The transition from old-time boatyard to modern marina has been more evolutionary than revolutionary. The two manage to coexist, but I believe something disappears when the number of boat slips rises and begins to overshadow the full-service concept. Hard-core boatyards are still wonderful places for poking around and finding character boats and characters, unlike many of today s modern marinas that are long on antiseptic tidiness and short on personality. The beautification trend to make yards attractive through landscaping and increasing the number of amenities, in my eyes, further diminishes the workplace atmosphere. The days of the marine junkyard, where disposal habits of material and equipment were haphazard at best, are about over.
Trucks arrive regularly to empty trash bins.
Bottom residue is collected by dropcloths, and some yards contain the runoff at Travelift stations where wet bottoms are routinely power-washed. Although boatyard work is still dirty, exhausting and back-breaking, today s workers often wear plastic jumpsuits and protective gear such as respirators, goggles, gloves and ear plugs while using dustless sanders, grinders and drills. At times, they even don starched uniform shirts with their first names stitched over pockets. We must provide more service, and our customers expect us to be up to speed, to look sharp and professional in uniforms, and provide more value for their dollars, says Gregg Kenney of Marinas International in Dallas, which owns and operates 22 marinas coast to coast, from a 450-slip facility to a marina with 2,500 wet and dry slips. Grounds have been landscaped, and golf greens, jogging trails, rental bikes, paddleboats, croquet lawns, volleyball courts and even palm trees are appearing on the scene.