jim rosenthal
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 11,050
- Hatteras Model
- 36' CONVERTIBLE-Series I (1969 -1977)
For nearly twenty years, I have had my boat hauled for the winter at Smith's Marina, in Crownsville, MD. Smith's is a third-generation family business. It is the best boatyard I've ever seen- competent and careful employees, absolute honesty about what your boat needs and what it doesn't, and meticulous care hauling and launching. It is also in a well-protected area, up the Severn River in Crownsville, MD.
Rick and Valerie Smith recently decided to sell the marina and business, after finding that two local families wanted to pool their resources and buy it. The new owners are the Sullivan and Conroy families, and they are definitely very much present and hands-on. All the employees have stayed on (and one of the things I have admired about Smith's is that Rick kept the yard guys busy year round, so some of them have been there for decades.) The ship's store is expanding, they have very good prices on diesel and gasoline, and the entire enterprise is a Chesapeake Bay Clean Marina.
Smith's is not in a location where transient boaters would find it. But if you are in the Annapolis area, I strongly recommend them. The previous owners made a very deliberate decision not to sell to a national conglomerate, but rather to local families who would keep things largely the same, with judicious improvements. All the early indicators are that this is what's happening. I hope to be hauling my boat there for years to come.
Rick and Valerie Smith recently decided to sell the marina and business, after finding that two local families wanted to pool their resources and buy it. The new owners are the Sullivan and Conroy families, and they are definitely very much present and hands-on. All the employees have stayed on (and one of the things I have admired about Smith's is that Rick kept the yard guys busy year round, so some of them have been there for decades.) The ship's store is expanding, they have very good prices on diesel and gasoline, and the entire enterprise is a Chesapeake Bay Clean Marina.
Smith's is not in a location where transient boaters would find it. But if you are in the Annapolis area, I strongly recommend them. The previous owners made a very deliberate decision not to sell to a national conglomerate, but rather to local families who would keep things largely the same, with judicious improvements. All the early indicators are that this is what's happening. I hope to be hauling my boat there for years to come.
