Life and Living by The Water: Yellow Dog Marine

In Southern Maryland water is all around us. Today, for economic and environmental reasons, you don’t find many people living off the water in the way they used to. Traditional watermen  – crabbing or skimming the oyster beds – have dwindled along with those farmers of our other historic crop, tobacco.

The Novaks with their namesake yellow doggies! – The Bay Net Photo by Tom Latchaw

Don and Gwyn Novak own and operate a marine construction company known as Yellow Dog Marine.  It’s a family owned and operated company in the Barstow area of Calvert County.  Yellow Dog’s specialty is building piers, stone revetments (sometimes called rip-rap) and sea walls.

Five years ago Don tired of his life as a charter boat captain and decided to strike out on his own, and Yellow Dog Marine was founded.  Don’s initial work involved ferrying workers and materials to marine construction jobs.  Then he began to receive calls, asking for estimates to build piers and other constructions for private owners. “The lights came on,” Don told The Bay Net. Ever since Yellow Dog Marine has been installing high quality marine based piers and sea walls.

Don’s wife, Gwyn, is a combination of office manager, marketing director, accountant, and go-fer.  She is an indispensable person that keeps the collections up to date and the bills paid, explains Don.  This enables him to concentrate on the part of the work that he knows best – construction.

The Barstow couple bill themselves as full-service contractors.  They survey sites, help develop plans, pull the permits, and do the work.  Their equipment can access the customer site from either land or sea, and they can have their equipment and crew ready to work almost anywhere in Maryland (even Western Maryland!) within a few days.

This equipment includes a 20 foot by 40 foot barge and a large tracked excavator that can be used either to dig or to operate a one-ton vibrating hammer to drive pilings for piers.  The barge can carry up to 40 tons of stone to be used on construction projects.

A recent constructed by Yellow Dog using pilings set on 10 foot centers with heavy framing timbers, through-bolted for a secure and strong dock.

In addition to new construction, Yellow Dog also helps extend the life of current piers and sea walls through cleaning, sealing, repair and maintenance.  Another service available is the use of synthetic decking materials for an attractive pier that lasts a very long time.

The marine construction industry in Maryland is fairly large and vibrant.  Don characterizes his relationship with other marine construction companies as “friendly competition.”  He explained that most marine construction companies in Maryland are either older companies that have a steady customer base, or newer companies like his own that are seeking a more “niche” market. 

Yellow Dog’s niche appears to be mostly with the private homeowner.  They are not always the least expensive contractor, but they do pride themselves on a heavier construction style than is strictly required by local regulations. 
<!–