New Contractor Chosen for Jack's Boathouse Site

The National Park Service awarded a two-year contract to a Massachusetts company to rent boats and kayaks at a longtime boating facility along the Georgetown waterfront.

The agency announced Friday it selected B&G Outdoor Recreation Inc. of Hopkinton, Mass., for the boating contract. The group is also known as Boating in Boston and runs six boat rental locations in the Boston area.

The new contractor replaces Jack's Boathouse, which has been operating at the site since 1945. It was operating on a month-to-month lease that hadn't changed since 1982. The Park Service said the lease is not in the name of current owner Paul Simkin. Officials sent Simkin an eviction letter in December, prompting outcry from supporters.

The agency says Simkin did not bid for the new contract.