Kayak Business For Sale

Has anyone talked to Mark about this? They were the best!

Yes, Margaret and I keep in touch, and she asked if I could post the ad she placed on craigslist. It is for the Santa Cruz site (maybe Moss Landing--it's subject to negotiation). The two sites do very different business.

Margaret and Mark have taken good care of me ever since I started sea kayaking, and I'll hate to see them go. However, Margaret has some exciting plans for the location they keep.'

BTW, they are NOT holding the derby at Loch Lomond this year.

Janice

BTW, they are NOT holding the derby at Loch Lomond this year.

Then where will it be, if it happens?  I think it used to be on the ocean before Loch Lomond, will it be returning to the big blue?

Michael

Really great crew over at Kayak Connection. I have bought three kayaks from them. They always take good care of me.

Bought my Outback from them in 2006.  Great service and really nice people...hope they keep at least one of their shops open.

Hi Yakers:

          M and M are great to do business with. Too bad The S.C. location doesn't have the greatest parking and access to the Harbor.
                                                                             Ernie

BTW, they are NOT holding the derby at Loch Lomond this year.

Then where will it be, if it happens? 

Michael

I construed Big J's post to mean they weren't holding it at all.  Which is a real loss. 

This post has raised an issue for me.  How could a kayak store with such excellent service and a solid reputation for supporting kayak fishing be subject to sale at a time when yakfishing is taking off like crazy?

Is it NOT actually taking off like crazy?  (I think the growth is there, otherwise, why would Hobie/ Cobra keep spitting out new fishing models or developments each of the last three years?)

Ernie highlights a good point about the parking.  It's a little scary racking your boat with the cars whizzing by.  But that can't be the only thing, although location is a huge factor.  Still I'm scratching my head over this. 

I construed Big J's post to mean they weren't holding it at all.  Which is a real loss. 

This post has raised an issue for me.  How could a kayak store with such excellent service and a solid reputation for supporting kayak fishing be subject to sale at a time when yakfishing is taking off like crazy?

Is it NOT actually taking off like crazy?  (I think the growth is there, otherwise, why would Hobie/ Cobra keep spitting out new fishing models or developments each of the last three years?)

Ernie highlights a good point about the parking.  It's a little scary racking your boat with the cars whizzing by.  But that can't be the only thing, although location is a huge factor.  Still I'm scratching my head over this. 

It could be something as simple as their lease running out and the property owner jacking up the rent.  Purely conjecture on my part, but it wouldn't be the first time that a thriving business has been done in by such a thing. 

I bought my last 4 kayaks from them at the SC location, 3 tourers & a surfyak.
 I worked for Mark & Margaret for 3 summer seasons until I just couldn't fit the tours into my weekends any more. They were (&are) great employers, which can be tough in such a ,ahem, laid-back place like Santa Cruz.
 J, the thought that they would hold one of the shops cheers me up a bit. If I had to drive to Moss for yakking stuff I would, to buy it from M&M.
I know they just moved the shop from the corner to the middle of the row, so maybe that has something to do with this.
The dock launching point is great from an outfitter perspective, easy to get the boats on & off the water with the floating dock.

Hi Yakers:

         I talked to Golden this morning and, he told me that M & M
are not  have a going out of business Sale.
         I do like the floating Docks but, having to drive around a few blocks in S.C. traffic to the Docks sucks.
                                                         Ernie

I gotta echo ChuckE and everybody's good assesments.  From the industry side, KC is the model shop and a class act.  Their event donations to the fishery are a rare example of paddlesports folks who get it and set an example.
I too hope they keep a toe in the water and wish them the best of luck.

That's a real bummer. Mark is a great guy. I still remember the tourney that Chucke won. I was right next to him when that big but bit... That was really incredible. 5 minutes later... and his Prowler would've belonged to somebody else. The Family and I were really looking forward to the Father's Day derby at Loch Lomond this year too. We had a great time last year... Oh well... maybe a chance to have a MBF derby on Father's Day.

Freddie

My wife ran into Mark at the Kind Grind the other day. She talked to him about the business, and I guess his take was that he & Margaret have been running the shop for a long time, and frankly they want more time to play & run their international touring trips. I can't blame them for that. From my experience, the trips are where the fun is and the shop is where the headaches are.
Word in the harbor is that they will retain the Moss shop, for now at least.
I wish Golden would run it as his own, he has M&M's style down.

I wish Golden would run it as his own, he has M&M's style down.

Me, too! But he is finishing up his studies for a teaching credential and plans to teach art...maybe YOU want a business partner? He is a good guy.

Janice aka "Big J"