A recent expansion allows Saunders Yachtworks to refit and maintain up to 10 yachts and megayachts under cover. The yard claims this makes it the largest such covered space along the Gulf Coast.
Saunders Yachtworks has come a long way since its start in 1959. Back then, it was a marine-service company in Mobile. Now it has two shipyards in Alabama, offering electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical work; haul-outs; engine work; painting; custom carpentry; and more. One facility is in Orange Beach, which received the Boat Yard of the Year award in 2009 from the American Boat Builders and Repairers Association. The award honors yards that demonstrate excellence in all aspects of operation, including customer relations and vendor and employee relations. Saunders Yachtworks’ other facility is in Gulf Shores.
The latter is the one that expanded. When you consider that it only opened in 2012, it’s even more noteworthy. John Fitzgerald, CEO of Saunders Yachtworks, says the four covered work bays were in near-constant demand. They were within a 6,500-square-foot (about 604-square-meter) shed. The shed was in turn fitted with 50-foot-high (15.24-meter-high) doors. Saunders Yachtworks already planned to add more covered work areas in the near future, so the plans were sped up. The Gulf Shores facility gained more than 13,000 square feet (about 1,208 square meters) of covered work area. Yachts and megayachts to 130 feet (about 40 meters) can fit inside.
“So much of our scheduling can be affected by bad weather,” Fitzgerald explains. “We make commitments to our customers for delivery dates, so our goal is to minimize delays wherever we can. Now, we can house up to 10 boats under cover to keep work on schedule, even in adverse conditions.” The new building on its own can hold three megayachts to 130 feet. A mix of smaller sizes lets six yachts be housed at once.
Saunders Yachtworks already had a 165-ton TraveLift on the site. That transporter can bring yachts and megayachts to and from the new shed in different ways. That’s because the building has two sides that are fully open. Saunders Yachtworks’ own vice president of operations, Michael Dunlavy, designed it. “The north and west walls provide important protection, and the multiple openings allow us to arrange vessels in the space as needed,” he explains.
Between the two yards, Saunders Yachtworks now has 35,000 square feet (about 3,252 square meters) of enclosed space.
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