I have been using Pinkham's Cove Marine since they purchased the company from Craig, there is…read morenowhere else I would take my boat. They are 100% trustworthy, prompt and provide stellar service. I keep my boat stored there for the winter, and they have my boat ready to go when I come up to Maine. I can not say enough about Russell Charleston and all the staff. You will not be disappointed. Been coming to Great Pond for over 40 years and I this summer my boat stopped working the second day here, and they had a tech over the next day, and I was back on the water that day! Not sure what was up with the review by BessMark, but I can tell you it is in no way my experience or the experience of anyone I know who trusts their boat to Russell.

Certainly the best of the best. Great mechanics, Knowledgeable owner fast service and reasonable…read moreprices. They do it all summer and winter. Boat repairs and rentals in the summer and snowmobile services in the winter. Very honest and down to earth business.

Dropped off our boat at the end of the season in October 2022. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen…read morecircumstances we were not able to retrieve it in early spring as usual. I reached out to Bill on July 24th and advised I needed to register the boat. He said to call next day, and he could meet at the boat landing. I called on the 25th - he said he was mistaken and couldn't do it that day and to call him Wednesday. I called Wednesday, and Thursday and received no response. Friday, my boyfriend called. Bill answered and told him the boat would not start - said there was "no spark". My boyfriend advised him we were heading south on Sunday, but he would be back the following weekend with a bunch of guys and would like to have it. Bill said he would look at it and asked him to call him the following Wednesday. He did (in the morning) and Bill said he hadn't looked at it yet and to call at the end of the day. That call, as well as my call and text went with no response. My boyfriend called Thursday morning and again, no answer. I called Thursday afternoon and Bill answered. I advised I was checking on the status of the boat. He said, "I haven't figured it out yet". I said "ok". He said, "I'll let you know when I do". I asked, "do you know when that will be". He said "no". I then asked if there was a problem and if he didn't want to do it. He said, "I looked at it and haven't figured it out yet, if you want to get it and take it somewhere else, have at it". I responded that we have been very patient, and he has not been communicating. He said (with a sigh) "Listen" and then hung on me like a coward rather than talking to me like a man. He then had the audacity, when my boyfriend tried calling him three times the following morning, to text him and say that I was rude and to come get the boat off his property. He hung up on me, but I was rude... Later that morning, my boyfriend went to get the boat as requested, however, Bill nor the boat were anywhere to be found and attempts to reach him were ignored. I text Bill and told him he had an hour to get to the shop and produce the boat he told us to get off of his property or I would call the police. He didn't respond right away, but when he did his simple response was "Good luck". In the meantime, I reached out to the police who were more than happy to help. In a short amount of time, I was advised by the Deputy that he contacted Bill, and he said he would have the boat at the shop ready to be pulled out of there by 2pm the next day (August 5th). It was there and we now have the boat just shy of two weeks after first contact. It's a shame because we have dealt with him for many years. But clearly loyalty and professionalism are not his strong suit or even in his wheelhouse. I understand if someone is having a bad day, but clearly, he decided he didn't want to deal with the issue, or couldn't because he's incapable, and didn't have the guts or common decency to let us know. Based on the reviews I have since researched, I shouldn't be surprised. I guess we were fortunate the place didn't burn down as it did several years ago. We are happy to be taking our business elsewhere. And those of you considering services here should do the same.

Great, solid rental place! I got 2 paddle boards for 4 hours for about $75. I got to choose the…read moreboard size and specify life jacket size. Everything was super smooth- they were at the lake when I arrived, they dropped off the boards right there, talked for a minute, and then left us on our own. We had such an amazing time and it was great to have a place that dropped the boards off! When you're done all you do is text and they come within 5 min or so to pick them up- easy peasy!

From the owner: We offer quality kayak, canoe, paddleboard and paddle boat rentals to the Winthrop Lakes Region and…read morebeyond!

Brightside Marine -- a poorly managed business with serious cash flow problems. They over promise,…read moreunder deliver, behave abusively and held our boat hostage until we arrived with a Sheriff and $2,200 in cash. This sad story started last summer. We brought our 17' fishing boat to Shawn Grant, owner of Brightside. He was knowledgeable and immediately diagnosed the problem. The transom was rotten. They could store and winterize the boat, and have it fixed by mid June 2022. Red flag #1: November 2021 we receive a call asking us to prepay for the storage/winterization, or they can't meet payroll. $1,189 paid by credit card. Red flag #2: After my husband telephoned several times, Shawn said, "Stop calling and bothering the help. Don't call us! We'll call you!" And then he blocked his calls. Red flag #3: Mid June 2022, the boat hasn't been started yet. They call with a new quote of $6,000 and request a 50% deposit. $3,000 paid by credit card. Red flag #4: Four days before we arrive, text comes in asking for another $2,000. They've "burned" thru the deposit and need more funds. The end's in site, so we again pay by credit card. Arrive in Maine 7/2. Boat not ready until 7/13!! In the meantime, no loaner boat available. Last straw, Shawn calls yelling about our interaction with the staff on why the boat wasn't ready on time. In a loud, threatening voice he said he was closing our account and would no longer accept a credit card. Show up with $2,200 in $100 bills. Pay in cash or NO boat! That's when we called the Sheriff, who thankfully went with us to get the boat. Turns out, this wasn't their first call about Shawn and Brightside Marine. And I suspect, it won't be their last.

I have read some favorable reviews by folks that use Brightside to store and repair their own…read moreboats. Perhaps that side of the business is conducted professionally and reliably. But, it is an entirely different matter if one is contemplating a boat rental. Suffice it to say we strongly recommend NOT doing business with Brightside Marina. Please read the story of our recent sad saga below... My brother and I rented a motorboat from Brightside Marina in Belgrade, Maine for a few days in late June - early July of 2021. Our experience with the owner, Shawn, was disappointing from beginning to end. First, Shawn had difficulty finding the reservation which he blamed on a new reservation system he was using. The boat we got had seen better days. Admittedly, this may have been due to a COVID induced shortage which may have been out of his control. We were told there was a full tank of gasoline, which was confirmed by the gas gauge. We started off on our exploration of Great Pond confident that we had plenty of fuel. Unfortunately, it turned out the gauge was broken and suddenly the indicator dropped to almost empty. Fortunately, we were able to get to another marina and fill up before running dry. The following day, while boating around the lake, the engine starting making unusual noises and gave out. It was then that we realized there was no fire extinguisher on the boat. Nor were there any paddles or anchor. We called Brightside and they eventually sent out a boat to tow us in. We had drifted from our original location, being "up the creek without a paddle" so to speak, so the rescue boat had a little difficulty in finding us. Back at the dock, the mechanic determined that we had almost run out of engine oil. Apparently the oil reservoir had not been checked or filled before our rental. When we pointed out that the boat had no fire extinguisher, anchor or paddles, Shawn stated that "someone must have stolen the fire extinguisher" and that "I don't like to put an anchor on my rental boats because people don't know how to use them and damage my boats" and "I don't want people paddling my boats". We were finally able to secure a fire extinguisher and get back to enjoying our holiday. This episode cost us about half a day of lost time and we pointed this out to Shawn. He acted is if we were trying to cheat him and got hot under the collar. My brother called Shawn later to discuss a discount but Shawn refused, saying he would decide what he felt like when we returned the boat. The following day was the last day of the rental. We called to ask for another half day as compensation for the lost time. He said no and that we had to return the boat by 4pm that afternoon. My brother drove the boat back to the marina as Shawn demanded. The unfortunately coincided with a sudden storm which soaked my brother and did some damage in the town. I forgot to mention this next part in a previous review but since Shawn made such a big deal about that omission in his reply, I am including it here. This doesn't help Shawn's case but he asked for this. My brother asked to get a discount for all the lost time, which was at least half a day, and defects of the boat. Shawn then proposed $15 based on 72 hours of theoretical time. We pointed out that actually, the time was only 8 hours per day (rentals start at 8 am and end at 4 pm, so it's not a 24 hour day as with car rentals) so that half a day should be at least $100. Shawn dismissively said to his assistant, "Give him $50 back and get him off my property". This was during a heavy rain and forced my brother to walk back to the town in the rain while already soaking wet. We will never forget the ugly treatment we received at Brightside Marine or Shawn's sheer nastiness. We cannot recommend this place for boat rentals at any time.

What great employees! Excellent personalized service at boat pickup. We'll use this company every…read moreyear!!!

It's taken me a little time to decide if I should write this review or not. What led me to write it…read morewas Facebook. More specifically, the Maine Boat Rental Facebook page. I'll get back that in a bit. I rented the boat I'm writing about from August 15-17, 2025. First I want to tell you what happened and I will provide facts supported with pictures Maine Boat Rental provided me (actually a video of the boat before I took possession and several pictures showing the damage they claimed I caused). After returning the boat, I received an e-mail on 26 August stating, "This email is to confirm a one-time charge in the amount of $251.74 has been successfully completed. The reason for this charge was $26.74 GAS FILL, $175 BENT BIMNI ROD SCRATCHES ON REAR AND FRONT OF BOAT, $50 ADMIN FEE FOR CC FOR SECURITY DEPOSIT and is associated with your reservation CC A5L-GDV. If you have any questions, please contact Maine Boat Rental at [207-313-6248] and we will be happy to assist you." I immediately called them and they said the Bimini rod was bent and there was damage to the hull of the boat. I asked them to send me the video/pics and they did. Me being me, I looked at the pictures and then watched the video (the one taken before I rented the boat). I ended up doing screen-shots of the video. I compared the screen shots with the damage they said I did, then put an Adobe pdf file together to send them showing that EVERY scratch, gouge, bent rod, etc., was already on the boat. I sent that file to Maine Boat Rental and asked when I was going to get my refund. About a week later I received an e-mail from Nichoal that said, "After spending a lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures, I have found that the bimni bar was bent badly during your rental and the cost of replacing that is over $1,200. I have also found that there are in fact new scratches on the boat the worst of them down to the fiberglass and will require a in-depth patching process to ensure water intrusion will not happen in the future." I asked her if she saw the Adobe pdf file I sent her and she hadn't (remember, she claimed to have spent a "lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures" - obviously not looking at their own Facebook page). I again sent the file which clearly shows the damage they charged me for was already on the boat. Once she realized I did my due diligence, she immediately refunded my $175 in damages. Now, what caused me to write this review. I was looking at other reviews and their Facebook page. Facebook has 2 pictures showing their ski boats all docked together (posted on July 17, 2025). The last boat (farthest from the picture taker) is the boat I rented. In that picture, taken almost a month before I rented the boat, is the bent Bimini rod. The bend in the bar clearly matches the damage picture they sent me. That was the icing on the cake. How many renters have been charged for this Bimini rod they claim is over $1200? I have yet to find a Bimini top for more than $500 but that's not the point. The point is unsuspecting renters are renting from Maine Boat Rental and probably getting charged for damage that was already there. They probably charged every person that rented this particular boat, July 17 through now, for that damage. Pretty crappy way to try and get more money from people. I mean, $1000 for a 3-day rental isn't enough? I just caution you, if you're planning on renting a boat from them, to take pictures of every bit of damage (bent rods, scratches, prop damage on the engine, etc.). In fact, make sure the person from Maine Boat Rental dropping off the boat is in those pictures so they can see you took them before you got the boat not after the fact. The pictures I've posted - higher resolution pictures = damage they said I caused / lower resolution pictures = screen shots I took from their video before I got the boat. For the record, I did rent from them (I am Sean M on the contract and fuel receipt).

Update... Took my boat to Belgrade boat repair and they fixed my power steering:-) kennebec Boat…read morerepair quoted me $2,000 ...Belgrade boat repair found a busted hose and repaired it for $112.50. I will say again. Beware of kennebec boat repair!!!!!!!

Had my boat motor stolen while it was at this business..owner said it was not his problem he has no…read moreinsurance and no security cameras. Boat sat there 3 weeks and they did nothing. Don't do business with this loser

Clark Marine is great! Had purchased our Avalon pontoon boat a couple years ago from them, and have…read moreused them since for service & off-season storage. Always very responsive and super friendly.

I bought a pontoon boat here in September of 2021. I was very impressed with the amount of time…read morethat the owner, Rob Brown, took with me during the sales process. I did not put it in the water until spring of 2022 when they sent me out with Derek from their team to teach me how to run the boat. He spent a whole morning on the water in my boat with me going through all the controls and the details like how to put on the seat cover, how to adjust the engine, how to run the Bluetooth stereo, etc. He was amazing. Now they are going to put the boat in the water for me as soon as I have my mooring ready. They have been so great to work with, so accommodating to my schedule and so friendly. I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone in the market for a freshwater boat. They are so friendly, helpful, service-oriented and professional.

Have rented kayaks from them a few years in a row. They have been helpful each time in making sure…read morewe got exactly what we needed and what would work best for us. They rent kayaks (single and double) and canoes. They will help you load it and tie it securely to your car.