Kingfisher Bay draws boaters from around the world; marina continues to expand
Kingfisher Bay Marina owes its name to a very persistent bird that greeted workers every day as construction went on.
Fred Hansard, who runs the marina, said even now kingfishers show up daily at the marina.
Speaking to the Demopolis Rotary Club Wednesday, Hansard said plans for the extensive boat docks and RV park began 21 years ago and continue to evolve. Arthur and Estelle Taylor, who own what used to be cotton fields, got with Hansard to determine the scope of the project.
Today, out of 110 slips available for yachts and pontoon boats, only four yacht slips are empty, he said. As demand for more space grows, the marina will add on. There is space for up to five rows of slips for yachts up to 140 feet long.
The popularity of the multi-million-dollar marina is due in large part to its location. Demopolis is situated at the 32nd parallel, which, by insurance standards, is considered inland water rather than coastal. Yacht owners can save up to half the cost of insurance premiums by choosing Demopolis as their home port.
“Owners rent slips, and we never see the boat,” he said, unless a hurricane approaches the coast.
About half the pontoon boats are from Mississippi, he said. “They’re beginning to find out about Demopolis and Alabama waters.”
Boats from all over the world travel through the marina or use the dry storage facilities available, Hansard said. Another 150 boats take advantage of the marina’s travel lift to be put in dry storage. The storage area also has 75 bays for smaller boats, cars and RVs.
The marina keeps adding amenities for boaters. From the beginning it offered an ADA-access pool. The upper deck of the office building, known as the Sky Lounge, can accommodate 140 people for events, and the building itself has showers and restrooms for renters.
A new fuel dock has been built for river traffic, and a “convenience store on the river” also sells supplies for boats and RVs.
Within the next two weeks a new road will be cut that will go past the new convenience store and RV park.
Immediate plans include opening an RV park for long-term rental across Lock 4 Road from the marina. Looking way into the future, Hansard said land already is set aside and prepared above the flood plain for construction of a restaurant.
October and November usually are the busiest months for the marina. Members of the Great Loop Organization, known as the “Loopers” make the 2,600-miles circuit from the Gulf of Mexico up the Eastern Seaboard and the Hudson River, through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes and the turn south through a series of rivers – including the Tenn-Tom Waterway and Demopolis – and return to the Gulf.