BY CHRISTINE KRALY, Times of Northwest Indiana
ckraly@nwitimes.com
PORTAGE | The violent wind whipped gravel around rows of boats as tall as buildings. The smell of dust and exhaust ripped from long-laden motors tinged the harsh air with the smell of dirt.
On the first day of boating season, pebble-infused dust trailed the tractor lift Al Bridges was driving, as he eased through the lot at Doyne's Marine Inc., looking for a customer's boat to prep for the water. Bridges is service manager at Doyne's.
Doyne's is just one of many smaller marinas whose owners and managers welcome the business they say will sail their way when new marina projects come to Portage.
An expansion of the Portage Public Marina is expected to add 80 new boat slips, while the new Marina Shores residential development will boast its own 300-slip marina.
The complex will house a yacht club and boat store but no maintenance services, which is where the older marinas say they will profit from the development.
"Anytime you put more boats in the waterway, that means more work, more revenues," said Scott Duvall, owner of Duvall's Boat & Trim on Burns Drive.
The 28-year-old shop "does a little of everything," including boat upholstery and mechanical service, Duvall said. He expects newcomers to Marina Shores and the area could become his customers.
"Those people are going to need someone to maintain (their boats)," he said.
Chuck Banks of Treasure Chest Marina on Ind. 249 said, "Marina Shores is nothing but good to me." His outfit works on 450 boats, but "that will probably jump to 700 real quick," Banks said.
The city projects are expected to bring more boating people to Portage, both residents and tourists.
"It's great that they're building up more public access to allow people to experience Lake Michigan," said Kate Kester of the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitors' Bureau.
"In bringing other marinas there, it's good exposure for the littler ones."
David Zak, owner of South Shore Marina Inc. on Marine Street, agreed. "It can't do anything but help the area," he said.
For many employees at small marinas, it's now a matter of preparing to handle the anticipated influx of work.
"We're going to be able to live with each other very well and complement each other," Bridges said. One way workers at Doyne's plan on doing that is by "a lot of guessin' " as to how they will arrange the lot's boats. They likely will do a bit more detailed organizing when setting the boats in the water, Bridges said.
The marina stored more than 300 boats in anticipation of the start of spring. Boats with names like "Screwed Up Priorities," "Aquaholic," "It's Always Something," and "Just Add Water."
Some will stay docked at Doyne's, while others will voyage back to Chicago or places east, where their owners live.
Bridges and staff member Dave Domke readied some of them to hit the water. They tested a motor worked on over the winter, revving it up for the first time in months.
One customer who brought his boat in for work stopped briefly by the small service area. "Thanks for getting it done so quickly," he told Domke.
Domke smiled and replied matter-of-factly, "That's what we're here for."