BY BARB THOMSON
Special to the Record
Recently, I鈥檝e been thinking about our local marine supply stores.
I thought about staffing shortages and supply chain issues and interest rates and the competitive monolithic Amazon jungle. We have four dedicated marine businesses in the Comox Valley: collectively, they offer a vast repository of knowledge for the mere asking across the counter. Individually, they are entrepreneurs whose goal is to earn a living by meeting the needs of boaters.
Stuart MacKenzie has owned Comox Marine since 2011.
鈥淲e specialize in marine and RV electrical components, and lithium upgrades, and we鈥檙e also a Victron distributor, both wholesale and retail,鈥� he said.
Why shop locally?
鈥淚 can answer that,鈥� says MacKenzie. 鈥淲e provide expertise and support that Amazon can鈥檛 offer.鈥�
Comox Marine also supports smaller local 鈥渂usiness to business鈥� independent tradespeople. Customers can be assisted via an online consult; if necessary, the store may pre-make and ship a product, and then use FaceTime to show the customer how to install it. MacKenzie currently employs two recent Ukraine immigrants to Canada: shopping locally 鈥渟upports the families who live here.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e the first stop up the hill,鈥� says Jennifer Martin, describing the distance from Comox Harbour to Desolation Sound Yacht Charters, Services & Marine Supply.
This year, Martin and her husband Merion Martin added the marine supply store to Desolation Sound Yacht Charters, a business they鈥檝e owned since 2012.
鈥淲e saw a need for a shop close to the harbour,鈥� and the marine supply store was good fit with their fleet of charter vessels. Martin described their business as 鈥渘ot just a store,鈥� but as an extensive network of resources, knowledge, and seasonal events available to the community of boaters.
Ed Broughton and Wayne Wyant have owned CV Marine for 14 years. They specialize in power boats up to 35 feet, inboard and outboard. The shop is a full-service repair and parts Mercury Marine and MerCruiser dealer, including a chandlery that also offers shrink-wrapping for boats, the only one in the area.
Broughton spoke about the effects of COVID-19, and how as 鈥減eople learned to shop differently,鈥� they adapted by balancing an e-commerce website against the cost of stock on the shelves. It鈥檚 a transition they鈥檝e made by offering assisted online shopping combined with the CV Marine in-person expertise and in-stock marine products.
Curtis Parker is the general manager of Parker Marine, a business that originally began as a Qualicum hardware store opened by his grandfather in the 1950s. Today, the business caters to all types of boaters, while specializing in sports fishing, is also recognized as an 鈥渆lite level鈥� Yamaha dealer.
鈥淲e鈥檙e big on customer service,鈥� said Parker, who went on to describe his team of qualified staff 鈥� parts, technicians, service 鈥� with decades of experience and employment with Parker Marine. Again, blending the brick-and-mortar with the cyber-shopper, Parker also offers a 鈥渉otline鈥� text feature where customers can send in photos and ask questions.
Our local marine supply stores are a feast for the eyes you can touch with your hands: anchors, winches, tenders, batteries, and years of expertise. Take along your boat鈥檚 Christmas wish list.
Barb Thomson is a boating enthusiast who writes a monthly column for the Comox Valley Record.
