Welcome to the Boat Yard
Published on 11/25/2020
Hi all,
Let me start out by introducing myself. I am an avid camper and enjoy all things boating and camping. When my husband and I started dating we bonded over our love for water skiing, boating, and having a few beers with family and friends by the campfire. Six years later we still enjoy these activities. We also have a bad habit of buying things which need fixed up. For example, we have a sail boat which doesn't float stored at Lake Wilson, we bought a 1974 coachman pull behind which we turned into the ultimate K-State tailgating machine, we have completely remodelled 2 houses and are starting our next project, THE BOAT YARD.
The idea came a few years ago when our neighbors were complaining about know where to store their camper they just bought. They had spent a pretty penny like most fifth wheel owners and hated that they had to store it out side. It was exposed to all the elements. Things wear faster when stored outside. That is a general fact which most camper and boat owners are well aware of. Additionally, we need a place to store the sailboat in Garden City while we could fix it up. Keeping it at Wilson is too far away to make any progress on the remodel project. On top of that, we decided to sell our tailgating beast and buy a newer camper. Ryan was not fond of keeping it outside. We began looking around town and pricing options but could not come up with an affordable solution or business idea. So we laid some concrete along the side of our house and left the boat sitting in dry storage at Lake Wilson.
Fast-forward to summer of 2020, Beaver Express was selling their location which was a small warehouse facility on the west side of town. While having dinner with my parents, they mentioned the camper storage company idea once again. This time they would be our business partners. (Let's be honest, they are the primary business owners and we are the partners). As partners we worked out the financing and bought the building. The lot is fenced in and only has public access from Mary street. This property is perfect from a security standpoint. Morrisons is to the east, Steam Action Restoration is to the West and the land to the back is owned by American Implement. The location is attractive as well. It is in Garden City in an industrial area while still close to Holcomb. The location is convenient to go pick up your camper and bring it back to the house to prep in about 10 minutes. This is more convenient than storing it at a farmers shop 20 miles outside of town.
The first step to getting the property ready to rent was installing a gate with key code access, cameras for additional security, and parking spots. This is completed and ready to rent out open storage. Give us a call! Step two is to redesign the old Beaver Express building in to a small vehicle and boat storage facility. This included widening the garage doors, building ramps to the new bays, and installing partition walls in between the individual bays. This should be done by December 1st and ready to rent!
The next step is to build our first large cover storage building. We are working on site plans and designs. This will be the bread and butter of the business. We hope to have the first building ready to rent by March 1st. Stay tuned for more updates. I will be posting pictures as progress happens.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!
Kimberly Harp
The Boat Yard