Hello from the team at Cox’s Boatyard and welcome to another Newsletter. As we are all aware it’s been a strange year weather-wise, and the cool, wet conditions at the start of the season certainly delayed everything for everyone wanting to get out on the water. It also meant that we had to move most of the boats into the workshops in order to carry out any work on them, so we were even busier than usual! Thankfully we have the right equipment for moving boats of all shape and sizes. It was time-consuming to complete this, but it allowed us to keep working on the craft and use the main workshop to its full potential.
New Decking – After the flooding problems of winter 2023 and spring 2024, we applied for and gained planning permission to install new GRP grating around the marina. The grass that was underwater for the best part of four months has now grown back, and the ground dried out amazingly quickly, even with the usual summer water level up by a significant amount. The new grating has started to go down and is being installed on the two sections that had new quay heading in the spring. The next area is the bank which frequently flooded in the spring this year. It will take us a few weeks to install, but it should make a huge difference in the future.
Here is a selection of some of the many boats we have recently worked on:
Restoration – this came into the workshops over a year ago, and she was finally launched early this summer. She has been rebuilt from the decks upwards, and a wide variety of other work has successfully been carried out inside. This lovely craft had been in the ownership of a family for several years, but it had then moved to another owner. The son of the original family bought her back, and we worked together to restore her back to her former glory!
White Boats and Half-Deckers – We store and carry out maintenance on several of these boats each year, from de-rigging the masts, folding and storing the sails and covers, to polishing, varnishing, planking and re-antifouling. We also grit-blast and recoat the bottoms to achieve faster speeds on the water.
Polishing – This craft came in for its two-yearly lift out and polish. Every other year her owners bring her to us to be lifted, cleaned, machine polished and anti-fouled. Many other customers also employ us to do this kind of maintenance, some on an annual basis, so if you are interested for your craft, just let us know.
Painting – The roof of this craft had lots of blisters and other imperfections in the roof paintwork, so she came in for her roof to be sanded down and re-painted. We sanded the roof back to the original GRP, then filled and coated it with epoxy paint.
Electric Inboard – This little day launch has had a new electric motor fitted, as the original electric motor was old and not repairable due to water ingress. We have fitted a much more modern motor, complete with a new dashboard and controller, and the new installation will use a lot less electricity than before, all making it easier and more efficient for the customer to use.
Lifting and Storage – Although it seems a long way away, winter is coming! The winter work form is therefore attached, so please complete and return it to us so we can get your craft booked into the main schedule. As Easter is quite late with Good Friday falling on the 18th of April 2025, your required launch date is the most important date to tell us.
Mooring Invoices – In order to streamline the business process and simplify the invoices for you, we are aligning the start date of all the moorings. From April 2025 the annual mooring period for all craft will start on the 1st of April. There will still be two invoices each year, the second instalment being due on the 1st of October.
This means that any mooring invoices that we send out after the 1st of October 2024, and in the following months up to the 31st of March 2025, will cover a shorter length of time, and be for a lower amount. Then, from 1st of April 2025 half of the annual fee will be due and the remaining half due on 1st of October each year. For example, if your mooring fees are due on the 1st of December 2024, your next invoice will only be for the four months up until the end of March 2025.
This change will only affect our 12-month mooring customers and will not affect the summer six-month berth holders, the dinghy park or on bank storage customers. A note will be sent out with the invoices to help explain the changes, but if anyone has any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.
Moorings Customer Satisfaction Forms – We will be sending out a new form by (e-mail) about the moorings and marina facilities. This form will be sent once a year so that we can gain your important feedback about these facilities, and it will be sent to our berth holders, dinghy park and storage customers only. All your replies are fed back to a director so that they can be reported at their regular director meetings. The main customer satisfaction form for work we complete will still be sent out as usual to all customers for whom we have completed work on their craft, as that feedback is also very important to us. We really do listen to what you say!
Thank you for taking the time to read this Newsletter. If you would like to keep more up to date with the work we complete, please follow us on Facebook. Enjoy the last of the summer and your time on the water and thank you for your continuing custom and support. Don’t hesitate to contact the office if you have any queries, or comments, and please, please, return those winter storage and customer satisfaction forms!
Eric Bishop
Manager