Mattapoisett Harbormaster back in water with loaner boat

Aug 12, 2018

The Mattapoisett Harbormaster Department has a boat again, but it's still not its own.

The department has been without its own boat since winter when its 25-foot Sea-Hawk was damaged by coastal storms and drydocked for repairs. The 13-year-old boat is still at a boat repair yard.

Harbormaster Jill Simmons was able to borrow Mattapoisett Fire Rescue's small boat to fill the void until her department got its boat back. But the engine on the small fire rescue boat caught fire, July 19, while on a training exercise in the harbor and that option seemed to evaporate.

However, the fire rescue boat motor was quickly repaired and the Harbormaster Department again has the boat at its disposal. It's unclear when the department will get its own boat back.

Simmons has said the town would not be helpless in an emergency. In addition to the town's fire rescue boats, she noted that, if there were an emergency in Mattapoisett Harbor, she can call on the Coast Guard or the Marion, Fairhaven, and New Bedford harbormasters for assistance.