About Our Team
Don and Sharry Stabbert
Don and Sharry at SBMC
The Stabbert family owns SBMC. Don and Sharry Stabbert are ocean cruisers who own and operate Starr, their 77′ Steve Seaton trawler. They have made ten crossings of the Pacific and one crossing of the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
Don & Sharry run Starr without crew, however, they invite experienced sailor friends for any passages longer than 5-8 days. They know many passage makers where the couple do watches 6hrs on and 6hrs off but find that they start to get rummy after 5 or 6 days of running.
When making a passage running 24/7 with a single engine, it is imperative to have a person at the helm at all times looking out for other boats and drifting debris. One of the biggest hazards is getting a net or abandoned lines in the propeller. The helmsman must be ready to instantly pull back on the throttle if any vibration or engine rpm changes are detected. For example, on the 2015 passage from Hawaii to Seattle the propeller twice picked up large drifting nets in the prop. The boat was 1000 nm from any land and fortunately the net was able to be cut away.
The Stabberts departed Hawaii at the end of May 2018 for a trip back home to Seattle. They first completed the passage from Honolulu to the Aleutians, then continued to Seward, Prince William Sound and then across the Gulf of Alaska to Sitka and south to Seattle covering 4600nm.
After about a year in Seattle, they took Starr on the 2019 passage back to Hawaii. Anyone interested in learning more about the Stabbert’s 30 plus years of redeveloping Downtown Kirkland Waterfront can click here. The orange dots are projects we were involved in developing between 1978 thru 2005.
Visit www.mvstarr.com to read more about their travels.
Starr at Diamond Head, Hawaii, 2018
Deke Jones
Deke, General Manager
Deke brings 30+ years of experience from a variety of professional endeavors including commercial real estate, property and facility management, resort management, public education and a small business owner. He has specific knowledge and a keen understanding of waterfront commercial and marina operations and development. Deke has managed multiple Seattle marinas along with diverse real estate portfolios in the public and private sectors. He truly enjoys helping others in their business and boating pursuits and is dedicated to a quality experience for all tenants and guests of SBMC.
Deke loves all things on the water and in the outdoors… fly fishing, kayaking, whitewater rafting, boating, cycling, his garden, and volunteering in the community.
Sara Wyckoff
Sara, Operations Manager
Sara has fantastic experience in all facets of property management, especially marina properties. She managed several marinas located on Lake Union in Seattle including a variety of multi-family, commercial and retail properties. Specializing in operations, customer service, leasing and marketing, Sara is committed to quality service and management systems that best serve our owners and tenants. She brings 12 + years of experience and is currently pursuing her broker’s license to enhance SBMC’s future growth and services.
When Sara isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her family exploring all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
Our Story
The Marco Shipyard
After bringing Starr back to Seattle from Europe in 2005, Don and Sharry purchased the Marco Shipyard in Seattle and transformed it into the kind of “clean and quiet” marine facility they had dreamed about while cruising the world. This facility would have every conceivable marine service available at the head of the dock, yet still be more elegant than any of the yacht clubs they had encountered in their travels. They named it SBMC (Salmon Bay Marine Center).
- The docks should have all the power necessary to run all systems on a 200′ or larger boat without requiring the use of on-board generators.
- Wide docks to accommodate electric carts next to the boats for easy loading and unloading (no more dock carts and hand trucks.)
- Black water pump pick-ups adjacent to every boat, out of sight inside deck hatches.
- Proximity to the services needed to accomplish even the most demanding refit, from engine replacement to full interior refits, and qualified service professionals and skilled tradespeople handpicked for their big-boat expertise.
The Marco Shipyard underwent an extensive renovation as part of the master plan to modernize and upgrade the facility. Don and his son Brooke designed all new buildings and docks. They removed eight existing buildings, as well as the hundreds of creosote-soaked pilings and docks. The 1,100 ton and the 2,000 ton drydocks were sold; drydocking, rattle guns chipping steel, and sandblasting are not compatible with the concept of “clean and quiet.” (Note: drydocking of up to 6000 tons, can be handled in ten other facilities just a few minutes away from SBMC.)
The first new buildings opened in 2008. For the first 10 years Brooke Stabbert worked closely with Don and managed all operations at SBMC.
SBMC today provides moorage, repair, and refit facilities to large yachts, and shop and office space to marine contractors and services providers.
As of 2017 SBMC tenants employ approximately 100 people in the marine trades and services, have serviced over 700 vessels, and generated revenues in excess of $100 million.
SBMC is a whole new concept of a working shipyard.