Marina Dock Age

Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock Co., one of Florida’s oldest businesses and a fixture on the Miami River for more than 80 years, has shut down its boat repair business due to the weak economy, according to a Jan. 5 South Florida Business Journal article.

In the last two years, Merrill-Stevens has downsized from 160 employees to about 20 employees. Hugh Westbrook, who owns the company with his wife Carole Shields Westbrook, said that the company has been hit hard by the economy. The current plan is to keep the company operating on a project-by-project basis, but the primary business focus will be boat storage.

When he purchased Merrill-Stevens in 2005, Westbrook planned to spend $60 million to transform the boatyard repair facility into a megayacht repair and refit facility. The company currently can handle boats up to 155 feet long but is looking to expand the yard to accommodate megayachts up to 250 feet long.  This would require a $12.5 million investment, according to Westbrook, and banks are not lending that money right now.