Deltaville Winter Work

[karma49]

Just brought a Marlow 49 to its new home port in Deltaville VA. Looking for recommendations for the best yard to work with on winterizing and other maintenance. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Captain_Michael]

I kept my trawler in Zimmerman's last winter. They are on the south side, around Stingray Point at the top of Fishing Bay on the Piankitank River. Unlike Broad Creek, deep water. Hauling and storage fees will be competitive. They have ABYC certified workers and standards and prices. Get an estimate ahead of any work so you know what you are likely to pay. They do good quality work, but be specific and know ahead of time the cost so things do not get out of hand.

You can drive there in 5 minutes from the center of town. Eighteen months ago they purchased the old Deagles Boat Yard and moved from Norview. Tons more room and shop space. Right next to Fishing Bay marina where there is fuel and a pump out. An hour by water from Borad Creek marinas.

 

[karma49]

Much appreciated. Did you keep her on the hard or in the water?

 

[Captain_Michael]

I kept the boat on the hard. They have docks, but I think those are for work, not long term storage. About $330 a month for storage on the hard. Did have a 30A cord keeping a trickle charge all the time. I do not think they have indoor storage. They will do shrink wrap if you wish. I'm not sure there is any indoor winter storage in/around Deltaville. Several marinas have boat barns with overhead cover but they are open on one side to allow entrance/exit. Stingray used to have some. There is a boat yard adjacent to Stingray (Chesapeake Boat Works?) that has a large storage yard as does Norton's. Both are off Broad Creek on the north side of Deltaville. Check the capacity of their travelifts--that may be a factor. Probably not but .... Zimmerman has two travelifts--at least one is 50 ton.

IF you do not have a slip up lined for the spring, start searching. A 50' slip is not that easy to find. There is not much but enough of a tide that you want floating docks if possible. Slips are weird--you may get lucky and nab one right away or .... took me months as I wanted back in at my old marina where I kept my sailboat for several years. (No loyalty program--grrr!) I keep my boat north across the Rappahnock at Kilmarnock.

Deltaville is in Middlesex County. It has a boat tax. If your boat is in Middlesex County on 12/31, be prepared for a bill in 2025. If you think you are going to move it out of the county in the spring when it comes out of storage, get Zimmerman or whatever yard to put some repairwork in the bill. Does not have to be extensive--tell them to exercise the seacocks. They just need to be able to tell the taxman the boat is in for repairs. The boat is then there temporarily, and if you move her in the spring out of Middlesex County, you should be able to avoid the tax. Counties in Virginia are allowed to set their boat taxes. There are no taxes in/around Norfolk area, and none in Lancaster County just north across the Rappahanock. Of course, that affects the waiting list for a slip.

 

[karma49]

Super helpful. Really appreciate it.