The food! It's gone way downhill. Can't make a decent Caesar salad and the added lobster was OLD! It's no longer the restaurant I used to enjoy. read more

Rented a pontoon boat for my wife, brother and sister-in-law as we were vacationing on the lake. The boat was in good shape and the staff was very helpful with our undocking and docking. read more

We rented a 20ft pontoon boat 10/12/24. We booked on line it was very easy. We called the week before to double check all was set as we had our grandkids and wanted everything to go smoothly. On Saturday Chris the dock manager was great shows us the boat went over a few things and we had a great fall day of fishing and checking out the fall colors. No worries no problems. Oh we dropped anchor then had a little trouble starting the motor. We called the dock and they said they would be right out. They made a few suggestions and it worked so they didn't have to come save us. All was good the rest of the day. So for us 5 stars. Thanks sam boat yard! read more

I was pretty surprised to see such negative reviews of this place, but I also noticed that most of them are from a few years ago, so some things must have changed. My fiance and I rented a fishing boat from here on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. The service was great. We were able to get fishing licenses at the boat yard, and we did not need a boating license to rent the boat. We initially reserved for three hours, but because it was slow, we were able to add an extra hour at the last minute. It could not have been easier, and the price was right. The boat was nothing special, but we did not need much, and fishing boats are usually not pristine given that they expect you to be pulling fish up onto it. The lake was beautiful, clean, and peaceful. **Disclaimer: this facility does not have tubes to rent for the boats. In fact, we did not see anyone on tubes on the lake the entire time we were out there. They were upfront with us about this when we reserved the boat, but some people may be disappointed if they don't realize this. read more

We rented a pontoon from this company and let me tell you, the condition of the boat was embarrassing, we paid ahead of time and drove for an hour to just turn around and loose $200. Service is good, very young kids running the place, but seriously, do not rent from them. You pay the same at any other place and can't imagine they have the same wear off boats. Very disappointed! read more

when I called on the phone before going there, I was told no boat is available for another hour, but when I drove there (for the restaurant) and asked them, they saw me and told me a boat is IMMEDIATELY available. They did not let me look at the boat, and asked me to pay right away. It was strange because it contradicted what they told me on the phone, but I was happy a boat was available right away, so I paid. However, after I paid, they showed me the boat, it was extremely dirty and looked out of service, then I realized they gave me a boat they would not have given other guests, because that boat was not meant to be rented. That's why they told me on the phone that another boat would not be available for another hour. When we spoke on the phone, they could not see my face, when I arrived there, they could see I'm Asian, so they decided to play dirty on me. They are racist. read more

Beautiful lake. Service is embarrassing. The people preparing the boats and helping us on and off them were wonderful (especially Nathan), but the woman running the rental stand is just................morose, bitter, uninterested and seems to have the general look of abysmal apathy and boredom behind her eyes. Awful. read more

We rented stand up paddle boards for a morning activity. The staff is friendly and helpful. When we came back in the employee met us and helped us disembark. Rates are on par with rentals at other lakes we have visited. The paddle boards were in good shape. The lake is fairly calm but there are motorboats. The boaters did slow down when passing us so we did not have too much of a wake. Would recommend and visit again. read more

Our boat winters there. Jeff and hie crew are first rate, courteous and helpful. Many of our friends leave their boats there in dry dock - on call. When they want to go boating, Team Jeff backs the boat in and hauls it out when done. Same drill on rentals. Plus the Mingo Grille is right there for after boating drinks. Call Carol ahead and you should be good to go. No worries. read more

We were visiting Cooperstown and looking for things to do for the kids. With Covid, many places were closed so this was our only nearby option. They have some college kids running the place, and although they are nice kids, they are not trained very well. We rented out kayaks and canoes. When I called to ask if we could put the 2 little kids in the middle (tthat's what we have done before since they are too small to row), he said no. I said, what am I supposed to do with them then? Then he said well, maybe you can out them in your lap. I don't know how you could row then. When we got there the same guys asked the other guy if the kids could sit in the middle and he said, sure! Then the guy who didn't know anything brings us to the kayaks and canoes and said here are the lifejackets and oars and went back to the desk. We had to figure out how to board and push off our own boats (it was a little tricky as we had a large group with little kids as well as a couple of seniors). We've gone kayaking before, and they always make sure we are seated and push us off to make sure we have no issues before they go. Another day we rented a pontoon and I asked the guy if we could park and swim in the lake and he said no. But when we got there and I asked the other guy he said yes. So we wasted our first trip. We rented the pontoon the next day again and swam this time and it was so much fun. The pontoon's canvas cover was all ripped up so that made for ugly pictures. There really wasn't any other place to rent from nearby that was open, so we made the most if it and had fun anyway. read more

Shit hole, dirty dirty kitchen. Lazy mechanics. Took 2.5 weeks to hear back about my boat after I called them with them making 0 attempt to call me. Only to find out they have been sucking their thumbs the whole time and no work has been done to my boat, but hey I have to pay them 154 dollars to get my boat back from them.... 70 dollars to put in on a trailer when they were suppose to fix it but never did. Funny. read more

Sam Smith's Boat Yard - They had my boat for 2.5 weeks. Trailered it and never pulled the transom plug. Severe damage done to trailer and stringers in the sub hull - Boating Near Me - Cooperstown, New York

This place was horrible all my kids wanted to do was go tubing and have an amazing time but no they do not have tubes!!!! Their was also no radio in the boat so I could not jam to my favorite songs. They also do not allow water sports!! The service here is so bad. I do not recommend you coming here turn around read more

Great town, great lake, TERRIBLE SERVICE at Sam Smith's Boat Yard. We went from having a boat, to a smaller boat, to no boat in 25 minutes. They were very disorganized and after their mistakes, the manager (Carol Leech) treated us very rudely and didn't seem to care that it ruined our afternoon. Try CPs Charter Service (315) 360-7113 or Time Out Boat Rentals (607) 287-7737 The restaurant that is attached (Blue Mingo) did not look clean either. Two thumbs down! read more

So disappointing! I had reservation for a large boat and as we arrived they said they can't see our reservation. We came from 1.5 hour distance and we even had guests from 3hour distance; they just said 'we are sorry'. They even didn't bother to suggest any other place to rent. Stay away from them if you want a pleasant experience, very unprofessional. read more

as we pull away from this place we're all left face palming our foreheads as we should have checked Yelp first. we made a reservation yesterday for a small pontoon boat for four. staying an hour away, we packed our lunches and any necessary gear for a great day on the water. after a fairly lengthy drive (who knew there was traffic in Cooperstown?) we arrived and we were told that not only that there were no boats available, but that our reservation didn't exist, as it had never been written down. the incompetence (giggling and passing the phone between them, saying "my friend doesn't talk so good on the phone" - that should have been or first tip off, however, they read back our info and confirmed our reservation), of the two employees that the reservation was made with the previous day became apparent and was clearly an epidemic amongst the entire staff, including the owner. the woman working at the desk maintained a deer in headlights stance and at one point stated that, although she wasn't working yesterday, we should always be sure to make reservations with her. wait, what?! how were we supposed to know that helpful piece of information? as we tried to sort this out the less than gracious owner finally (supposedly) went to check if another boat was available. at one point it was stated that there may be a larger boat available, but that we'd be responsible for paying the larger boat price, (sweet! we get to pay for your mistake; thanks guys!). we waited, and waited and finally gave up. as far as we know, there was never a boat available in the first place and we were the victims of a terribly disorganized and totally mismanaged system. think this review is a little long and pointed for what amounts to a screw up? maybe, but it was pretty serious damper on a beautiful day in which we were supposed to be celebrating. thanks for ruining America's birthday for us Sam Smith's read more