Okay, WE’RE actually NOT in a boatyard at the moment. We’re in Vermont.

The BOATS are back in Deltaville after a couple of years at a yard in Maryland, and a few people have asked us how we decided on the yard where we are. For starters, there’s the “why Deltaville” question, and then there are a few other considerations.

Why Deltaville? It really comes back to community. I’ve written before about the importance of community when choosing a boatyard, but the larger community is not to be underrated either. And this, for us, is a key factor. We kept Calypso at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for close to 20 years. Dear, dear friends live in the town. When we walk the docks at the club, it’s like returning home. The support network we have in Deltaville (looking particularly at Alison and David, Karen and John, Carol and Dave, and Karen and David) is one that’s been cemented by years of shared dinners, boat work help, and many, many evenings of laughter and conversation. We just can breathe better in this small town. Sure, if you’re a transient anchoring out it’s tough - this is not a town that is easy without a car. We’re in a boatyard with our trusty van/mobile workshop parked right next to the boat.

So what are our boatyard considerations. (And if you’re actively cruising? You might have only one option. Hopefully the yard will haul your boat!)

There are the questions you can find out by calling or emailing. What size is the travel lift? How many stands do you use on each boat? What are your rates for haul/block/launch? Rates for storage? Do you have space for my boat? Do you allow any DIY? What services do you provide at what cost? (These last 2 are especially important if you’re planning on doing your own work OR hiring the yard to do work for you.) Can I live on the boat while it’s in the hard?

*The rub with boatyards and the “call to find out” angle is that sometimes you might not get the REAL answer to some of the questions. Rates are rates; pretty much everyone charges the published haul rate, or the storage rate. Sometimes, though, showing up in person and being a reasonable human being, or bringing your boat somewhere and being a good citizen, means more things are open to you than might be obvious. Sometimes published rules and rates are there to help the yard kick out an undesirable tenant or keep people away. When talking to a yard, present yourself as the good citizen you mean to be.

There are the intangibles, harder to answer and more based on your gut - and these may or may not be important to you. How neat and tidy is the yard? How was your interaction with the yard personnel? Where in the yard will your boat be? Can you park near your boat? Is there shade during the day? Is the yard in a good location for any storms? Are there sufficient power and water outlets near where your boat will be stored? Can you access the yard on the weekends/after hours?

We considered 2 yards in Deltaville. There are many more options there, but not many that even nominally allow DIY work, and for various reasons and prior experience we didn’t even consider one of the yards that does allow it. How did we decide on Zimmerman’s?

Price. At first glance, Zimmerman’s is NOT the least expensive yard around. Not even for DIYers like us. But the other yard on our possibility list had a lot of extra charges. DIY fees, daily fees, live aboard fees, electrical fees, mast or dinghy storage fees. It was very, very hard to get a sense of what our true costs might be. At Zimmermans? The price you see for storage is the price you pay.

DIY. While Zimmerman’s is not a DIY yard per se, they allow us to do our own work above the waterline. Basically, they’re not excited about you doing your own bottom prep or bottom painting due to environmental concerns. Since we don’t need to do that on either boat, this caveat wasn’t a concern. 

Reputation. No, we’re not planning on hiring any work out. But if we did? Zimmerman’s has a very, very solid reputation. Is it the cheapest? Not by a long shot. Part of their reputation is that they warranty their work. What we’ve heard from friends who have had issues (and most people don’t have issues) is that the yard remedies their mistakes at no additional charge to the client. This is not a standard in the boatyard world. Zimmerman’s is proud to proclaim that they’re “Employee Owned”. In our experience, this pride translates directly to how they keep the yard. Neat. Tidy. Picked up.

Location. Deltaville has 2 options for water access in terms of yards and marinas. There’s Fishing Bay, off of the Piankatank River, with one marina and one yard (Zimmermans.) And there’s Broad Creek, a more bustling section on the north side of town, off of the Rappahannock River. Many, many more options for yards. It’s also a tighter squeeze in term of tide and shoaling. Fishing Bay is an easier in/out for us.

Intangibles. We just plain got a great feeling when emailing the general manager of Zimmerman’s (they have a number of locations along the US East coast), a feeling that was cemented when talking to Tom, the service manager at this specific location. He knew about our kind of boat, for example, and was happy to listen to what we’d need (space for both boats to be next to each other, long term storage for Mischief). We had to leave for college graduation before there was space on the schedule to haul the boat but he promised to take care of that while we were gone; on our return, we saw him as we were approaching the yard. “Hey, Nica and Jeremy. Welcome back. Did you find Mischief?” No need for us to ask him where the boat was - he remembered us, our boat, AND what we might be looking for. Intangibles.

Choosing a boatyard is a combination of choosing a neighborhood as well as a neighborhood garage. You can do a lot of prior research but eventually it comes down to what feels right for you.  

We’ve escaped the heat and humidity of the Chesapeake summer, leaving the boats in the capable hands of the yard in Deltaville. When we return in September, it’ll be to wrap up Calypso’s projects and get Mischief shrink-wrapped before splashing Calypso to go first north to Annapolis, then south. It’s almost time to go sailing again.