From boatyards to condos.

Solomon, Nancy

On September 24, 2014, the Long Island Herald reported that Davison's Boatyard in East Rockaway would be sold to a developer who would build 80 condominiums on the waterfront site. The boatyard has a long and impressive history, as one of the first to cater to recreational fishermen and boaters in this "Five Towns" community on Long Island's South Shore. Sadly, this story is not unique and will hopefully spur some communities to help preserve their working waterfronts.

In 1932 Russell Davison founded a yard that specialized in boat building, restoration, and service along the shores of East Rockaway. The yard was well known for building and servicing commercial fishing boats and luxury yachts, Coast Guard skiffs, and police boats. Dan Schmidt, recalled in a 2012 interview that:

   Originally their purpose--Davison's--was
   half involved in lumber and house
   moving business. Then in 1932 Russ
   Davidson decided he would venture into
   boat service and boat repairs. He had two
   sons and a daughter in the business--who
   I eventually purchased the yard from. She
   married Ken Cot who was the manager
   and mechanic. Oliver Davidson was the
   engineer and ran all the equipment. They
   manufactured anything you needed. Russ
   was the painter and carpenter. It was a
   good match because they had different
   skills.

      Besides paintwork and woodwork, they
   did a lot of engine restorations. Back then
   boats lasted a lot longer and the engines
   didn't--every 10 years you had to fix the
   engines. That's when we went from being
   just a boatyard to also doing engine
   repairs.

      Years ago there were painters, welders,
   different levels of carpenters. We had fine
   carpenters who did varnish work. Then
   there were "nuts and bolts" carpenters--they
   had to put seams together, caulk a
   boat, and put lap strakes and rivets back
   in. The woodworkers came from Scandinavian
   countries.

Over time the yard expanded its services to include dealer training on Mercruser motors, and maintaining "party" fishing boats, such as the Commodore, the Genie May, and the Captain Tom. While motorboats were more common during the yard's beginnings, sailboats were also part of the yard. "Oliver and Russ were sailors--they would buy sailboat hulls--bring them here and would put them together. They would sail the boat, use it, sail it, and build another one," recalls Schmidt. Even today, there is a certain pattern among those who work in boat yards. "It's a unique industry--no one goes to school to become a boatyard guy. You have to learn the long hard way."

Like other industries, boat builders developed close occupational ties and worked together. According to Schmidt, "All the craftsmen knew each other and would share with each other. I remember doing that with Fred Scopinich also. We're in business with each other as well. Russ realized [that] the customer moved around and realized that it was everybody's customer. They worked well together in those days. You still see that locally in the trade--to help each other out."

The architecture of boatyards is somewhat traditional, but there are unique structures found in each one. At Davison's, the showroom sits below what was once a functioning barge purchased by Russ Davison. According to Schmidt, "First they lived on the water for two years. Then Doris came home one day and it [the barge] was up on land. It is a barge thought to be built in late 1800s. It was a working barge--like coal barges in Brooklyn--out of service--the bottom was all rotted out. He bought property, and then Davison lifted it in the air and built what is underneath it." In addition, there was a wood carpenter's building where Sandpiper Marine worked until the yard was sold, operated by Pat Kinneary.

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Superstorm Sandy flooded all of Davison's buildings, swept boats off their stanchions, and damaged small and large vessels alike. "In the winter we were trying to figure out how to fix everyone and get them out boating again. One thing we didn't do was to set the anchor off in the canal and tighten it up, so as the tide came up it would pull the boat away from the dock. That would have proved to help us out--but we missed that on this storm. But having the buildings saved us," remembered Schmidt.

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Alas, Davison's Boatyard confronted a series of economic problems that has been shared by many boatyard owners. As Schmidt explained in 2013, just after Superstorm Sandy, "It's inevitable that at some point we will have to sell the yard, any yard or property its value expense for us to run is uneven. Boatyards used to make a living storing boats--that's become less and less evident. Local marinas and yacht clubs now store boats. This might have been the spot in its day--but now we are sitting on a main street in a small town--three acres of property have higher and bigger values. We have adapted to knowing we can't just make a living here. This doesn't even support a few mechanics, a yard person, and an office person. If I were to charge the correct amount of money that would pay all the expenses going forward--to our customers--we'd have to charge five times more than what we charge--it wouldn't work."

Ted DeGarmo, the owner of DeGarmo Boatyard in Babylon reflected that, "There is no way that a traditional boatyard can pay the taxes that we have to pay. When you have a situation that we have on Long Island, there is no other place to get the money from except from taxpayers. The future of Long Island, as far as traditions go, is going to be a tough sell." DeGarmo has also sold his property. "I was draining my entire savings just keeping the place afloat."

While some preservation organizations are trying to save these working waterfronts, sadly, many are falling by the wayside. I urge those who do care about these special places to write their state officials, asking them to introduce and support legislation that preserves working waterfronts, in the same way that farmland advocates have helped preserve working farms. Only then can we pass on the maritime traditions of our communities.

Nancy Solomon is executive director of Long Island Traditions, located in Port Washington, New York. She can be reached at 516/767-8803 or info@longislandtraditions.org.