NEWBURYPORT — After over two decades in businesses, the owner of Plum Island Kayak is heading off on a new adventure.
The popular kayak and paddleboard rental shop will move out of its Merrimac Street space before the new year due to owner Ken Taylor’s decision to retire.
The idea for the business came to be in 2003 when Taylor, a Southern Maine resident who previously worked as an engineer, decided to make a life change.
“I wasn’t happy with my job. I was getting bored with it, I wanted to shake up my life. So, I was looking for something different. I wasn’t sure what, so I kind of stumbled into this,” he said.
Taylor said he had an interest in outdoor activities and was drawn to opening his own business that rented out kayaks and paddleboards, and offered guided and self-guided tours.
“I knew a person that had a kayak shop, and I said, ‘That sounds like a lot of fun, that kind of fits my interests.’ It’s outdoors, it’s sporty, it’s a big change, it’s not engineering anymore. So, it kind of fit all my basic criteria,” he said.
Taylor said he saw an untapped market in Newburyport and decided to set up shop in the city.
Since then, he has been renting out kayaks and paddleboards as well as offering guided and self-guided tours of the Merrimack River to approximately 60,000 people.
Taylor said at first, some community members were resistant to him offering tours due to the river’s often unpredictable nature.
After nearly 23 years doing just that, not a single person has sustained an injury, he said.
Taylor said he and his staff were careful to check tides each day and ensure kayakers and paddleboarders started and ended their journeys safely.
“It’s putting them in at the right time at the right place and that’s all dictated by the tide,” he said.
Taylor said he now believes Newburyport residents are accepting and supportive of his business.
“They love the business here, they love what we’ve done. So, I think we’re really well-received, very well-respected in the community,” he said.
Taylor said as his time running the business comes to a close, interaction with members of the community is what he holds dear.
“I’m going to miss them. The best part of this for me is really the people part,” he said.
Taylor said he hopes to travel and plans to become a full-time, stay-at-home dad to his daughter.
The future of the space, owned by Newburyport Development, is still up in the air, Taylor said.