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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

More improvements ahead for Tower's new marina

Jodi Summit
Posted 9/6/18

TOWER- There was plenty of food, but the owners of Your Boat Club, the marina in Tower, had slightly underestimated the number of place settings they would need at their first annual Labor Day Bash …

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More improvements ahead for Tower's new marina

Posted

TOWER- There was plenty of food, but the owners of Your Boat Club, the marina in Tower, had slightly underestimated the number of place settings they would need at their first annual Labor Day Bash on Sunday, Sept. 2.

“We went through 500 place settings,” said Your Boat Club co-owner Michael Jellish, “but ran out and had to buy 100 more!”

There was a steady stream of visitors all afternoon, and while some may have just stopped by for the pig roast, there was a lot more to see.

The event was a chance for the public to view all the improvements at Tower’s old Standing Bear Marina, as well as get a look at what YBC offers both local residents and visitors.

“It was really good to get to know more people,” said Jellish. “People came by boat and by car.”

Visitors toured the newly-renovated facility, checked out the boats available for rental, saw its service shop, and viewed the marina slips and winter storage options.

More improvements to the marina are underway this fall. YBC is waiting on the okay from permitting agencies to replace about 220 feet of old seawall. The old pilings and metal will be removed, and new seawall and pilings will be installed. They hope to get this work done this fall. Once done, this will allow them to put in more docking space.

“As the word gets out, demand is increasing,” Jellish said. “We are already permitted to add in two more dock sections.”

When YBC took over the marina, over two-thirds of the dock space was unusable after years of neglect by the previous owners.

YBC will also be adding gas service at the marina, in time for next year’s boating season. Jellish noted this will be a convenient spot to gas up boats before heading out on Lake Vermilion.

Smaller projects include finishing renovations of the indoor storage building, as well as completing renovations of the upstairs of the marina building, which is being turned into office space.

Landscaping work will also be completed in the spring.

But this fall, staff will also be busy winterizing and getting boats ready for storage. They offer both indoor storage, and outdoor, shrink-wrap storage. Most of their main staff will be working through the winter, he said. The marina employed about a dozen people this summer.

Jellish said they are seeing more and more YBC members from other parts of the state coming up to Vermilion and taking out boats. YBC also offers daily boat rentals for the general public. For local residents, they are seeing more take advantage of slip rentals, maintenance services, and winter storage options.

Minnesota-based Your Boat Club offers traditional marina services and boat rentals, along with a membership option, which allows members to use boats at any one of Your Boat Club’s 14 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The marina does not sell new boats, but every year in April sells rental boats that have been in the fleet for three years. The Tower location is selling boating accessories, including tubes and other flotation-type toys.

Jellish said that they had been looking for a spot of Vermilion for several years before finalizing the deal to purchase the marina in Tower. The marina is open daily from 8 a.m. – dusk. Winter hours will vary. Jellish invited anyone to stop by for a tour.

“Our pricing is very competitive,” he said.

You can learn more about the facility at www.yourboatclub.com.