Crystal Boat Shop Seeing Much Earlier Repairs

With a warm start to spring, boaters have been aiming to get their watercraft into the waves early.

Local lakes, such as Medicine Lake in Plymouth, smashed an ice-out record this year. According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Medicine Lake had its earliest ice-out since it started keeping track in 1941.

The lack of ice this year coupled with enthusiasm from boaters is something Midwest Water Sports in Crystal hasn’t seen before.

“We had some customers actually using their boat in December, and wanted to get out because the lakes weren’t actually frozen fully on Christmas, they were out Christmas Day,” said Midwest Water Sports manager Eric Sakowski. “We had another customer [or rather], the same customer out on New Year’s Day … [it’s] unusual.”

Midwest Water Sports specializes in tow boats, as well as towing accessories like wake boards and tubes.

Midwest Water Sports in Crystal is encouraging boat owners to bring their watercraft in early for repairs this year.

Cold Weather Boat Repairs

Sakowski said many of the boats they stock and service aren’t suited to cold water and overnight freeze conditions. 

“We know that at some point it’s going to get cold again and still have temps dipping below freezing,” he said. “So, [we] had to curb some expectations and not allow some people to get their boats quite yet this year.”

According to Sakowski, boats are more prone to damage in the colder conditions. 

“In our world of tow boats, it’s more than just the motor side,” he said. “A lot of people, there’s just the concern of a motor freezing and having that cause motor damage. For us, it’s ballast — there’s so many different aspects of it that really can cause issues.”

But, the shop is excited for the longer spring. Boaters have an easier time moving their rigs without snow on the ground.

As a result, they have an opportunity to transport their boats for service earlier than usual. That means the shop won’t have a huge influx of boats to repair at once.

“If Mother Nature goes from cold, cold cold and then instantly to ice-out, we have a lot of customer boats that need to go out in a very short window,” Sakowski said. “Where, in a season like this, where it’s an early ice-out and early spring, it allows us to slowly have boats go out.”

The shop recommends bringing boats in for service as early as possible. 

“If they have the ability to bring it in now, that’s ideal, because then we can get it in and get it done,” Sakowski said. “And once the temps do become warm enough for them, they’re turnkey, go use your boat and have some fun.”

Crystal