Business Building Feature Story-Saunders Yachtworks: Strategic Infrastructure Upgrades to Meet Growing Demands

By Seth McGonigal, Saunders Yachtworks

Saunders Yachtworks began hauling vessels at our Gulf Shores, AL, facility in 2012. At the time of construction of the basin, lift well, and boatyard our team was strategic about optimizing the layout and utilities. Initially, all utilities were integrated under concrete slabs during construction. These utilities were sized for future growth in the market yet even with the additional capacity anticipated Saunders has seen a need for additional capacity. These utilities were buried to maintain the yard’s clean, professional appearance. However, in recent years we have faced increasing demand from larger and larger vessels.

Now, many of our customers require 100 amp service. Our water and air lines have also become an issue because we buried galvanized steel to run these services to slips. You can probably guess that in recent years, we have had several leaks including one that required excavating an 8ft well behind a vessel on the hard to fix the leak. Boyd Siegel, Saunders Yachtworks Director of Operations, stated “Lack of serviceability for the utilities has led to extended service periods with no power, air, or water. This prompted a better look at how to improve our access and utility maintenance.” 

The decision to undertake this overhaul was complex and costly. Boyd initially scoped the project to include replacing all underground conductors from aluminum to copper to extend their lifespan. As well as running all-new underground conduits for power, water, and air. However, the high costs and workflow disruptions associated with replacing all buried galvanized piping led Boyd to a more feasible solution: rerunning all slip utilities above ground. This approach not only reduced costs but also improved ease of maintenance. Additionally, we recognized the need for a new transformer and power line from the grid to establish a separate power system for the entire basin and half of the boatyard.

The project commenced in March and has been progressing steadily. Our contractor, a valued customer of ours, has been diligently installing and routing conduits along the east yard fencing and down to the main east basin bulkhead. The clean and orderly run of these new conduits is essential to maintaining the yard’s aesthetic appeal. Boyd remarked, “The contractor is working with us to have everything in place and perform a one-time shutdown of the yard to hook up all utilities.” The overhaul of the facility infrastructure is a large undertaking with many complex challenges. Breaking this project into phases seemed to be the only acceptable way to address the issue. This phased approach will decrease downtime and offer the opportunity to increase utility capacity for future expansion. The project is expected to take one year due to equipment lead times and will coincide with an ½ acre expansion of the boatyard.

This project reflects the overall growth in the recreational boating market in the northern Gulf of Mexico. As vessels become larger and more technologically advanced, our infrastructure investment underscores our commitment to meeting future demands. Saunders Yachtworks is reacting proactively and poised to continue as a leading service yard, catering to our customers’ needs for decades to come.