Anchored in Tradition: Uihlein’s Marina Stays the Course in Changing Montauk

Henry Uihlein prefers not to use the word “oldest” when speaking about the longevity of his third-generation business, Uihlein’s Marina, his own career, and his place in the Montauk community.

He also prefers not to dwell too much on what the future may or may not hold.

Instead, he speaks with pride about the way of life his parents, Henry and Charlotte Uihlein, embraced and taught him to appreciate, leading by example, when they came to Montauk to start a new life in the 1950s, and how the business has continued to thrive — even as other legacy family operations have come and gone in Montauk — thanks to his determination to stay true to the principles his parents adhered to when they first opened the marina and small motel that are still in business today.

“I just pray to God that Montauk doesn’t turn into what Carl Fisher used to want it to be; the Miami of the North,” Uihlein said during an interview earlier this month. “What makes Montauk different is that it’s different. Keep it simple. My parents moved here because there were no conveniences here. You don’t come to a place and try to change it. I pray that Montauk stays the same.”

At Uihlein’s Marina, it has.

Henry Uihlein has built a successful business based on those principles he still holds dear. His parents relocated to Montauk in 1957, when Uihlein was just three years old. They had raised his four older sisters, who are all between 14 to 20 years older than him, in Howard Beach, Queens, where the elder Uihlein operated Uihlein’s Junkyard in South Aqueduct, on land that is now long-term parking for JFK International Airport. The property was condemned by the city of New York, Uihlein said, to make way for Idlewild Airport, which became JFK. That was when his father decided to make the move out east. He used timbers from the old buildings on the property that were torn down to build Uihlein’s Hotel, carting the wood out to Montauk and building the hotel himself on weekends until they were ready to open. The small, seven-unit motel still caters to the same kind of clientele, and Uihlein said that they’ve hosted the great-grandchildren of families that first stayed there.

Currently, the full-service marina, located at 444 West Lake Drive, on Montauk Harbor, provides dockage, boat rentals from its 18-boat fleet, jet ski and other watersports rentals, marine supplies and service, and more. Uihlein’s is also a platinum-level stocking dealer for boat engine manufacturer Mercury, with the distinction of being the only platinum-level stocking dealer east of Bay Shore.

The boating industry has changed many times over since Uihlein first started in the business, under the guidance of his father. But he has stayed true to a guiding philosophy throughout.

“I’ve never run this business, and my father never ran this business, with money as the main goal,” Uihlein said. “Of course, you have to make money to keep it and to live, but enjoying what he did was always more important to my father than the money he got for doing it. And that’s how I’ve always felt.

“What motivates a man shouldn’t be money,” he added. “It should be helping others.”

That’s what he always witnessed his father do, Uihlein said. He recalled how, in the 1960s and 1970s, when the party boat business was at its peak in Montauk, large groups of people would trek out to Montauk on the weekends in the wee hours of the morning to be out on the water fishing before the sun came up. There were times when those people would return to the harbor, tired after a long day of fishing and eager to get home with their catch, only to discover that their car wouldn’t start. They were stranded in Montauk, the nearest auto parts store in Bridgehampton.

“My father would take the starter apart, clean the brushes, get it going and say, ‘don’t turn the car off until you get home,’” Uihlein recalled. “Or he’d say, ‘hey, we have a hotel room.’”

Uihlein said his father earned the nickname “Honest Hen, the Poor Man’s Friend,” during his time when he owned the junkyard in Queens.

He also said he never recalls his parents giving directives to be kind, generous, honest. Instead, they simply led by example, a legacy he’s tried to carry on.

“We only do the things that we know how to do, and that we can do our best,” Uihlein said.

Specializing in Mercury engines has been key, and having those engines in stock means customers don’t need to wait. Uihlein also credits a big part of the marina’s continued success to his employees, including longtime mechanic Jeremy Somero.

Somero started working for Uihlein’s when he was just 19 years old, almost 25 years ago.

Uihlein said he took a trip to Florida in 2001 looking for three things: a new forklift, a line of boats that would be affordable, economical and low maintenance for his rental fleet, and a mechanic. He found all three. Somero, who was enrolled at Seminole Community College at the time, picked up one of the brochures Uihlein had left at the school. Uihlein flew Somero up north for a weekend, and asked him to fix a forklift, rebuild the gear case on a 150 Mercury, and install two motors and two outdrives on a Mercury Cruiser. He did it all in that one weekend, and the job was his. Somero split his time between Montauk and Florida for the first few years before making Montauk his full time home. Uihlein built a 60x100 foot building with radiant heat for Somero to work inside during the colder months.

“I did it for him because he’s worthy of that kind of building,” Uihlein said, mentioning that, when he was young and still working for his father, he’d done plenty of work outdoors in the bitterly cold Montauk winters.

Having a veteran mechanic like Somero has been important, as Uihlein has weathered the ups and downs in the boating industry over the years, trying to keep their customers happy.

Uihlein spoke about the state of the industry; how DEC regulations have affected the fishing business, and how the price of coming to Montauk, the time it takes to get there, and finding an affordable place to stay have all become steeper and more challenging in recent years.

“It’s greatly affected the charter boat and party boat industry,” he said. “And even the boat rental industry, which I’m in. The price of boats, like everything else in the country, has gotten sky high. I feel, as a marine owner, it’s gotten out of hand.

Uihlein says he prides himself on doing everything he can to make it all as affordable as possible.

“I cater to local people, wealthy people, all angles,” he said. “At my marina, everybody pays the same. I’ve kept everything reasonable.”

He laments the fact that so many legacy family businesses have chosen to fold, either because they’re retiring and no one in the family is eager or willing to carry on the business or for other reasons. Mostly, he laments what usually happens after those family businesses are sold.

“A lot of businesses have been sold over the years here and I hate to say this, but they’re sold to hedge fund people that really know nothing about it,” he said. “People are buying in Montauk not to live here and be part of the community, but as an investment. They’re here to buy, making a buck, sell and get out. It’s nuts. And service in this town has gone down.”

Uihlein’s prides itself on staying true to the superior level of service that used to define the town. But Uihlein acknowledges that it’s not easy. Much as he appreciates his devoted, hardworking employees, Uihlein said he’s also grateful for his clientele.

“We have local plumbers, electricians, regular laymen who own a small business or work for companies here,” he said. “We have wealthy people that are here. But I don’t look at my customers as different from each other. We treat them all the same, and if I make a dollar and they’re not happy, I don’t even want their money.”

Uihlein is well into his 70s now, at the age where many people have retired, but unsurprisingly, that’s not something he’s planning on doing. He has two sons, ages 27 and 13. His oldest son, also named Henry, pursued a different career for a period of time, but just began working at the marina again this year. Uihlein said he hopes it’s for the long run, but said he never tried to force his son into the business, much like his father didn’t force him. Before taking over the family business, Uihlein went away to college and then worked as a physical education teacher for many years. He eventually became the athletic director in the Shelter Island School District and also coached three varsity sports during his time there.

“It’s difficult working for your father,” he said. “You’re lucky if it works. My son is here now, but every child that works for their dad needs to get away and experience other things. He’s here by choice and I hope he stays here.”

Uihlein said he’s not a big fan of looking back or looking too far ahead, but acknowledged that he has been forced, recently, to do the latter. He’s had some health problems in recent years, he said, before casually mentioning that he recently suffered his 20th hernia and 33rd operation.

“It’s not illnesses, just accidents,” he said. “Lifting something too heavy, or having something fall on me.”

Despite that, he expressed gratitude.

“It’s wonderful having something to do,” he said. “Al McGuire, the legendary basketball coach, said, ‘never say never and never say always;’ I’ve been approached by many people over the last ten years, specifically the last four, to sell. I’ve been offered money that I don’t believe. I’m not rich. I’ll be rich if I sell, but I don’t want to sell to become rich. What I want more than money is a purpose. And I have a purpose. I wake up in the morning and I have something to do.”