Pier 33's "Off" Season

Once the leaves have fallen and the boats are all hauled out for the winter, many, many friends and boaters will stop me and ask "What do you do for the winter?" ... a fair assumption that in the boating business, there is nothing but hibernation awaiting us after the boating season ends.

Believe it or not, our staff at Pier 33 stays very busy.

Let's start with -- taking a break. During the busy spring & summer months, there are plenty of weekends and holidays that are part of the regular Pier 33 work week and the fall & winter "off-season" allows are staff to catch up on family & vacation time and enjoy a more routine schedule than boating season allows. The marina (showroom-shop-yards) is only closed a few days during the winter -- Thanksgiving week, Thursday thru Sunday and then again at Christmas break. This year we will be closed beginning December 23 and reopening January 4, 2011. Other than those dates, Pier 33 is open and ready to serve, Monday thru Saturday each week.

This is also very valuable time for providing our staff with training in all areas of our business. Sales & Service will be visiting Scout Boats, Pursuit Boats and Chaparral Boats during the month of December for important product updates and training from those boat builders. Our technicians will also be headed to school with Mercury Marine and Yamaha Outboards, plus other technical training.

What some may consider our "off-season" is actually very short. The boat show season begins almost immediately upon our return in January, with the Chicago Boat Show opening at

McCormick Place

on January 12th. Pier 33 will have two displays at this year's boat show, with Pursuit and Scout, side-by-side. That show is always a sure sign that we've rounded the bend, with spring launch on the horizon and fall haul-out in the rear-view mirror. The Grand Rapids Boat Show follows-up in February, with Pier 33's Spring Open House just a few weeks later and then ...

The ice melts. Launch. A new season begins. Boaters return. The fish bite. The sun comes out. The Lake warms and boaters savor those days on the water that we have dreamt about all winter long.