Savannah Boathouse Will Offer Wet Slips and Dry Dock Storage

A new marina in Savannah, Georgia, will soon be occupying the area that once housed a popular restaurant, Williams Seafood. The property, which had been abandoned after the restaurant burned down in 2005, will be home to the Savannah Boathouse. The marina is being developed by the McCarthy family.

Savannah Boathouse will feature 2,000 feet of linear, in-water dockage and a dry dock building that will be able to store approximately 108 boats up to 36 feet. It will help ease the squeeze in the other area marinas, which are running at 95 to 100 percent capacity.

“There’s not a lot of open wet storage or dry storage in Savannah,” said Tom McCarthy, the marina’s managing partner. He’s also the owner of the Savannah Freedom Boat Club, which is running out of room at its current marina.
“I wanted to find a place where I could have more room for growth and open another Freedom Boat Club location,” he explained.

McCarthy said the project received the final permit approval in January, and he expected construction to begin by the end of that month. The owners hope to open Savannah Boathouse in the spring of 2021.

EMC will be handling the engineering work, and Structuremarine of Canada will build the aluminum floating docks. TIC – The Industrial Company, will do the pile driving, the dock installation and the construction of the forklift bridge that will sit between the four fingers on each side of the dock. The marina will offer the usual amenities, including water, electric, WiFi and pumpout. It will also have a fuel dock.

On the land side, Roof & Rack will be building the four-story, galvanized dry storage building. The storages spaces can be configured to handle boats of different sizes.

The marina will also include a 30-foot by 60-foot office building with an office and marine store on the ground floor. An event space on the second floor will be available for rental for weddings, parties and similar activities. The marina will also have restroom and shower facilities.

“We are the first marina in the State of Georgia coming south down the ICW, so we hope to attract a lot of transient boats as they come south and go back north,” McCarthy said.

Savannah Boathouse has applied for a Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) but will not hear if it is approved until sometime in March or April. It has also applied for and been approved for funding from Georgia’s Clean Vessel Act Grant, which will cover 75 percent of the construction costs for a pumpout station. McCarthy said the marina should receive $35,000 to $40,000 under this grant.