost 120 feet of dock," Dowler said. "And it has to be probably one of the longest docks for a boathouse on the east coast. These docks are unique because they're lower to the water, and will allow us to be quicker, in and out of the water."
