One small step at a time the Rafferty Marina is slowly becoming a mature and vital service to those who are using the dam's reservoir for pleasure boating and fishing.
Those who would now like to show a little appreciation for what has been installed may now do so.
Rafferty Marina Inc., a totally volunteer group is installing an honour payment box near the reservoir's docks, trusting that those who use the boat launch will drop a loonie, toonie or two into the slot. The money will be used to help the marina board meet some yearly expenses.
Barry Dies, who is not a board member, but is a member of the Rafferty Marina volunteer team, said a small group spends some significant time in providing boat launch, parking and picnic sites at the marina located on the south side of the dam close to Estevan.
"It's a non-profit organization and I would say that it costs a minimum of $2,000 a year to keep the two docks workable," said Dies, who devotes a lot of his time making improvements to the site and generally cleaning it up, along with a few other dedicated volunteers.
"To keep it going we have to have power and that bill must be paid, plus insurance and the costs associated with an annual audit," he said, as an example of just three items that require cash.
There were significant recovery costs endured immediately following the 2011 floods that destroyed most of the infrastructure at the site.
The two docks, a 48-foot main launch, and a 44-foot aluminum secondary dock, have been reset for a new season and will be taken up again at the end of the boating and fishing year. Rafferty is also popular with winter ice fishers.
"We rely on local businesses to help us out and they've been generous with their time and equipment. Otherwise this launch couldn't keep going," he added.
Vandalism incidents at the site have been reduced significantly since the installation of a security system over a year ago.
"Our visitors from the United States have been very good at offering a fee for the right to launch and fish here. They are used to it since most lakes and launches they use in the U.S. have $25 to $50 daily launching fees. So they're happy to come up here and are quite willing to pay something. They like the parking lot. A few times last summer I came out and saw as many as 45 vehicles with boat-trailers in the lot. So the use of this site is going up," said Dies.
The fact that the popular near-by Boundary Dam boat launch now includes a fee is not lost on local fishers and boaters. That site is now an official arm of Woodlawn Regional Park and access to the two-dock launch there now requires a regional park seasonal pass or daily use fee.
The Boundary Dam site also offers full service camping sites with electricity, potable water and refuse collection.
"We can't go that route, we don't have the full-time staff and security detail they do," said Dies. The Rafferty Marina is not associated with Woodlawn at this stage of its development.
A Regens Disposal bin will find its way to the Rafferty site on an experimental basis, to augment existing garbage disposal containers. If the service is abused then the bin will be removed.
Dies said there had been discussion around the construction of a filleting shack on-site with a local donor and sponsor lined up, but it was ultimately determined that the shack would probably be abused and since there could be no assurances of daily collection of fish entrails and other garbage items with a general cleanup, it was decided not to take that step at this time.
The extensive water reservoir system that features walleye, perch and pike is becoming more popular with each season, said the board members who are seeing more and more development along the banks every year.
