Dock Lines: Considering Boatyards

This year, when the Sunroad Boat Show sailed into our marina in January and we again needed to vacate our slip, Arv and I opted to tend to pesky maintenance issues requiring a boatyard visit, including an overdue haulout and fresh bottom paint. This experience dredged up several disconnected observations about the greater environmental sensitivity of west coast boatyards, plus the critical importance of clear communications in dealing with boatyard staff. I’ve always enjoyed spending time in boatyards, talking to people, looking at work underway and watching boats moving in and out of the water.  In past years we’ve combined an Ensenada mini-vacation with a visit to Baja Naval Boatyard, but this year, because of the unpredictability of El Niño storms and required advance scheduling, we chose to stay local and use a nearby Shelter Island yard. As I’ve explored yards in San Diego and Ensenada, I’ve chuckled at the contrast in environmental practices with the small, rural boatyards we used to use on the Chesapeake Bay. At San Diego and Ensenada yards — all impressive in their professionalism and environmental care — contaminated water is collected via a catchment system, discarded zincs are recycled and boats undergoing painting are carefully screened off. At our Chesapeake...