Spevock's Nautical Lanes gets rid of wood, offers state-of-the-art synthetic lanes

Spevock's Nautical Lanes owners and brothers Jim II and Joel Spevock knew their facility was at a crossroads. To keep up with the times and technology, they needed to do something. Nautical Lanes on Miller Road in Avon Lake housed its original wooden lanes, 16-foot hard maple (also called rock maple) approaches and pinewood lanes, from 1961. In the fall the Spevocks made the jump and switched to state-of-the-art synthetic lane beds and approaches for the facility that opened under the banner of Aqua Marine Lanes. Included in the project was the removal of the previous lanes and buildout installation of 29,000 square feet of new lanes for the 28-lane facility. The Quibica installation team finished the work within a three-week period in October, just as the fall league season was getting underway. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime improvement to be able do something like that in a small, independently owned business," said Jim Spevock, a second-generation bowling house owner along with his brother. "The community had the chance to witness right in front of them. We felt the bowlers would appreciate it a lot more if they saw it happening themselves. There was some inconvenience with some construction material laying around, but we were literally able to work around the construction and customers were able see all the work happen in real time. It's a major rejuvenation. "For the league community it's nice because it creates consistency. The new balls are made to react on the newer synthetic surfaces. When you put all those pieces together, it's a new and exciting step up for our traditional bowlers. On the side of the newer bowlers, the new lanes are aesthetically pleasing. They glow under black light." Product durability was the main reason for the switch. Wood lanes had long ago timed out of qualities making it as highly competitive. The new synthetic lanes are virtually indestructible and require very low maintenance, according to Spevock. The old lanes required annual maintenance. "The wooden lanes set us apart because they were nostalgic and rare, but at the same time they were below industry standards. They were way beyond their useful life," said Spevock. "There are fewer and fewer family-owned bowling centers these days. Many have been bought out by the larger chains. "This was a reinvestment into our community and a reinvestment into our industry. We get not only great support from Avon Lake but from surrounding communities as well. When you walk into a family-owned center, it's a whole different culture, a whole different atmosphere and whole level of accountability from ownership right down to the staff." The bowling center had three owners between 1961 and 1997. At the end of the bowling season in 1997, the center closed its doors for what many thought was forever. After seeing the bowling center in a state of ruins, the Spevock brothers purchased it in April 2003. After seven long months of tedious renovations to the infrastructure of the building along with interior equipment, the center reopened as a startup business on Oct. 11, 2003, under its current name. "We put a lot of money into restoring those lanes," said Spevock. "Wood lanes weren't meant for today's bowling. They can't stand up to the abuse and impact, especially with today's equipment. "We're unique. We're a hybrid center, which means we cater just as much to entertainment and recreation bowlers as we do to tournaments and traditional bowling. Today's wooden lanes weren't made to sustain the abuse, especially the pounding of today's open bowler, the recreation bowler. It's not that they do it on purpose. They just don't have the skill to lay down the ball softly or properly." Spevock's Nautical Lanes serves as the bowling house for Lorain County high school teams from Avon Lake, Avon and Brookside. It's also the training facility for Magnificat High. It hosts high school dual matches for the North Shore Bowling Conference throughout the winter season along with Rebman Recreation, Strikeout Lanes, North Ridgeville AMF, Park Lanes, American Slovak Club, Lake Erie Lanes and Medina AMF. "COVID kind of pushed things back for virtually two years. This is something that they wanted to do as part of a total upgrade package," said Dan Metelsky, Aqua Bowling Pro Shop owner and past president and promotions director for Greater Lorain USBC bowling. "The installers typically cut out and did six lanes (three pairs) at a time. They then would lay down the new sheets and the panels. Then they would move on to the next six. "The technology for the approaches is a relatively new material, about 2 years old. It's more of a textured approach. No one has had any complaints. It's been absolutely fabulous." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.