Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi

102 Reviews
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Port Jefferson Harborwalk
Port Jefferson, NY 11777
40° 56' 47.95'', -73° 4' 19.45''
631-796-4462
VHF Ch. 68
portjefflaunch.com
Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi
Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi
Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi
Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi
Port Jefferson Launch & Water Taxi

Awards


Boaters Choice 2018Boaters Choice 2019Boaters Choice 2020Boaters Choice 2021Boaters Choice Elite Fleet 2022Boaters Choice 2023

About


Serving the local community since 1996. Our licensed captains along with fully insured and drug tested crews guarantee your safety and comfort. All of our well maintained passenger vessels are United States Coast Guard inspected. We will pick up at your boat or bring people to your boat. We will drop off at our transient dock. We will deliver ice, food, drinks or anything you want to your boat. Better than taking your dinghy in to town. You don’t have to worry about navigating at night in your 10′ dinghy. Enjoy cocktails and dinner and we will drive you back to the boat. Passengers can dress for the evening and not have to worry about getting wet.

Berth Capacity


Moorings:19

Services & Amenities

Last Updated: Jan 22, 2024

Moorings:Yes
Transient Storage:Yes
Water Taxi:Within 5 Miles
Restrooms:Yes
Showers:Yes
Laundry:Yes
Ice:Yes
Medical Facility:Within 5 Miles
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Verified

The only issue difficulty finding a place to park the dinghy.

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Great place... great food & music

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Verified

Good moorings with good tackle. Launch was clean and prompt. The launch captain was pleasant and courteous.

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Verified

Bought the boat in PJ 7 years ago, nice to return to an area we are familiar with and to meet old friends.

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These mooring balls have plenty of swing room for our 54’ boat - not sure how many they have for our size boat. The ball has 2 mooring eyes which make the process of hooking up to it simpler than just the 1 eye set-ups. The fee includes the water taxi so we like to take that into the cute town. The ferry boats run often, but we did not experience any wake from them. Winds were light when we were there so we had a very calm night.

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Verified

Excellent service. Launchpad was there at the time we needed. Crew was friendly.

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Great prices for a mooring. But no dinghy dock. The launch service can take 10 minutes to arrive. We use our dinghy. But there isn’t a dock to tie up.

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Verified

Friendly & prompt service.

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Verified

We love using Port Launch. They do a great job!

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Verified

Nice operation. Flexible cancellation policy is a big plus. Launch was prompt and included in price. The field is close to the pier which is convenient but as a result a lot of wakes from inconsiderate boats and the ferry.

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Verified

Great place to visit.

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Accommodated is with a late evening request and directed us to mooring in the dark. Thanks!

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Verified

Great mooring, lovely harbor. Gorgeous sunset

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Verified

Great launch service. Laundry good. No hot water in showers

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Verified

Quiet and calm. Very nice down.

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Verified

Pretty harbor. No buoy on short mooring pennant. Mooring ball completely underwater at high tide. Danfords Hotel and Marina apparently manage moorings, but they act like they don’t and discourage use of marina itself (e.g. dingy dock, bathrooms, showers, etc.) Prompt free town launch service. Town super crowded on Saturday night with huge ferry crowds from Bridgeport, CT.

Marina Response:
Hi Bob, Sorry the stay wasn't better for you. Once in a while the mooring will get tangled up on itself and will pull the ball under. It's a quick fix. Danford's has nothing to do with the moorings, we are a privately run company. We could have gotten you into the Town bathrooms and showers. I am glad to hear or launch was prompt that I can control. Port Jeff is a popular destination in the summer so weekends are crowded. Hopefully you will come back and give us another chance to make things right. Thanks, Pete
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Verified

Calm, quiet night’s rest

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Verified

Nice place to visit. The outer harbor is scenic, and the inner harbor more industrial. The folks running the launch and moorings were easy to work with and the price was reasonable. The town has lots of sights and restaurants convenient to walking.

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Verified

Exactly as advertised, well-maintained moorings. Helpful prompt directions via VHF 68 once I was in the harbor. Bridles were too short for my vessel so I just used my own mooring lines as extensions. This is a working port so don't expect a scenic retreat; the ferry to Bridgeport announces its departure with a long blast and three shorter ones to indicate astern propulsion. If this doesn't wake you from your afternoon nap, nothing will. But it's a practical stop, particularly in a southerly blow or if you need to get the LIRR train to NYC.

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Verified

Quick confirmation and great launch services.

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Verified

Very convenient. Launch service is terrific. Friendly. The harbor can be a little loud but not related to the mooring service.

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Verified

The launch operators are friendly and helpful. Only 4 stars because the mooring field is super noisy, which is beyond the launch drivers’ control.

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Verified

Pt. Jeff. Launch service is first rate, quick, attentive and very professional. Recommend Pt. Jeff launch service to anyone thinking of spending a few days at Pt. Jeff.

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Verified

The harbormaster accommodated my request for a mooring on short notice.

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Verified

Great launch service and time of operation. Nice the cost was included in the mooring fee which was reasonable considering.

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Verified

Awesome Crew - We've been members for many years & have always had GREAT Service!

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Verified

Stayed here as Port Jefferson Yacht Club was full it was flawless and launch service is good. A great alternative.

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Verified

Great stay. Launch operator was fantastic and friendly

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Verified

Great stop and excellent launch

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Verified

Launch staff is great! If you go into town, check out Barito Tacos!

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Verified

Every summer we stop at PJ Launch Mooring field on our way north. Love the service there. Launch guys are super friendly, mooring are close to town and very well kept and you get lots of privacy.

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Verified

Easy to negotiate mooribg field. Quick service.

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Verified

A nice mooring as moorings go. The pickup and tack;le were clean and appear to be well maintained. That being said, $65 is a lot of money for one night..

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Verified

Prompt and courteous!

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Verified

Outstanding in all respects, most notably the politeness and professionalism of staff.

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Verified

Convenient location to town. Launch never took more than 3 minutes to show up. Very professional staff. The spot is a bit industrial so expect noises from the ferry and commercial areas.

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Verified

It was Great. Everything went well

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Verified

Easy in, easy out, great launch service, friendly people!

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Verified

Good launch service. Shower available till 4pm

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Verified

They new we were coming and directed me to the ball.

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Verified

WONDERFUL!!! Great Launch service & staff! Especially fun small town parade honoring local Fire Departments!!!

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Verified

Was great water taxi was very convenient

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Verified

No showers! Building locked with a deadbolt. No help from PJL.

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Verified

Friendly and relaxed staff. Easy to work with, both on line and in person. A one night refund was easy when I departed earlier than expected. The town is a bustling harbor village packed with friendly people and great seafood. It's a super destination or a quick stopover. Lou

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Verified

Great launch service but we arrived at the showers at 6.00 pm and it was locked and no one was around despite the board outside saying it would be open until 8.00 pm . A bit disappointing. Otherwise no complaints.

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Verified

First time in Long Island Sound. Great experience. Shuttle personnel were great. Will likely stop again.

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Verified

Fantastic! The water taxi crew were wonderful! We went back and forth to town with ease.

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Verified

Excellent time. Great Launch service. Mooring balls have two lines to go onto your cleats, no need for your lines. 5 mph speed limit near Mooring fields and marinas. Nice shower and laundry (quarters only).

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Verified

So easy. Love this stop.

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Verified

Only negative: mooring lines were beyond filthy. Location is great. Launch is very responsive!

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Verified

Port Jefferson was a nice surprised to us! The launch service runs very efficiently and drivers are very kind. It was nice to enjoy a great dinner and not have to hurry back to boat before dark in a tender.

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Verified

Good moorings and professional launch drivers.

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Verified

Always awesome, launch operator deserves all the credit. He was so helpful & attentive. Cudo's. S/V Patriot

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Verified

Good people. Good service. Always a bargain. Everything as expected. Well done as usual.

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Verified

Stayed 2 times going and coming from Sag Harbor and CT River. Good location to town and good pickup

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Verified

Very responsive personnel. Good heavy moorings. Convenient to town.

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Verified

Great service by staff and launch crews. Helped me to get to water source to refill tank after water fitting failure enroute. Always available when calling for pick-up. Pointed out pick-up point near grocery store so no long walk back to drop-off point.

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Verified

It was a great day, the reservation through Dockwa was perfect. We’ll be back!

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Verified

Always great. One of our favorites.

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Verified

Cost of mooring very high for what you get in the town. Won’t come back here. Power plant and ferries noisy. Toss a barge in for a busy, narrow harbor. Appreciated the water taxi service into town.

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Verified

Launch was prompt. Good operation.

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Verified

Perfect mooring location right by the town docks!

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Verified

Mooring was convenient and launch service was great

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Verified

We stayed just one night and used the launch service to bring the dog to the dog beach. Launch driver was very friendly and nice. The. Beach for dog walking was just what my dog needed. After the walk we went to the dog friendly Steam ? For dinner. Fun stay.

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Verified

Really sheltered on buoy. Water taxi services excellent for provisioning

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Verified

There were no showers. The launch driver was kind enough to check on this for us. But, apparently, the Harbormaster shut them down. Both launch drivers were very courteous and helpful.

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Verified

Mooring was close to town and Launch drivers were super nice. Service was great.

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Verified

Convenient, easy and Zach is the best!!!

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Verified

Easy mooring a little tight but they can hold big boats without a problem. Quick launch into cute town. Will be back.

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Verified

We were assigned to a 500 pound mooring in a very close quarters mooring field. Based on the weight of our boat, we did not consider it a safe situation, so we decided not to use the mooring and continued further down Long Island Sound.

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Verified

Great town, great launch service

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Verified

Clearly marked buoy and friendly staff, perfect. Alex / Serenity

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Verified

Nice mooring field, great launch service. No complaints about us running our diesel generator ( we don’t have 12v refrigerator or freezer)

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Verified

We were disappointed to find the showers locked after being assured that the are open by the launch operator. We also called the town & mooring provider who also confirmed that they were open prior to making our reservation. He gave us the access code that indeed did work, but the door was also locked with a deadbolt. The launch operator does not have the key, & was not able to find someone to open the building for us. It was discouraging to see a sign on the building that states it is open 8-8 during the season. We were there at six. The launch operator was very polite, & apologized for the inconvenience.

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Verified

The launch was quick and easy.

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Verified

There is no bathroom or shower facility. It closed for Covid and hasn’t really-opened. Ferry traffic and a loud power plant. Launch service does run till midnight

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Verified

Efficient launch. Nice stay on a mooring ball.

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Verified

Nice moorings, nice launch and drivers, great town. Only negative is that they have not yet opened the showers and laundry. Cruisers like showers and laundry services.

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Verified

Great launch service. Zac was super nice. Music was a little annoying.

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Verified

Great mooring and tackle for heavy boat. We enjoyed breakfast at Toast. Chris the launch driver was courteous and prompt. Bring you VHF with you to call the launch to pick you up at the dock. Others have written about ferry and bar noise, but know that it was quiet at night.

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Verified

Great town. Launch service very prompt and courteous.

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Verified

Great spot for a relaxing weekend.

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Verified

Great place and nice mooring operation. Launch was quick and Becky was professional and friendly. Only objection was moorings too close together. It was early in the season so field was fairly empty, but if this was a crowded summer weekend, we would have been close! As it were, we were swinging into other mooring balls. Thanks for a nice stay-we will be back (on week days!).

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Verified

Wind much exceeding the forecast made us seek harbor in Port Jeff. Grabbed a mooring (red = up to 500lbs). The moorings are close to town but in very close proximity to each other. The north wind had kicked up to 20+ and blew all night creating a good chop in the harbor, plus the ferry wakes all night tossing us around in the bunk. Cast off early the following morning and shadowed the ferry to Bridgeport in 4-6ft seas. The ferry created a good lee and smoothed out the seas. She runs around 16kts so you have to be quick.

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Verified

The launch driver was very helpful getting us securely on our mooring,

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Verified

La Vie Dansante is a Sailing Catamaran - 44' X 25' X 4' Port Jeff is a different place than we've ever stayed. Transient moorings are in a nice location, right near the town landings. There is no dinghy dock, so the way you get to shore and back is on the launch. You give them a call on VHF 68 and they get there within 10 or 15 minutes. If you take the launch, here are some tips. 1) Take your handheld VHF to town with you. The nice and funny guys who operate the launch don't answer the phone much, but they're responsive on channel 68. 2) If you come in after the launch stops servicing for the night, they told us it's OK to tie up your dinghy on their dock, to the right of the coal barges on the west side of the harbor. It'll be the dock with the green water taxi on it. Port Jeff is a pretty cool little town that services the surrounding high end residential community. Get up early one day (the launch starts service at 7:00 am) and get to Toast for breakfast. You're welcome.

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Verified

The guidebook said there were showers. If there were, the launch driver could not tell us where. Also, the mooring was near a power plant where oil tankers were pumping fuel into the facility all night. Loudly. Busy location some like that. Not me.

Marina Response:
Sorry about the showers but they are in the Town facilities and they are shut down due to Covid 19. As for the fuel barges that is out of my control. Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay.
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Verified

PJL always does a great job. Waits for pickups are short, the launches are well maintained, and the crew are competent and friendly. We had dinner at Danforths, outside on the deck, and it was very nice and the wait to get a table was reasonable.

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Verified

I had to call on vhf to confirm my Dockwa reservation was accepted (only made it 1 hour earlier). Otherwise no issues and the shuttle was fast, efficient, and friendly.

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Verified

They knew my reservation, launched us to the dock and brought us back to our boat. Perfect

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Verified

Excellent communication for late night arrival

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Verified

Easy launch service, very friendly staff. Thank you!

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Verified

Excellent mooring. Prompt and courteous launch service. Very adequate shower room at Harbormaster building. Get combo from launch operator. Expect noise and wake from ferries, but gets quiet late in the evening. Enjoyed a great dinner at The Fifth Season restaurant. Only complaints are that launch service ended at 2000 (in October) and there is no town dinghy dock. Surreptitiously docked at a marina hoping that my dink wouldn’t get impounded. Mitch Gilbert, s/v Pleiades, Westbrook, CT

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Verified

Zach the launch driver was great, I forgot my phone so he agreeed to pick me up at a given time, and also helped me get ice. Very prompt on his pick ups. On the other hand the fuel dock at Danforths left much to be desired. The dock hand was awesome however the price you pay for fuel you would expect that there would be no nails sticking out of piling sand that their fenders would have been deployed right to keep you from banging into dock.

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Verified

We had a wonderful time and all of your staff were great. We will be back.

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Verified

Very able and accommodating launch service - a very nice stay

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Verified

Great service on the taxi and the mooring field is well laid out with easy in and out access to the canal. Only drawback and it isn't their fault is the ferry horns and the plant noises but you can't do anything about it so soon it becomes background noise and not so bothersome.

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Verified

Facilities are far from the drop-off dock which is right next to the ferry dock. The launch service only runs until 10pm on weekdays even on July 3rd before the holiday.

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Verified

I believe having two facilities in one location with the same name is very confusing. I thought I was making a reservation at the Port Jeff yacht club but found out I made it at the Port Jeff launch and water taxi facility. I believe this should be better explained since I was not the only boat in my group that did not wind up at the facility they intended to be at.

Marina Response:
I agree with you sloopquest. The Port Jeff Launch service has been around for as long as I can remember. It was only about 3 years ago that the Setauket Yacht club changed there name to the Port Jeff Yacht club and it has been very confusing. I do hope you had a good stay with us. If we can be of any help let us know. Pete
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Verified

Great service, very reasonably priced. Very quick launch service. We love Port Jeff.

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Verified

Easy booking and Jim came out on the launch to help find the right mooring. Lots of easy walking in the town and the launch is readily available until 6pm to help you get back and forth.

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Verified

Great place to stay, wonderful town. The launch people here were so helpful and courteous. Prompt launch. Free. Good shower facility. And conveniently located. We will be back!

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