Dockside Sales and Service, a fixture on the Port Orchard waterfront for more than two decades, has been sold.

Owned for the past 17 years by Port Orchard City Councilman Don Morrison and his wife Kay, they sold the 21-year-old marina to Gary and Peri Johnson and their son, Shawn.

The Johnsons bring over 25 years of shipwright experience to Dockside, where the family has operated their business, Johnson Boat Renovation and Repair, for the past year. Many local boaters will remember Gary Johnson as a partner in Northwest Yacht Constructors which operated in Gorst for many years.

In the time since then, Johnson has focused on working on private yachts, doing remodeling, reconstruction, repair and renovations, and has trained son Shawn in the business as well.

Dockside has space to moor 30 vessels and an additional 20 spots for boat repairs. The new owners say the marina will become a full-service yard, as opposed to the do-it-yourself operation it has traditionally been. Customers can continue to repair their own boats, but professional repair services are now available. To that end, the Johnsons have hired well-known marine mechanic Mike Oakley on a full-time basis. Oakley has a reputation as one of the very best boat mechanics in the West Sound area.

According to Peri Johnson, the company now has nine full-time employees, including lift operators and boat renovation and repair personnel. The business also does some boat sales, she added.

Johnson and the family had discussed the possibility of a sale with the Morrisons on and off for almost a year. “It started out as kind of a joke, but when it got serious, it went together pretty quick,” she said.

The Morrisons, who had lived in Renton and owned a sign business there previously, bought the yard in 1983 from George Oakley who built it in 1979, as a way to indulge their passion for boating.

According to Don Morrison, the couple plans to do some marina consulting. He is also active in working on environmental issues on behalf of the Seattle-based Northwest Marine Trade Association.

When asked about any changes they had planned for the business, Johnson said, “We intend to keep it clean and competitive. We have a good customer base already and both we and the yard have good reputations. But with the changes we’re making, we believe business will increase dramatically. The one thing we will stress above everything else is customer service.”

Dockside may be reached at (360) 876-9016.