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Home » Press Room » Marina World Article |
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Remote Dry-Storage
May Be The Answer
by Mike Wiggins
(Click Here to View & Download Hi-Res Images)
As previously discussed in this magazine, boat owners have a protective nature when it comes to that most prized possession: their boat. It’s important for them to protect that investment and have the assurance that their boat will be safe and readily available for the next voyage. Many have found that dry-stack storage offers that assurance.
The marina industry continues to evolve from wet storage to dry storage and from ground storage to rack storage. Rack storage, either outside uncovered or inside a building, has traditionally been located on the water. With more and more dry-stack storage facilities closing and being replaced with high-rise condominiums, the need for creative boat storage is needed.
There is a new development and variation of “Dry Stack” coming on the scene. We call it “Remote Dry Storage.” Remote dry storage refers to facilities that are located away from high-cost waterfront areas. They offer excellent opportunities for storage facilities, boat and RV dealers, to offer their customers an affordable place to store and protect their investment.
Gold Key Storage in El Dorado Hills, California, is one of the first to recognize the value in offering economical off-site, enclosed storage for RV's and boats on trailers. Gold Key is a two-year-old, state of the art, “fourth generation” storage facility located on three acres with another eight adjoining acres planned for expansion.
The term “fourth generation” means that it is able to provide: (1) a state-of-the-art public storage building; (2) security cameras and door alarms; (3) after-hour access, (4) and a temperature and humidity-controlled section for wine and cigar storage. The clean, highly polished floors and fully lit hallways remind one more of a hospital than a storage building. They have already begun another nine-acre facility in Placerville, California.
Gold Key’s story begins about two years ago when Brad Mello with D. E. Grenade, an architectural design group located in Shingle Springs, California, approached us at Wiggins Lift Co. Mello wanted to know if there was a dry storage company that was stacking boats on trailers. Turns out there are. A small marina in Portland, Ore., has been doing this for some time. A meeting was soon held in Portland with all interested parties, including Brian McCarthy, an entrepreneur looking for a good investment in the boating industry.
The Problem
McCarthy observed that more and more cities are enforcing regulations prohibiting motor homes, trailers and boats from being stored in plain view from the street. This has created a growing demand for an affordable and secure way to store them. With the availability of waterfront property continuing to decrease and the cost ever increasing, a storage facility located near the water seemed to be the answer. McCarthy believed there was a market for safe, secure, covered storage for recreational vehicles at an affordable price. His theory has proven to be correct. Gold Key’s new barn is full and they already have plans to add another building on to that facility. They have another new state of the art facility almost completed in the same industrial park and they’re new, eight-acre facility in Placerville, California, is also almost completed. They are expanding out of California and have purchased several “dry-stack” marinas in Florida.
How It Works
The concept of remote dry-storage is a simple one. First you must find affordable property away from the water where the land is properly zoned for storage. It should be located 15 to 30 minutes from a boat launch. Next, a building must be designed with racks capable of holding boats on trailers. This design must maximize the number of boats stored and offer protection from the elements and vandals.
Gold Key called Dale Gilbert at Roof and Rack, one of the nation’s top boat storage design and building company, in Boca Raton, Fla., to help them design and build their storage building. Roof and Rack built a barn that could store boats on trailers three high. The sliding doors allow them to place the boats in the racks from the outside. Boats on trailers are stored on both sides of the building with the bow facing the center. Wiggins Lift Co., Inc. designed a system for handling boats on trailers. The Wiggins Marina Bull™ is designed to stack both boat and trailer quickly and efficiently while protecting the boat, trailer and the rack. The forks and carriage are designed to give the operator the visibility to safely stack them up to six high.
Gold Key has a drop-off area where customers can leave their boats without having to remove them from the trailers. This acts as a staging area so the operator can retrieve them in a timely manor. The operator attaches the trailer to a ball-hitch mounted on the fork of a small industrial forklift. He then pushes the trailer onto a portable loading ramp designed by Wiggins Lift Company. When the boat and trailer is in position it is then lifted off the ramp by the Marina Bull™ and placed in it’s designated rack where it stays until it’s owner calls to have it retrieved and ready for pick up. If there is a need to pick up or drop off after hours, Gold Key provides their customers with a secured keyless entry area. They are also planning to offer a complete valet service. Those customers who wish to have their boat filled with fuel, the battery charged and ready, the ice chest filled and a pick-nick lunch packed, can call ahead and request it and it will be; delivered to the dock, put in the water and ready for that perfect day.
As an added bonus to Gold Key, they discovered that a number of their customers not only owned a boat but also had motor homes or travel trailers they wanted to store. So, in those cases the motor home or travel trailer was backed into the bottom rack and the boat was stored above it. They even store jet-skis above the boat when requested.
As the leader in the marina lift industry, Wiggins Lift Company has talked with a number of boat manufacturers and dealers. They say if they could tell potential customers where they can safely store their boat when they aren’t using it, they could increase their boat sales. The days of being able to park a boat and trailer on the street are quickly becoming a thing of the past. When a boater spends $15,000 to $60,000 or more for a boat, he expects to be able to protect that investment and keep it like new as long as he can. The “remote storage” business can offer an affordable way of doing just that.
There are new challenges to be met everyday as the dry-stack industry continues to evolve but with challenges come incredible opportunities for innovation, improvement and profits. I welcome your comments and questions so please contact by email or telephone at the numbers below.
www.wigginslift.com
Mike Wiggins is president of Wiggins Lift Co. Inc. in Oxnard, California. Wiggins Lift Co. Inc. is the manufacturer of the Wiggins Marina Bull used for drystack storage. Mike Wiggins can be reached via e-mail at mikew@wigginslift.com or by fax: (805) 485-5230.
Wiggins Lift Co., Inc.
2571 Cortez Street
Oxnard, CA 9306-1642
United States
Phone: 805-485-7821
Fax: 805-485-5230
E-mail: wigginslift@wigginslift.com
(www.wigginslift.com)
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