125-year-old boathouse collapses into Paugus Bay

LAKEPORT — There were no injuries after a 125-year-old boathouse at Morin's Moorings collapsed into Paugus Bay on Thursday.

Jordan Tankard came out of his apartment at 7 Sheridan St. on Thursday afternoon when he noticed that his stepfather's green boathouse had collapsed into the bay.

“It must have been the moorings out farther that it fell off,” Tankard said, adding that the dock structures in the first few bays were brand new. “I'm surprised it could have gotten so much weight on it.”

The exact time the structure collapsed wasn't immediately clear.

“Around 11 we started noticing the lean, then I started seeing the separation,” said neighbor Glenn Buttermore, who lives on North Street. “I used to keep my boat down there.”

Tankard wasn't sure who to call for help. There were no injuries, nothing was on fire, and nothing was floating down the bay. It appeared that a witness called Marine Patrol, who then called the Laconia Fire Department to make sure no one was inside the structure.

After confirming no one was inside, the fire department thought it best to contact the state Department of Environmental Services due to the various boats and machinery spotted inside the open bay door of the boathouse.

On the scene, a lawnmower and snowblower could be viewed partially submerged in the first bay. To the left, the building's roof was completely caved in, covering a small aluminum boat with an outboard motor.

“Well, the good thing is no one got hurt or killed,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jay Ellingson, gesturing to the mower and blower. “What little gas is in those, if they're sealed, get 'em out of there and they'll drip dry, the only thing is we don't know what's in there.”

Any submerged vehicles, engines or chemicals could potentially pose a threat to the drinking water in the area, but no spills were immediately visible.

“I don't know what's in the water, and that's the big issue,” said city code enforcement inspector Glenn Caron.

“It can't go out further into the water, or else it's going to be a navigation hazard,” Ellingson said. “The good thing is, there's no ice. It's not a foot of ice out here, so they'll be able to get a boat around it.”

Ellingson added that he hadn't seen a boathouse of this size collapse in his time with the department.

Shortly after advising Tankard to call the insurance company, the remains of the boathouse started to snap and creak, stopping any immediate attempts to retrieve the lawnmower and snowblower.

The exact cause of the 125-year-old building's demise wasn't immediately clear, but Caron stated that the heavy snow on the roof “didn't help.”

“We've had house collapses,” Ellingson said. “We had a place over in Wildwood Village. The roof caved in and pushed the walls out and there was pink insulation all over the neighborhood like the house blew up.”