Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo) is commencing a project to widen the boatyard slipway at Dun Laoghaire Harbour's inner Coal Harbour by removing the old track slip from its eastern side.
The original 'patent' slipway remains underneath and will be exposed to provide a wider and safer launching area.
DLRCoCo plans to retain the turntable and track slip in storage for future use. It is proposed that the patent slip be dismantled and put into storage, given the heavy congestion on the adjacent slipway at busy times of the year and the need to increase the available width of the slipway for safety and operational reasons. An alternative site for the patent slip is intended to be identified at some location in the harbour and re-erected.
DLRCoCo says the project should take four to five weeks to complete, and it will endeavour to minimise disruption to slipway users throughout.
Waterfront observers have described the new year refurbishment as an 'early win' in the town's National Watersports Campus project that aims to increase public participation at Ireland's biggest boating centre.
A computer-generated image of how the Dun Laoghaire Harbour slipway might look when reinstated along with the envisaged wider apron for watersport users Image: courtesy DLRCoCo
This type of slipway was patented in 1819 by Thomas Morton, a shipbuilder of Leith, Scotland. It consists of an inclined plane, down which a timber cradle is lowered into the water on fixed metal rails. The vessel is floated onto the cradle and pulled out of the water. The use of such a facility has declined with the advent of the town marina, yacht club storage and modern travel hoists nearby, as well as the decline of local boat building.
An historical report has been produced as a written and photographic record of the patent slip at Dun Laoghaire Harbour and is available here
