When Should You Start Your Boat Dock Projects?

For many marina management companies, harbormasters & marina owner/operators alike, finding time at the end of a long season to start on that much-needed project or projects are the last thing on your mind! You still have a ton of things to do, such as Winterizing Boats & Docks, Normal Maintenance & Repairs to the entire facility, Make Dry-Dock Preparations & On & On! Oh, And Don't Forget That You Still Need To Plan Vacation With Those Other People You Call "Your Family!" It seems like it will never end & before you know it...the season is getting ready to start! You can't hire more employees either because you can't afford it. It almost seems like there aren't any options left, right? Daa,DaDaa...Never Fear! Super-Dockman Is Here! Ok, the entry could use some work, but I never claimed to be a professional choreographer! What I'm trying to say is that I might have some ideas that might help you, so let's get started.
First thing we need to do is to make a checklist of steps that we need to follow. 1) List All The Projects That You Would Like To Complete.
2) Label Them From Least Priority To Most Priority. (see below for more details)
3) Determine Approximately When Your Season Ends & Begins.
4) Determine What Projects You & Your Staff Can Complete.
5) Research Several Dock Companies That Can Complete The Leftover Projects.
6) Narrow Your Choices Down To 3 Dock Companies & Request Bids From These 3.
7) Determine Which Projects You Can Afford & Have Time To Complete.
8) Contact The Dock Company Of Your Choice & Verify Date Of Start & Completion.
Following these 8-steps will be crucial to not only your marina, but your business & your sanity as well! Let's go thru these steps 1-by-1 so you fully understand them. Listing all the projects that you would like to complete means every project, big or small, that not only need to be completed for maintenance purposes, but also projects that will make you more money. After all, isn't that why you are in biz to begin with? Ask the dock companies for their opinion as well or ask them for any ideas that will allow you to add more slips to your current configuration. If they are a professional quality dock company & they want to earn you business, then they will find a way to help you! Use this to your advantage & make sure that you study each proposal to see how it can help you to make more money rather than spending it all the time. Stokes Dock Co. has helped many different types of commercial dock owners to not only find ways to save money, but to make money as well. I have saved these owners thousands & thousands of dollars & some of them made money on top of those theories! What a great feeling it is to accomplish this for another business owner &/or operator!
When it comes to prioritizing your projects, once again, you can ask the opinion of the dock companies. Is saving you money more important than saving you money or vice versa? Will you spend more money than you will make or vice versa? These & other questions will be important in your decision process! You also need to figure out when you can realistically start these projects. My father use to tell me to remember the "5-P's" which are, "Prior-Planning-Prevents-Poor-Performance." Listen to that a few-thousand times from your father & tell me if you forget it or its true meaning! You might be able to save time & save money by doing some of the projects by you &/or your crew. Stokes Dock Co. provides alot of commercial dock owners & operators with necessary materials & techniques needed to complete projects on their own & they save money by supplying the labor & their time. Then when it's time for the larger projects to begin, you have the little things completed already. It's a win-win situation for both companies involved in the marina.
2-months, or sooner, before the season ends, you need to start researching boat dock companies that can offer you the services you need. Take plenty of time on this step & make double or triple sure of the company you have chosen. Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT GO BY THE LOWEST BID EITHER!!! Too many times, marinas contact us to come in & help repair or complete the project that another company started. We also see the shortcuts, cheap materials & cheap methods that they used in order to acquire the project. Make sure to read my blog on "What Cutting Expenses Really Costs You & Your Marina" for more info on this subject! The last 3 steps are pretty self-explanatory & mostly common sense. If you get confused or would like some advice, call several of your local marina owners &/or operators or marinas in other states. Ask them who they have used, who not to use & who they would recommend. Most dock companies will give you references which will help, but be careful & don't rely on this solely as your decision maker!
A Complete-Service Dock Company, like Stokes Dock Co., are becoming more & more rare because they simply take alot of work to run efficiently! To give you an idea, check out our company profile blog which describes every product, service & function that Stokes Dock Co. offers & incorporates into its operations. While hard work it may be, I never understood why a company doesn't provide its clients every possible product or service that the client needs. Like a grocery store that offer the food, but doesn't offer the bags or carts to carry them in. It's great that they offer you the food, but without sacks or your teleportation machine, it's going to be pretty difficult to carry them around. Another example would be a company that offers you the service, but lacks the products necessary to complete your project. For example, a Kwik-Lube Garage that provides you with the service to change your oil, but doesn't offer the products to change your oil with. Without the products, the service is really useless. The future of the marine industry will rely on those companies that can provide you with industry-leading products, a complete-line of services, the most advanced technology & the most cost-effective techniques that will save money for the marina owner &/or marina operator. Not only does Stokes Dock Co. provide those details now, they have been for over 9 years now! We Provide Solutions To Yesterday's Problems Using Tomorrow's Technology...Today! No other dock company can offer you the same benefits & guarantees that we can & will! That's why we mean it when we say "Stokes Dock Co - Protecting Your Boat...Coast To Coast!