Marine business was floated on lost deposit on speedboat

THE futile attempt 33 years ago to purchase a secondhand speedboat led to the establishment of the now highly successful McHale Caravans, Cabins & Marine, located at Cloonduane, Belcarra, Castlebar, writes Tom Gillespie.

Run by Gerry and Nuala McHale and their daughters, Aisling and Ruth, the company has embarked on a new phase targeting the sailing fraternity.

Gerry, a native of Ross, Castlebar, and a former printer with The Connaught Telegraph, being born so close to Loughs Conn and Cullin has, as he admitted, 'always had a love of the water’.

So back in 1984 Gerry went to buy a secondhand speedboat belonging to Michael Heverin of Ellison Street, Castlebar.

Gerry took up the story: 'I put a deposit on the boat and I went and told my father-in-law, John Flynn.

'He gave me such an eating, claiming I would drown the lot of them (the family). He suggested I would be better off buying two caravans and hiring them out.

'I lost the deposit on the boat, bought two caravans, and both, as it turned out, were leaking. That will be 33 years ago next month (May). I started from that and it has continued to this very day.'

Since then the McHales have gone into portacabins, steel units and more recently marine products and supplies.

Nuala admitted: 'Only for The Connaught Telegraph we would not be here because Gerry had his job and his wages.'

Gerry elaborated: 'We would not have survived on our own. If I was to start today I would be out of business in two years. It is so difficult to get going, there is so much legislation now regarding transportation.

'We have two lorries on the road and heath and safety is gone through the wall. You have to have everything dead on now or you are not in business.

'If you are moving anything with a wide load you have to have permits for every county and you have to give four days written notice to the garda superintendent of every garda station en route, unlike in Northern Ireland where you just make one phone call or fill out one form and you are free to go. Wide loads also have to be escorted, which means another man in another vehicle.'

Gerry said it was a natural progression to get into the marine side of the business from caravan stuff to boats because they both use the same type of ovens, batteries and gear.

Gerry served three years with the search and rescue unit on Loughs Corrib and Mask.

'That was very tough,' he said. 'We did training courses down in Cork, turning over RIBS in 30-foot of water, getting under them and restarting the engine because they were waterlogged.

'It was very hard when we were searching for bodies. It was something that haunted me and one of the reasons I gave it up.'

It is now 10 years since they went into the marine side of the business - kayaks, canoes, buoyancy aids, paddles, drysuits, wetsuits, scuba diving gear, surf boards, SUBs, search and rescue equipment and accessories.

Nuala told me: 'We started the sailing equipment side of the business in March. There is nobody else doing it.'

That side of the business will be looked after by daughter Aisling. Their other daughter, Ruth, is one of five employed in Belcarra.

Gerry continued: 'We are agents for the whole of Connaught for the new range of Whaly boats. They are the latest addition to the Dutch-built range with its versatile drop-down bow and large open deck space.

'This makes it capable of carrying a good sized payload and high number of persons as well as being wheelchair accessible with its unique bow door.

'Our biggest seller are the Whaly boats as well as a range of lake boats, small punts, and fishing kayaks are also popular.

'We work from our own facilities so we can meet all repairs, maintenance and storage requirements.

'We have a wide range of clients from around the country, including civil defence, fire stations, search and rescue, Inland Fisheries and many more.

'We have a dedicated in-house repairs department, offering a complete one-stop-shop for all drysuit and wetsuit repairs.

'We provide a specialist crane hire service throughout Ireland, covering all aspects of road haulage, specialising in truck-mounted crane hire and abnormal loads transport.

'We have established ourselves in the marine transport industry and are highly respected by all of our clients, both corporate and private. All of our drivers are highly trained in the loading of vessels and all of our customers can rest assured that their boats are in extremely safe hands both at loading/unloading time as well as the all-important period of transportation.

 

* McHale Caravans, Cabins & Marine are located at Cloonduane, Belcarra, Castlebar, and can be contacted on (094) 9032082, email info@mchalecaravans.ie or visit www.mchalecaravans.ie.