Dockmaster in the Winter?

Many of us who work in the marine industry in northeast states with long, cold winters are often asked, “So, what do you do in the winter?” Our Dockmaster, Laurali, gets this question constantly, and many are surprised to hear that Seager Marine keeps its employees year-round and that she actually stays quite busy all winter long with many responsibilities and projects.

Much of our dockmaster’s time in the winter is spent planning and strategizing for next season at Seager Marine and Freedom Boat Club. The “next season” at Seager Marine takes on many different meanings and interpretations to different folks and involves a variety of different tasks for her. For example, she finalizes dock contracts with our slip customers and “maps” out which boat will be in each slip, based on marina needs and customer preferences. Laurali also confirms which part-time staff members will be returning for the upcoming season and implements the process for hiring new dock staff members, as needed. Don’t forget about training incoming staff members and others! We can never have enough training so everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Restocking and assisting with the inventory at SideShore, our proshop, is a favorite because we all love seeing and learning about the new products at the marina. At Seager, as is core to many of our philosophies, Laurali is always happy to help out in any other department at Seager Marine.

With the new addition of our Freedom Boat Club franchise and going into our second season, growing our membership is key. We all think about boating year-round and adding members in the winter is just as important. The dockmaster works closely with our service manager to oversee the maintenance and repair of our fleets and plans for any additions to our fleets, including naming all of the new boats. There may even be a naming contest in the future! In addition, she will help to set up procedures at any new location, like our new Port of Rochester location! To round out the winter and spring, the dockmaster spends time researching and visiting other Freedom Boat Club headquarters and locations for training and to see how she can improve what we are doing here in Rochester and the Finger Lakes.

When Laurali isn’t working, she loves to spend time with her partner and their dogs, Rita and Walter. She also likes to snowmobile, hike frozen waterfalls, and is learning how to snowboard in her free time this winter.

If you’ve ever wondered what keeps folks in our marine family busy throughout the winter, hopefully this answers your question. Our dockmaster and the rest of our staff members work hard through the winter months to ensure that every season at Seager Marine and Freedom Boat Club is even better than the last!