Trading Places: A Texas Restaurant Makes Waves Over Its Move To A New Home
By Jim Clemons
(Published June, 2008, in Marina Dock Age magazine)
Restaurants change locations. That’s a given. They pack up their plates, pots, pans and recipes to leave behind an empty storefront and move to new surroundings.
The Pier Restaurant, just made a move – but it wasn't such a typical one. The Pier is located on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas. It’s a large-scale restaurant, a local landmark, built on a floating platform in the lake. As such, it offers boat slips for access from the lake and, of course, a walkway for access from land.
But the Pier was recently in troubled water, so to speak. It’s location was prone to major fluctuations in water level. There were times when high water prevented access from land. So a much better spot just 200 yards away was selected as the new mooring point. Just lift the anchor and push it off? Not exactly.
Enter Atlantic-Meeco. The decades old company has a lot of experience in the marina business. It has designed, built and installed marina systems around the world. But seldom is it called on to move restaurants.
“We took it in stride but with concern,” said Paul Durlacher, Atlantic-Meeco president and CEO. “Actually, we knew the ins and outs of the floating platform quite well. We designed and built the bulk of it in the early 1980s. But, of course, that platform was delivered to Lake Travis as a collection of sub-assembled components. We pulled those components off a big truck and put them together on site. And remember, the platform now has a large-scale restaurant on top of it. We had sufficient work space to make the move, but total mass was an issue.”
The overall footprint of the platform is well over 10,000 square feet, and it was to be moved with the restaurant, fully furnished, on top. Could such a mass, such a load, be floated and repositioned without problems?
“At the very beginning of the project, our engineers did an analysis and came up with a play book. Our construction people then went by the play book step by step, and we ended up with a very successful move,” Durlacher said.
Water, sewer, electrical, moorings…disconnecting the restaurant was as big a job as reconnecting it. There was an attached fuel dock to deal with too. Once the restaurant was free to float, it took only 15 minutes for barges to push it from its old location to its new one. At press time, it was to be back in business just four days after the move.
“A well-tuned machine” is how restaurant owner Todd Hynes described the Atlantic-Meeco crew. “They got the job done; they work hard. They really made this a pretty easy transition.
” Lake Travis was created in 1941 by the construction of the Mansfield Dam on the Colorado River. The lake covers nearly 20,000 acres and has an average depth of 62 feet. The lake has nine public marinas. The Point Venture area, the location of the Pier Restaurant, is privately owned by a property owners association.
ESPRIT, NEW LUXURY TOWNEHOME/MARINA DEVELOPMENT, JUST COMPLETED AT MARINA DEL REY
By Jim Clemons
Marina del Rey, Calif. – July 29, 2008 – Marina construction at Marina del Rey’s new luxury townhome development, Esprit, has been completed just as occupancy of the townhomes begins. Marina engineering and construction was managed by Atlantic-Meeco of McAlester, Okla., a decades old company that designs and builds about 300 marinas a year for customers throughout the U.S. and abroad.
The marina is a first-class facility with 227 slips ranging from 35 to 70 feet (11 to 21 meters). Additionally, Atlantic-Meeco constructed three amenity platforms of approximately 4500 square feet (418 square meters) each that house restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, and other services.
The marina and platforms utilize Atlantic-Meeco’s “Atlantic” system, a proven saltwater marina system that uses a glue-laminated monocoque frame over polyethylene-encased flotation. Besides superior strength and durability, an advantage of this monocoque frame design is that it offers an enclosed, but accessible, above-water chase for wiring, plumbing, etc. – and this feature was especially meaningful at Esprit with its high-capacity power hook-ups, fresh water, dual coaxial and category-5 wiring configurations offered to slip tenants.
Decks are Atlantic-Meeco’s wet-cast reinforced concrete with exposed aggregate. Anchorage is provided by pilings.
The Esprit townhome and marina development represents a nine-year body of work. “My memory is that our first discussions about this marina were back in early 1999,” said Dan Adams, Atlantic-Meeco vice president. “We started
real work on the project in October of ’05. The developer faced a lot of technical hurdles, but today it’s done – and the result is absolutely beautiful.”
Esprit features 437 residential units ranging in size from approximately 1000 to nearly 3700 square feet in a collection of multi-story buildings. Most of the units are multi-level. The development is on a peninsula, so virtually all the units have a waterfront view. Marina del Rey is just south of Santa Monica, Calif.
Accompanying photo: Amenity platforms with new boat slips in background at the Esprit townhome development, Marina del Rey, Calif.
For more information about Esprit, please visit www.espritmdr.com
ATLANTIC-MEECO HOLDINGS, INC. ACQUIRES SULLIVAN FLOTATION SYSTEMS
By Jim Clemons
McAlester, Okla. – July 18, 2008 – The parent company of marina builder Atlantic-Meeco has acquired majority interest in Sullivan Flotation Systems. Atlantic-Meeco is based in McAlester, Okla. and markets itself worldwide, manufacturing and installing about 300 marinas a year. Sullivan is based in Warwick, N.Y. and has its greatest market strength in the northeastern states and along the Atlantic seaboard of the U.S. Sullivan manufactures and installs about 100 marinas a year. The McAlester and Warwick facilities will continue to operate with the same personnel.
Steven and Robert Sullivan of Sullivan Flotation Systems will continue to actively manage and retain ownership interest in the company. “We are both excited about the opportunities this union will bring to our company and employees,” they said. “We’re looking forward to working with Atlantic-Meeco to provide a broader array of products to our customers. We anticipate growing the business through increased market presence and synergies between the two companies.”
“This is a marriage of two well run companies with good products and good reputations,” said Paul Durlacher, president and chief executive officer of Atlantic-Meeco. “Because both companies are so healthy and well run, there is no immediate need for substantive change in either operation. I want to add how pleased we are to have Steven and Robert as partners.”
Both companies were founded in the early 1960s.
Renovating In Traffic: How South Shore Harbour Marina Managed A Face Lift And Expansion Midst The Daily Bustle Of 800+ Busy Slips
By Jim Clemons
Clear Lake in southeast Texas, is a relaxing and peaceful place with naturally protected waters opening to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico just beyond. Seagulls sing their familiar chorus overhead. Fish dapple the water and taunt those gulls from below.
Ironically, the surrounding population here is dense – very dense. The Clear Lake area itself is home to 150,000. Then just 30 minutes away is Houston, the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in America. Yes, there are a lot of people here, but that’s just one reason why Clear Lake’s South Shore Harbour Marina is so big and busy.
“We’re here 110% for our tenants,” said Donna Rogers, marina manager. “We do whatever it takes to remain absolutely first class. The customer comes first.”
Under normal circumstances, maintaining such high standards of customer service can be tough. In the midst of a renovation and expansion, it can be downright onerous.
South Shore Harbour Marina opened in 1983 as an amenity of the adjacent South Shore Harbour resort community. Of course, it was all small then. Only a few homes dotted the community. Inevitable growth has led to a 250-room resort hotel and conference center, a 27-hole championship golf course, a 70,000 s.f. fitness center, schools, abundant shopping…and at 855 slips, a substantially larger marina.
“We have renovated and expanded a number times and as we grow, each time becomes more challenging,” Rogers said.
Several years back, the marina turned to outside professionals to accomplish their needs. In 2002, they first used the services of Atlantic-Meeco to take care of a rather extensive renovation along with a small addition. That went well, so when dreams of the current project came up, Atlantic-Meeco was called again.
Atlantic-Meeco provides complete turn-key design and construction services for marinas. The decades old company designs, builds and installs about 300 marinas a year for customers throughout the U.S. and abroad.
The just completed project at South Shore Harbour features a new dock of twenty 60-foot slips, the renovation of forty-two 45 and 50-foot slips and the renovation of the fuel dock.
Challenge 1 – Keep Tenants Happy
“We want our customers happy and their customers happy,” said Dan Adams, vice president of Atlantic-Meeco. “And trust me, no one is happy if they can’t get to their boat on a pretty day.”
There could be no disruption of operations, and that wasn't a particularly easy feat to accomplish.
“There are a lot of people who dock at this marina and go boating year around,” Adams said. “The challenge, of course, was to perform our work in a way that minimized, make that ‘eliminated,’ our intrusion on those customers. To accomplish that, we planned our schedules differently and adjusted our working hours and days. During peak times for tenants, we tried to be completely out of the way.
“We consider ourselves a team player with the marina, a partner in every sense of the word,” he added. “We completely understand their commitment to first-class customer service, and we did everything possible in our work to be an extension of that service.”
Bear in mind that southeast Texas is essentially a boating Mecca. First, there’s all the water – numerous lakes, the bay and the far-reaching gulf. More importantly, the year around fair weather means year around boating. There is no “off” season. Winters, which reduce customers or even close more northern marinas, have little effect at South Shore Harbour. The traffic is always there. Every season offers a vast collection of perfect days to be on the water.
Challenge 2 – Finding Room To Work
Atlantic-Meeco provided design, manufacturing and complete installation services of the docks, decks and some pilings. The company installed its Atlantic system for the docks, a proven saltwater system that uses a glue-laminated monocoque frame over polyethylene encased flotation. Decking materials were of treated southern pine and ipé, used as appropriate. All components were fabricated at the company’s manufacturing facility in McAlester, Oklahoma, then shipped by dedicated carriers to the marina. An Atlantic-Meeco crew came with the trucks to provide construction on site.
And when they got there, they faced the challenge of work space – a lack of it, that is. The marina’s parking lot is often full, so material laden-trucks had to be quickly unloaded, launches quickly made, and the trucks then quickly moved off site. Every effort was made to minimize the footprint of material storage on shore. The goal was to stay out of the way of the tenants. It wasn't even very roomy out there on the water. But with careful planning, these challenges were overcome.
Challenge 3 – You Did What?
Perhaps the biggest challenge of all came in the design phase and fabrication phases of the renovated dock. The renovation was, in essence, a new dock in the exact place of an existing one. To replace the pilings of that dock would cost in the neighborhood of $4000 each.
“New pilings on that renovation were going to cost a bundle, and we didn't like hearing that news,” said Rogers, “especially since the existing pilings were in great shape. But Dan and his crew came up with a good solution.”
Atlantic-Meeco engineered and designed the replacement dock to fit the existing pilings. It took a whole lot of careful measurements, then redundant sets of measurements to make sure the first ones were right. Engineers and computers took it from there. Then came a manufacturing crew that understood the difference between 1/8 inch and 1/64. In the end it was a perfect fit.
“Like a glove,” said Adams.
Rogers agreed. “I don’t know of anyone else who can do that,” she said.
With everything completed on time and within budget, South Shore Harbour Marina is today signing leases for their new 60’ slips. (Just a few vacancies remain.) Boats are coming and going. Fuel is being pumped. Walkways are being hosed. Those gulls are still there, and the fish are still breaking water.
It’s like nothing ever happened. Then again, when this renovation was in full swing, everything pretty much felt the same way.
ATLANTIC-MEECO LAUNCHES “ATLANTIC-MEECO MARINA SERVICES” FOR MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS AND RESTORATIONS
By Jim Clemons
An Industry First
McAlester, Okla. – August 5, 2008 – Marina builder Atlantic-Meeco has launched Atlantic-Meeco Marina Services to provide marina maintenance, scheduled and emergency repairs, and renovations. This is a new division for Atlantic-Meeco and a first for the marina industry.
“No longer will owners and operators wonder where they can turn for service by a qualified marina contractor,” said Paul Durlacher, Atlantic-Meeco president and CEO. “Through this new division, they will have a single-source contractor that guarantees its work.”
Atlantic-Meeco now has eight strategically located crews of trained marina technicians, and is adding more to support the anticipated demand for these new service offerings.
Maintenance services may be obtained on an ad hoc basis or as part of a single or multi-year full marina maintenance agreement.
“All of us know that careful and regular maintenance is the most cost-effective way to avoid costly repairs, loss of revenue from downtime and worst of all, damage to customer boats,” Durlacher said. “But seldom do marina operators have available personnel with the skills and training to perform such maintenance correctly. We've long had a viable network of trained crews across the U.S., and now we are growing that part of our business to better serve the industry.”
With the maintenance agreement, Atlantic-Meeco contracts with marina operators for inspection and maintenance to be performed on an annual or semi- annual basis. Typically, in the performance of that agreement, an Atlantic-Meeco crew of five will inspect and adjust all connections, winches, cables and trusses above and below water. All anchoring systems will be inspected for proper operation. Dock alignment is checked and adjusted as needed. All floats, decks, vertical support and roofing are examined for need of repair.
“It’s a very thorough program,” said Daniel Adams, Atlantic-Meeco vice president. “We examine and evaluate every part of the marina down to the cleats and bumpers. Simple adjustments and many small repairs are part of the service. If we find the need for more extensive repairs, we provide an estimate and timetable for those. We even identify items and areas that are okay now, but will likely need work in the future,” he said.
The second element of Atlantic-Meeco Marina Services offering is repairs. The need for repairs may be discovered while undergoing a maintenance inspection by Atlantic-Meeco, by the marina operator or as the result of a weather event. No matter the circumstances or what company manufactured or installed the docks, Atlantic-Meeco will respond with the goal of avoiding lost marina revenue or compromises to boater property and safety. “With our growing network of trained crews, we can and will be highly responsive to emergency or non-emergency repair needs,” said Adams. “We can be there quicker, get the job done right and guarantee our work.”
The third element of Atlantic-Meeco Marina Services offering is renovation. “With 47 years of marina design, manufacturing, and building experience, we are uniquely qualified to advise marina owners and operators on updating their facilities,” said Durlacher. “It may be a simple facelift such as replacement of decking, or it may be more extensive such as replacing smaller slips with larger ones to satisfy the growing preference for bigger boats.”
Just as with the repair services, Atlantic-Meeco will provide renovation services for any marina regardless of what company supplied the original equipment.
Atlantic-Meeco is based in McAlester, Okla. and markets itself worldwide. The company manufactures a full line of commercial and residential docks.