CAMDEN — Camden Harbor is slowly beginning to slough off the grit and grime of winter, with covers coming off the big windjammers and the smallest of spring blooms beginning to break through the ground.

Harbormaster Steve Pixley said he has the town's boat, Welcome, in the water and the town mooring barge is in earlier too, both on task helping get the harbor ready for the season.

The schooner Lewis R. French has its cover off and has been down and back to North End Shipyard in Rockland. The schooner Mercantile is also uncovered now, and headed down to Rockland as well for its annual once over.

"They will get their hull inspected by the Coast Guard, caulk all the seams and clean the belly," said Pixley. "North End Shipyard has Camden boats going down about two weeks earlier than usual this year."

Pixley is also busy with float work, and he said he'll be replacing the library float system at the head of the harbor.

"Currently it's a bridge system over there, and it's a little rickets to traverse. I'm going to get rid of that and put in a new system from some old floats I replaced, retrofitting them so it's a little wider and more stable," said Pixley.

Pixley said he also plans to rebuild the daysailer float in the next two weeks. He recently hooked up electric power to the new town docks, so that's ready for the first visiting boats to town.

He said the floats at Steamboat Landing, where the public can access the sea and launch their boats, will go in about two weeks from now. Three weeks from now, he'll put the finger floats in at the head of the harbor.

That's the scheduled, unless some serious rain events happen and stall the work.

So far, the harbor is still pretty quiet as far as boat traffic. Elver fishermen are around, hunting for the tiny eels that fetch $2,000 a pound in overseas Asian markets and people are out walking, taking photographs.

Of note is the high turnover of moorings this spring. Pixley said he has 25 moorings available this year, compared to 14 last year.

"I think the turnover is due to the fact that PG Willey gave up their moorings to get out of the business and Wayfarer gave up three small-boat moorings and there just some folks ready to give them up," said Pixley. "So I'm doing a lot of calling of folks and doing through the procedure to fill them back up."

It wasn't too many years ago when those on the long inner harbor mooring waiting list saw only one or two moorings come up for grabs each year, and it took 10 to 15 years of waiting to get a shot at a mooring.

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Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached by email at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or by calling 207-706-6655.