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Marine and Boating
Shipshape
Florida's marine industry adjusts as consolidation ramps up and the number of public-access marinas shrinks.
The number of boats registered in Florida topped 1 million for the first time last year -- nearly a 15% increase since 2000. Recreational boating is a bigger business in Florida than citrus and cruise ships combined, according to the Marine Industries Association of Florida. The association calculates the industry had a direct economic impact of $10.5 billion in 2005, with an additional indirect impact of $7.9 billion.
Over the last 25 years, industry retail sales have grown on average nearly 9% per year, and employment now totals some 220,000 people. But recent consolidation and other factors have put the brakes on growth, with sales increasing about 4% a year over the last five years. Among the factors: Redevelopments that turn public-access marinas into private condo facilities, boat ramps that have not increased capacity as the number of boats skyrockets, and fuel prices that typically are 25% or more higher than at the local gas station.
The marina business is adjusting. Contrarian Management Group of Plantation, for instance, is in the process of redeveloping a pair of adjacent Jacksonville properties: One is Fisherman's Marina; the other is an abandoned restaurant with dockage in a project dubbed Pirates Point Yacht Club & Marina.
"We called our company Contrarian because we go against market trends," says managing member Dale Wood. "These marinas are not suitable for high-end residential. In the end they will have 220 dry spaces and 170 slips. It's in an enterprise zone, and we intend to use local labor and maybe do some other projects in that area later."
In Miami, Merrill-Stevens is embarking on a $50-million expansion and renovation of its yacht repair business on the Miami River. The expansion aims to make the yard a prime service facility for yachts up to 250 feet, which covers about 90% of the yachts in the world.
"Boat repair is not a high-growth, high-margin business. It's like a family farm, where valuable land is sometimes bought out from under you," says Hugh Westbrook, who bought the 127-yearold company in 2004. "But we believe it is a good business for us because there is a shrinking supply of boatyards in the world."
Westbrook says the retooling will give Merrill-Stevens "another 80 years" of business there, and the facility is being designed to be neighbor friendly, fuel efficient and attractive for customers. "No one has to have a yacht," Westbrook says. "Therefore, it's important that people have a pleasant experience to make it worth the expense."
