Erik Langendal hadn’t exactly planned on going into the family business, Anders Langendal Boatbuilder & Sons, in the Clarke Shipyard at the end of East Front and Carpenter streets in Greenport. But a life lived on and ruled by the water was in his hardy half Swedish blood — and impossible to refuse. He knows every nook and corner of that boatyard, revels in the details of the family craft and, perhaps more so, in the wonderful way the work of other locals intersects with his, creating community bonds that span generations.
He and partner, Samantha Ross — whose much-missed chef mother, Rosa, took up culinary residence for years at the end of Preston’s dock with her renowned spot, Scrimshaw — spend the warmer months living on their 40-foot boat in the waters off the boatyard. In the winter, when they move their lives indoors to the home Langendal grew up in on Shelter Island, he takes a little motored dory to and from work. “I never have to get into a car,” he says. “It’s great.”
At 48, Langendal has seen a lot of change in both his hometown of Shelter Island and in Greenport. And while the ebb and flow of all the small businesses here can at times seem a little like a sailor’s morning-red sky, he remains committed,
and hopeful, to being part of Greenport’s working waterfront.
Why do small businesses matter on the East End? Well, the North Fork was built on small businesses. They always helped keep our community together. Each one relies on the other. In the old days, there was no Tanger Outlet Mall so we all shopped locally. Now, so many of us are like, “Let’s go buy that on Amazon,” but when you do that, you’re just putting your money somewhere else when it could have been spent locally. These days, I’d say small businesses give the North Fork its identity and character and still help bring a lot of the community together.
What strengths do generational businesses like your family’s have over big corporations? I think these generational businesses give a more personal touch and meaningful attention to customers and, again, have the ability to connect to the community more in general and by hiring locals and producing products for locals. Plus, the attention to detail makes for a more meaningful product. We had a tree from Shelter Island that was cut by [Islander] Dan Clark, which he brought to us; we sawed it up with Al Kilb’s wood saw and built a boat out of it. Who else can say that?
What’s it like working with your dad, Anders, and brother, Christian? Well, like any family business, it’s always challenging, but I think it helps at the end of the day through detailed brainstorming and the ability to come up with better solutions that help with the quality of the outcome.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen to the working waterfront here in your lifetime so far? The biggest change I’ve seen is less ability for locals to access the waterfront. In the old days, you were a fisherman and there were more people working on the water and more businesses were attuned to that. Unfortunately, we lost [White’s] hardware store. They used to make our keys, our paint. It was the center place — and [Bob White] had a lot of stuff you would not be able to find at Home Depot. He sold clam rakes and foul-weather gear; he had all the best stainless boat hardware. But I think that Greenport is in a particular situation and time now where enough people are aware of this and trying to really go back and grasp those old heritage ideals and trying to preserve it through oyster harvesting, through places like the [East End Seaport] museum. And people like my father, who brought in probably at least six youths into the maritime community — me, Zachary Bliss, my brother, the Kaire boys. And that goes back to your second question: generational family businesses look out for the community because they’ve been here forever and they’re looking out for the future.
What’s the best part of your work day? My boat ride to work every day.
