Hauling Boats During the Pandemic

Editor’s Note:  Some fleets are doing robust business during the Covid-19 pandemic and others are unfortunately struggling. A lot depends on what they typically haul. For Palmetto Yacht Management, business is booming!

This is the 2nd in our series “Life on Pandemic Road” detailing how Double Coin customers are coping with the pandemic. In the first one, Glen Rice discusses how his four-legged buddies are missing human contact at truck stops.

In this one, Chris Hanna, owner of Palmetto Yacht Management, talks about safety measures they are taking and how their business is booming.

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When the pandemic began, the uncertainty of it all that was a bit unnerving. One of our largest clients asked us to handle their transports in two weeks that are normally spread out over more than a month.

Safety Measures

We had to immediately put new processes in place to ensure the safety of our entire team. Fuel gloves were thrown out the window (not literally) and replaced with latex gloves which were also used for entry to every truck stop or retail store we visited. Trucks were disinfected every day and were no longer shared between drivers. Hand sanitizer was also stocked in each vehicle.

Eating Healthier

As time progressed, restaurants began closing their dining rooms and only allowing drive thru service. With these policies, finding food on the road became increasingly difficult because our trucks cannot use a standard drive-thru and walking up to a drive-thru window was not originally allowed. However, with most supermarkets remaining open, eating healthier and utilizing our vehicle coolers became our new normal. Eating healthier on the road helped to slightly balance out the missed gym time due to all of the fitness centers closing. 

Benefits & Challenges

For more than 2 months, one of our biggest challenges became almost nonexistent . . . NYC traffic! With much our clientele spread throughout the NY and CT areas, traffic is something we face daily as it encroaches into our HOS restrictions. For the first time ever, the streets were clear. Travel time became as predictable as driving through west Texas on a sunny summer day! This made our dispatch and scheduling much easier for this short period of time! A blessing in disguise I guess you could say!

As the weeks rolled by, it was apparent that business was going to continue to boom in our industry and a new problem arose — hiring new staff to handle the increase in demand! We’ve been very blessed to have this problem; however, it’s a challenge none the less! 

Double Coin Tires Come Through For Us

With the increase in demand, one thing we didn’t have to worry about was our tire selection! With more than 30 pieces of equipment we rely heavily on our Double Coin RLB1 for drive tires and the RT500 for both steers and trailer positions. With these tires getting between 250-300k, we are rest assured that our drivers are well equipped to go the extra mile!