Pulling in to Sailor's Wharf puts your boat in the capable hands of our experienced, friendly staff with a full-service boat and yacht yard. Here, we have the capability to tackle just about any boat problem you may have. Our goal is to be the boat yard of choice, and our mission is to deliver the services you request in partnership with you. Each employee is proud to be a member of our team, where we focus on providing you the service you need and holding ourselves to the ABYC Standard, which is the highest standard in the marine industry. These standards help us maintain both the quality and the safety that you depend on.
Dedicated To Your Needs
We focus on serving our customers' requirements by:
 Investing In New Equipment, a Clean Facility, & Florida's West Coast Best Pressure Cleaning Recycling System & Safety Equipment for Our Techs
Developing Our Technicians By Sending Them To Schools for Certification In ABYC Standards, Awlgrip Systems & Spectra Watermakers — We Are Certified Applicators for Seahawk & Pettit Anti-Fouling Paints Systems
Ongoing Education Via National Seminars To Keep Up-To-Date With Advanced Systems & Applications for Our Customer's Service Requirements
Having the Ability To Do Total Redesign & Renovations Supervise By a SNAME Member Yacht Designer With Experience Of Having Built Over Two Thousand Boats
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Our Team
We are proud of the team we've assembled to serve you in all of your boating needs. Meet them and learn a bit about their qualifications below! Over 300 years of combined experience which our team uses to make the best decisions for the boat owner.
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Robert Valdes, Service Manager
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Robert Valdes is a second generation boat builder. His father worked with Vince Lazzara, founder of GulfStar, and was a co-founder of Endeavor Yachts. Rob grew up in the boat industry, and he was born in Newport Beach, California. He started in the yachting industry at an early age. His summer jobs included rigging and hull lamination then graduated into commissioning and boat delivery. These experiences evolved into yacht manufacturing, from sailing vessels, both mono-hull and multi-hull, to sport fishers, and 50-meter mega yachts. He has honed his skills in all disciplines of marine construction. After many years in the industry, he landed at Sailor's Wharf, first as a yacht ABYC repair technician, and then moving into a project management position that focused on new boat commissioning, custom interiors, and customer satisfaction.
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Erik Hausch, Boat Yard Supervisor
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Erik was born and raised in the Hudson Valley area of New York on a small freshwater lake. He grew up with his family on their 39' Allied ketch, cruising from New York to the Bahamas. That trip sealed the deal for his career choice. After graduating high school, he attended the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Kennebunk, Maine. After graduating, he was one of a small crew who built a replica of an 1898 30' Elco launch. This was the start of the new Electric Launch Company that produced electric launches, as well as lapstrake runabouts.
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Erik moved to Florida in 1991 and began restoring antique runabouts in Sarasota, then Trumpy's in St. Petersburg. After having his fill of 'red lead' and mahogany dust, he decided to see what this fiberglass stuff was all about. In 1997, he began working for the Sailor's Wharf Yacht Yard, working in the boat yard in rigging, carpentry, and electronics. He was promoted to run Florida Yacht Charters & Sailing School, which at that time was a division of Sailor's Wharf. After a stint as a private motor yacht captain, He returned to "The Wharf" as yard foreman and then service manager.
After years of personal boat ownership and a long career in the marine industry, Erik is an ABYC Master Technician focusing on marine systems, marine electrical, and marine corrosion. With all his experience he knows the ins and outs of most boats and systems.
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Steve Howard, Rigging
Steve has over 31 years rigging sailboats from simple
production models to highly custom projects including the
latest, SV SKY which will be sailing around the world in 2019.
Karen LaFluer, Accounting
Karen is a great team player who keeps everyone in
line with her friendly personality. She is thorough in typical
accounting fashion and makes sure all billings are accurate.
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Jonathan Ezell, Parts Manager
Jonathan is a great team player who specializes in
finding the correct and many times difficult to find parts.
Jonathan also is the talented person behind our Facebook pages.
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