Joe Coons
BEFORE WE CHANGE SUBJECTS, let's remind you of an important change in the rules regarding use of smaller boats: Effective May 1, 1995, a type IV throwable cushion or ring is no longer sufficient to meet requirements for carrying passengers in boats under 16 feet in length.
In other words, you will now need to have actual type I or type II wearable life jackets on hand for each passenger aboard your tender or dinghy! The jackets need not be worn, however, just available in the boat (except, here in Washington, I belive that youths must be actually wearing their jackets while in the boat).
I will be meeting this requirement simply by buying one of the convenient life jacket tote bags sold in marine stores, putting four or five of my existing jackets in it, and keeping it in my dinghy. No big deal, and not too onerous a new regulation, at that!
The recent sale of Bellingham Marine Industries by longtime Club Member Pete Gassland got me to thinking about or Bellingham Bay boat yards. Of course, Pete's Boatyard at Colony Wharf, as it's now to be called, and which he's keeping, is not a full-service yard; instead, they do haulouts, storage, and transport loading and unloading, letting many of Bellingham's skilled, independsant artisans work at the facility. But with these next paragraphs I'm hoping to stimulate some thinking on the part of full-service yard proprietors everywhere . . .
1) Why can't we have a local, full-service boatyard that is clean, keeps its customers' boats clean, and has employees who keep themselves clean and tidy? Most car dealers now wash customers' cars before delivery, but the boatyard that does this is unheard of, and when it does, it charges shop rates of $40 or $50 per hour for the services of a dockperson. Most boatyards are filthy, so our boats get filthy when we take them there. And some yard workers are so unpresentable we don't want them on our vessels!
2) Why can't we have a local, full-service boatyard that prepares an honest estimate for the work to be done with a work schedule, then adheres to the estimate and keeps the schedule? "Surprising" invoices and delayed delivery of completed jobs seem to be the norm in this industry.
3) Why do yards have fixed "shop time" rates for all personnel, regardless of skills? Just as with the dockperson's washing labor noted above, not all tasks cost . . . or are worth . . . the same. Labor rates should be tiered, depending upon skill levels needed.
4) Why do so many yards make it so hard for their employees to work efficiently? Tool cribs and parts rooms sometimes are a ten minute round trip from the boat, and at $50/hour, just having a worker get a screw to finish a job costs the boat owner $8.33 plus the price of the screw! It gives "getting a screw" a whole different meaning . . .
5) Why aren't a yard's policies regarding warranties published more often? Who is responsible if work is improperly done? How long should a yard-done repair last? This is especially important for major projects like "bottom jobs", which all too frequently turn out to be impermanent, with the owner holding the bag while the yard gets the loot!
These are just a few of the questions that my "dream boatyard" would be able to effectively answer. And if such a boatyard existed, I know it would succeed!
Next time you talk to your maintenance facility, ask the management how it answers these questions. And please let me know if you've found a "dream yard"!
Oh, and by the way, a lot of other marine repair firms could evaluate themselves by these same criteria, and then improve in areas where they find themselves deficient.
Safe and happy boating to you all!
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