The various state and town agencies gave us the ability to open our channel by giving us additional time to complete the work we did this year.' Luckily, last year, I was able to amend our permits, explaining that this was a completely different area now and that it had been shoaled in. With the way that the permit was set up originally, it only gave us a two-week window because of the time-of-year restrictions for the protection of shorebirds, horseshoe crabs and other species. 'It was much more of an area than we could manage - it was unpredictable. 'We were good for the first four years and then the sand started to come in at a much larger scale and filled in the channel,' said Kahn. When the Kahn brothers purchased the marina, they worked hard to retain the permitting for dredging operations. The improvement project was essential for OHM, which can handle up to 200 boats in the summer with a capacity to store 600 boats during the winter months. Now that the channel has been dredged, it's great for boaters because they can go straight from the ocean up to Pleasant Bay and Stage Harbor.' 'The break in the outer beach in front of the marina posed problems for us originally because current from the break was pushing sand into us. 'Our marina is the most centrally located in Chatham,' said Kahn. The maximum length of the boats using the marina now is 60 ft., with most powered by outboard engines, which are perfect for navigating the inter-coastal waters in the Chatham area, and for trips to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and fishing. wide cutterhead, could only progress in straight lines and make 6-ft.

The last time the channel was dredged to this scale was some 40 years ago, when the harbor was built.' This year was our year to get it completely open. It was basically impossible to complete the job with the little dredge within the timespan - we did dig a small channel that provided limited use for our summer. Also, our permit was restricted to two weeks. a Dino6 hydraulic dredge with a cutterhead mechanism. Last year, we attempted to dredge the channel by purchasing a smaller dredge from GeoForm International Inc. 'Boats could only get out at limited times during the tide schedule. There are no barges needed for disposal, no anchors, no swing wires, and never a need to remove docks or pilings to get the job done.'Prior to the work, the channel, basically, was not navigable,' said Harrison Kahn, a co-owner of OHM along with his brother, Devin Kahn, which they purchased six years ago. The Versi-Dredge is the least invasive dredge available on the global market for marina dredging operations. In addition, lease / purchase options are available for North American marina operators. IMS can provide estimated operating and capex costs to show buyers how they will save money. In a typical, medium-sized marina, a complete harbor and marina dredge system can pay itself off in fewer than two uses. The Versi-Dredge is operated by a single person – unlike cable driven dredges that require multiple people to reset anchors and cables every time the dredge moves to the next dredge slip – saving money on fuel and labor. The Starwheel Drive system does not require anchors or cables, which prevents damage to boat hulls and docks, which is common with cable driven dredges.

The patented Starwheel Drive self-propulsion system allows marina operators to dredge anytime year-round without shutting down the entire marina. The Versi-Dredge can also clean out large marina basins and keep all approach channels clear. wide and clean under them with additional dredge ladder extensions. The Versi-Dredge can maneuver between docks as narrow as 12 ft. The Versi-Dredge is ideal for marina maintenance, as the system can clean anywhere from 6.7m (22 ft.) to 9.1m (30 ft.) in depth.

Dredge harbor marina