Gary Poole- From The Helm

As I look out my office window on what is another glorious winter day, sunny and mild, I still can’t help but dream of spring, and the melt to come.  Happily it’s not that far off!  We have had an exceptionally great winter weather wise, which makes the yearning for boating season that much stronger in my book.

When we get the boats put away in storage, we are often asked what we do to fill the long cold dark days of winter. Do we head south for the season or lounge around in some ski resort.  Or do we hit the snowmobile trails or just become couch potatoes?  The answer is none of the above.  At Buckeye Marine we stay open all winter and keep busy with all kinds of sales, service and maintenance activities. (Just to clarify, we do take our holidays through the winter.  We definitely appreciate having some time off to enjoy family and friends, but we have lots to do to keep on top of your boating needs, so “lounging” from November to April, is not an option!)

This past fall we winterized over 1200 boats, 800 stay on the property.  Our goal is to winterize and do minor repairs as they come in for winterizing.  Any major mechanical or cosmetic repairs are completed throughout the winter.  We bring the boats into the shop, unwrap them to do the repair then rewrap and put them back in their storage slot until spring. It’s done this way to streamline the winterizing process and to provide our staff with work throughout the winter.  

Most of December is dedicated to boat show preparations. Preparing exhibits, hauling boats and learning about the new product we will be showing. We close between Christmas and New Years for our staff to have time with their families.   January is Toronto Boat show time.  We transport as many as 25 boats to Toronto, choosing clear weather days if possible.  Upon returning after the 10-day show, everything is put away and we regroup.  Meanwhile Office staff stays busy with year-end accounting and administrative issues as well as planning and organizing for the next season.  February is dedicated to repairs and maintenance of buildings and equipment, which can be a huge task.  With 3 forklifts 6 trucks and several shop trailers diligent upkeep is essential.  We want to minimize any down time when equipment is required non-stop.  Inside the buildings, floors and walls are cleaned, painted  or resurfaced etc and any other repairs are completed.  We also take the time to expand or improve our facilities to serve you better.  This year we are remodeling the north showroom, with new sales offices and flooring.  Stop by and check it out.

Also, we dedicate time in the winter for training and education to keep our staff up to date with the latest information and technology in the boating industry. Workplace Safety training and upkeep of all certifications and licenses are done at this time as well.

Regular winter stuff, like plowing snow, sanding walkways and icicle removal fills in the gaps.  When we have time and the weather permits, we have been known to have the occasional snowball fight and snowman building contest amongst the staff in the parking lot.

So you can see that we keep busy year round here at Buckeye, but with some time out to recharge our batteries.  Stop by and see us if you’re in the neighbourhood.  We’ll be here!