By Michele Robertson
Port Jefferson has always been a busy place, especially during the summer months as residents and visitors alike flock to our beach area for respite from the heat. This year marks a new era, as Faulkner Marine won the bid for the contract of the shack and recreation offerings at Port Jefferson.
Kortni Gibbs, who manages the shack and administrative duties for the marine shop, shared exciting details about the upcoming season. The marine shop located at 504 E Greene has been in business for about 3 ½ years. When the opportunity arose to bid for the Port Jefferson location, Gibbs felt it was a perfect fit.
“We are really excited about getting the bid, we worked hard for it. It is a perfect fit for the location with our experience. We are the boat shop. This is our specialty” said Gibbs.
Current offerings at the shack include kayaks, kids kayaks, paddle boats, and towable tubes. Coming soon are paddleboards, Jon boats, fishing kayaks, tandem kayaks, aqua cycles and bumper boats.
With many manufacturers and vendors closed due to Covid-19, it is taking longer than usual to get items in. There are many ideas and plans in the works, and in time it will all come together with some exciting and new opportunities for water recreation at Lake Carlsbad.
There are plans to build a new dock that will have space in the middle for bumper boats for next summer’s season. Bait and tackle will be available at the shack soon. You will be able to find line, hooks, and live bait. They are even looking into a 24-hour vending machine for bait.
If you are feeling snacky, they have pre-packaged snacks and drinks at the moment, but they are adding to that line up as well. As they wait for equipment to come in, they are working on food permits and licensing so that they can offer up more concessions. Hot dogs, soft pretzels, Dippin Dots, and more will be available soon. They also sell ice and will have a selection of patriotic novelty items for the 4th of July.
The weekends are busy at the shack, as the day goes on sometimes a reservation list is in place for using the available rentals. This reservation list will ease up as more recreation items come in.
With room to cruise the waters, from the docks all the way to the walking bridge, Port Jefferson has plenty to offer in the way of water recreation. In addition to renting towable tubes, you can also purchase them. The shack also sells safety equipment, that way if you do not have what is needed to be safe on the water already, it is available for purchase to ensure you have the best, fun, and safe adventure possible.
Hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and on Friday and Saturday, from 10:00 am to 8:30 pm. Rentals will be available through Labor Day for certain, they will operate as long as they are able too. As daylight hours adjust, so will their operational hours.
“We are excited to be here and hope to be here for many years to come,” shared Gibbs.
Faulkner Marine has been servicing and captaining the Christmas on the Pecos boats, and they will continue to do so. They are currently working on building two new pontoons for Christmas on the Pecos, and plan on operating from both docks.
If you have any questions, reach out to them via phone at 575-887-0357, come by the marine shop on Greene, or find them on Facebook at Faulkner Marine.