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The Log • March 11 - 24, 2016 • 23 Dana Point Shipyard hosts grand re-opening
(Left): Gene Jerry (far right) started Dana Point Shipyard in the 1970s. His daughter Catherine Cope (front center) and grandsons Steve Morris and Jason Morris continue the operation. The Morris brothers oversaw several major upgrades of the boatyard, including the installation of a larger Travelift (above).
Boatyard completes upgrades and re-opened for business March 5.
By Parimal M. Rohit
DANA POINT — Boaters seeking to have their vessels repaired or main- tained at Orange County’s southern- most harbor will enjoy an updated boatyard with wider slips and a larger travel lift as Dana Point Shipyard cele- brated its grand re-opening on March 5.
The family-owned business, which has occupied the eastern edge of Dana Point Harbor since 1973, closed in November 2015 as it renovated its slips and Travelift pier to be able to handle and service larger boats. A new 80-ton Travelift is en route and expected to be installed at the boatyard by the end of 2016. Boaters currently have access to a 65-ton Travelift. The updated boatyard features five slip bays – each one at 78 feet by 27 feet – to service boats large or small. Depending on the mix of boat sizes the boatyard can service a handful of large yachts to a big lot of small to mid-sized vessels at once. Also upgraded were the boatyard’s utility pedestals, fire suppression sys- tem, gangways and a new water treat- ment system to reclaim and reuse all water generated at the yard. Steve Morris joins his brother, Jason
Morris, and mother, Catherine Cope, in continuing the business their grandfa- ther and father, Gene Jerry, helped launch nearly 50 years ago. “We both grew up here,” said Steve
Morris who worked with his brother at the shipyard since their teen years. “I worked here every summer until 2000.”
The brothers both started scraping bottoms and grew into their current roles growing and maintaining the shipyard. Both brothers oversaw the boatyard’s expansion. Expanding the boatyard’s slips and
Travelift capacity means Dana Point Shipyard can keep up with the times, Steve Morris said. “We’re getting to this evolution of 72-foot yacht, 40-foot yacht, a bunch of 40s, we’ve got some jobs in the works on some 65s and 54s,” Steve Morris said, pointing out his grandfa- ther primarily worked on boats 30- some feet or smaller. “We’re working on a different class of vessel at this point in time. It’s because the harbor and boating in general has evolved. Boats have become bigger and bigger and bigger. People have just kept upgrading.” Upgrading Dana Point Shipyard’s
infrastructure was essentially an effort to keep up with demand and an evolv- ing marketplace. “It’s totally different than it was 30
years ago,” Jason Morris added. “That’s probably the biggest thing, the evolu- tion of boating.” Dana Point Shipyard started in
Newport Beach as Anchor Marine Repair in 1966. Jerry and C.B. Shannep worked together at PacBell and spent their free time bottom cleaning and repairing vessels. “They started with $50 and their hand tools,” Steve Morris said, adding Jerry and Shannup worked evenings until the business grew enough for them to both leave PacBell and grow Anchor Marine Repair (and, later, Dana Point Shipyard). The business grew into the 1970s
when Jerry and Shannep were awarded a contract by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to build a boatyard in
Dana Point. In the early 1980s the boatyard expanded, with the company adding a new 50-ton Travelift and pier to its arsenal alongside new docks, an
expanded building, and a fully paved and fenced yard. Jerry and Shannep also obtained a Class A General Engineering Contractors License for Dana Point Shipyard, allowing the company to add marine construction to its list of avail- able services. Dana Point Shipyard’s staff used the license classification to facilitate the rebuild piers in Dana Point and Newport Beach as well as docks in all three Orange County har- bors. Jerry’s grandsons are working to continue the boatyard’s tradition of servicing boaters. “We’re better known for high quality
than low price. There are no shortcuts. You do it right,” Steve Morris said.
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Parimal M. Rohit photos
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