As we mentioned in Sunday's email broadcast, although we are now considered an "essential business," that does not mean things are "back to normal," and there will be a delay in the opening of the season.
- Until now, we have been unable to work on your boats to get them ready for launch.
- This coming week, rain is predicted nearly every day.
- Some of our employees are at higher risk, and may not wish to come back to work during NY on PAUSE.
- We are having some work done on the Travelift now that could not be scheduled during the PAUSE.
- Let's get this out of the way at the beginning: Almost no one is going to the water by May 1.
We received some great responses to our recent "update emails," and we appreciate the communication from our customers and their understanding and support. Some of you are already requesting launch dates that will be impossible for us to meet, so we want to make it clear that there will have to be some necessary and important changes to the way we've worked in the past. This year, things are going to need to be much more structured, and we'll require our customers to be as flexible for US as we have been for YOU in the past.
There will be three sections to this email:
The first section will be for all our customers, and will deal with protocols for interacting at the boat yard, including personal protective equipment, social distancing, and hygiene guidelines.
The second section will be addressed to our Winter Storage customers, who will be leaving the yard this spring for marinas, moorings, etc.
The third section will be for our Dry Land Marina customers, whose boats will be staying in the yard for our Hi and Dry marina service. Dry Land Marina customers should read all sections so that they understand everything that is going on and how we're dealing with preparing for the season.
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We are excited that New York has allowed marinas and boatyards to operate while maintaining high safety protocols.
Our team is already at work getting ready for launching and commissioning. Our ability to return to operations is contingent upon very strict provisions of social distancing and sanitizing protocols. As a result, please note the following:
- Our office and shop will continue to be closed to the public, but we will be available by phone and email.
- In following CDC guidelines and New York state requirements, our team will be wearing gloves and masks for their personal protection as well as the protection of colleagues and customers.
- We request that you limit boat yard visits during business hours to allow our team to work freely and efficiently.
- When you’re at the boat yard, you’ll need to follow CDC and New York state requirements and guidelines for social distancing (minimum 6 feet). We ask that you please wear a mask while transitioning to and from your boat.
- If a technician is working on your boat when you arrive, we ask that you allow the technician to finish their task and to sanitize before you board. If you’re working on your boat, please sanitize the boat to ensure it is safe for others before you leave.
Please respect our property, our team and other boaters by adhering to the guidelines above.
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First and foremost, we want to get your boats to the water as soon as possible. Now that the marinas and launch services are permitted to open, we know you are anxious to get to the water.
In order for us to comply with the mandatory social distancing and sanitization/hygiene protocols that our "essential status" is conditioned upon, we need to change the way we have operated in the past. We will need to avoid unnecessary labor and make our operation more efficient.
Obviously, we will be prepping the boats in the front of the yard first, and working our way back into the yard as quickly as possible. The boats near the entrance to the yard will necessarily have to be ready sooner than the boats back by the red building. We will be bottom painting and waxing all of the boats starting now, and Pete and his crew will be commissioning and tuning engines, water systems, etc.
The following is the procedure for scheduling your launch date:
- If you have a list of spring maintenance items you need taken care of, please send them in an email to Gary and/or Pete so we have a written list to work from, and can order any parts in advance of the job, to prevent unnecessary delays.
- If you need marine supplies, cleaning supplies, safety equipment, etc. we are offering curbside pickup or delivery from our store. Email an order to us, and we will send you an invoice to pay by credit/debit card. Your parts will be boxed up and ready for pickup, and you can pick them up from the back office steps (or we can leave them aboard your boat).
- If you are not planning on going to the water at all this season, and you have not communicated that information to us yet, you must do so immediately. We will send you a bill for summer storage and moving charges, which will bu due upon receipt.
- We will inform you when all our work has been completed on your boat, and we will email the bill(s) for services provided by The Boat Place and/or Harborside Marine. All bill(s) must be paid by credit/debit card either by phone or online prior to the scheduled launch date. We will not have office staff in the building to collect payments, so the bill(s) must be paid in advance.
- We will assign your launch date (subject to tides, weather, and availability) and inform you when to be ready for launch. There may be some flexibility to assignment of launch dates, but in most cases, the assigned date will have to be a firm one.
- You must be ready to take the boat away from our docks within an hour or so of launching. There will be no long term or overnight dockage available at our facility. If you are near the front of the yard, it would be a good idea to ensure your slip or mooring will be ready for the first part of May.
- If your dock or mooring is not ready by your assigned launch date, you should still launch the boat and arrange for a transient mooring until it is ready. Even if we were able to accommodate it, the cost of moving, sidetracking, and storing your boat would far exceed the cost of a transient mooring. You should definitely go to the water when we lift your boat on the assigned date.
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DRY LAND MARINA CUSTOMERS
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Obviously, there will still be a lot of winter storage boats in the main yard on May 15. In order to provide you with the best service possible, we will have to delay the start of the DLM season.
In the past, the winter storage boats were being worked on in March and April, and launched beginning the first week in May. As we made room in the yard, we'd bring down your boats from the satellite yard and start getting some of them ready for the season opening. This year, we're just getting started working on the winter storage boats, so our crew will be working fast and furious to get them ready and out of the yard. We won't be able to bring your boats down yet—or start working on them—until a significant number of winter storage boats have left the yard.
Some of you have already contacted us hoping to use the boat on or about May 15. That will not be possible. We don't yet know how long the delay will be, but we don't think it will be very long. Once we are able to begin bringing the boats down and working on them, you will be the first to know when your boat is ready for use. All engines will be tuned up and all boats will be waxed before they are launched. In order to make the season opening go smoothly, we ask you to do the following:
- If you have a list of spring maintenance items you need taken care of, please send them in an email to Gary and/or Pete so we have a written list to work from, and can order any parts in advance of the job, to prevent unnecessary delays.
- Please contact us now and let us know if you will want your boat as soon as possible, or if you will not be using it yet. In other words, if you don't want the boat until the middle of June, let us know now so we don't put your boat in front of someone who wants it ASAP.
- Likewise, if you will not be using your boat this season, please let us know now so we can send you a summer storage bill, which will be due upon receipt.
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Thank you for your cooperation.
If you have any questions, please contact us by phone or email.
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