The Deebold Boat Yard in Brigantine, N.J., is one of several family owned boatyards still on the island — a rarity in a time when more and more yards in Brigantine and elsewhere are being sold to developers, according to a June 14 article in The Press of Atlantic City.
Every year, yard owners say, the number of smaller boatyards in southern New Jersey seems to decrease, squeezed out by the combination of increased property values and competition from larger, corporate maintenance yards.
Exact statistics about marinas are hard to come by, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were an estimated 640 boat mechanics employed in the state in 2000, but only 280 last year.
If family members don’t take over when the current owners retire, it’s possible that even in Brigantine — one of the last real footholds of this maritime tradition — there could one day be no boatyards left at all.
Richard Deebold can stand at the edge of his dock and point to all the condominiums and private homes that were once the spot of boatyards just like his, now long gone.
“That was a marina across the bay,” Deebold said. “Gus Mitchell’s Marina. Down at the Elks (Lodge), that was called the Brigantine Boat Yard. Then there was a place called Young’s and Howard’s Boats.”
The city across the inlet, Deebold said, serves as a cautionary tale.
“Atlantic City has no servicing boatyards of any kind,” he said. “There were loads of them — machine yards, boat shops. But now, there’s no service. … It’s probably been about five to 10 years since the last boatyard closed up, which is really sad if you think about it. You look at those marinas and there’s hundreds of boats, but not one place to take it out of the water.”
There’s only one real yard left in Ventnor, and in Ocean City — after Hank’s Outboard Marine Service was bought by McGlade’s Marina, which provides only slips — “I don’t think there’s a real, working (yard) in Ocean City that we know of,” owner Mickey McGlade said.
Most of the marinas in Ocean City are essentially restricted to the Marina Harbor District on the north end of town, said North Star Marina owner Mary Barrus — “Only two blocks, and not even five properties,” she said. “If any properties are sold, they’re going to be knocked down for homes.”
In Sea Isle City, the only reason there’s a marina on the island at all is because the city bought the last marina in town in the 1990s, Mayor Len Desiderio said. In Somers Point, meanwhile, the last small, family-owned yard was Dick’s Dock — “And that disappeared in ’87 or ’88,” said marina owner Rob Barrett, of Dolfin Dock. “That was right next door to me.”
Like Dolfin Dock, Barrett said, “Most family-owned marinas now get by with bait shops and a few slips.”
As for the future, “Who wants it?” Barrett asked. “Whoever buys any marina would have to rebuild the bulkhead and docks at half a million dollars. Who’s going to buy a marina when you have to maintain those improvements? It’s like a Catch-22.”
That’s why keeping it in the family tradition is invaluable. Just ask Debbie Mooers, 47, who owns the Grassy Sound Marina in North Wildwood with her husband, Jim, 54. Their five children, ages 14 through 21, have all worked at the marina at some point, she said, and at least one, if not two, are interested in taking it over from her and Jim, who, “and I’m not exaggerating, hasn’t had a day off since Christmas.”
That willingness to continue the family business is important, because even with stricter wetlands regulations that do not allow for increased building footprints, there are enough buildings at the site that could be turned into condos.
Down at the entrance to Brigantine, owner Cathy Crossland, of Bayside Marina, said a combination of regulations and lack of funding to meet regulations has made business difficult for a marina that has been on the island for as long as people can remember.
“This marina’s been here, God, since Brigantine started,” Crossland said. “At least 50 years, I would say. … But we need a bulkhead. Normally, we would go to (the state program) I BOAT NJ and get a grant, but there’s no money. They want us to be clean marinas and put in expensive wastewater treatment facilities, but we can’t do it. We can’t afford it.”
She was not optimistic about the long-term viability of her marina and others without more grants.
“If we don’t get financial help for the bulkhead,” Crossland said, “I could see us not surviving another five years.”
As for Deebold, he is unsure if the yard will continue after him. It all depends on future generations, and their level of interest. And in a business climate such as this one, even the next few years can’t be foretold.
“I’ve got six grandchildren,” Deebold said, looking out over the strip of land where he’s spent most of his life. “I hope they like boats.”
