Cranberry Lake Marina open for business

By Mandy Coriston
Byram — The property across the street from Cranberry Lake may have been home to Trailerama for nearly five decades, but there’s a new kid in town, and he’s open for business. Paul DeRosa purchased the lot and building in December of 2017, after nearly a year of negotiations, and soon thereafter the Cranberry Lake Marina was born.
Opening his doors shortly after the new year, DeRosa and his family have been busy working on revamping the property and adding new services to their repertoire. DeRosa holds a degree in mechanical engineering from NJIT and a M.S. in Marine Systems from the Stevens Institute of Technology, but according to his mother Tina, Paul’s passion for boats started at a young age.
"Paul has always loved motorboats, and started servicing engines when he was 16 years old, working at the auto parts store. He even winterized boats and did shrink-wrapping,” Tina said.
During and after college, DeRosa plied his trade at other marinas and rented workspace in Hopatcong, before taking the plunge on the Byram property.
The DeRosa family, with Paul owning the marina, Tina working the counter and phones, and father Ralph helping spruce up the property, felt that the location on 206 in Byram would fill a need in the central part of the county. With marinas mostly concentrated in Lake Hopatcong to the south and Culvers Lake to the north, the Cranberry Lake facility is able to serve boat owners in Byram, Andover, Sparta, and beyond. The road frontage on the 6-acre property, plus its proximity to so many bodies of water made it an ideal location for a marine business. The building itself lends itself well to housing the operation, given its two large garage bay doors and open floor plan. There is even a loft space for sales displays and storage.
The work the DeRosas have already put into the property is evident, from the forty new trees planted near the trailer and boat storage area, to the new sign which features a silhouette of Cranberry Lake. Inside, there’s a fresh coat of paint and some fun décor, including a custom made gas-can lamp. Stools at the counter invite customers to sit down and discuss their needs, unrushed and thoroughly. They’re hoping to paint the exterior of the building soon, and to repave the parking lot to accommodate more customer parking and boat storage.
Tina DeRosa said that the neighbors in Cranberry Lake have been very welcoming, and some are even starting to reserve their storage spaces for fall.
“There are a lot of boats over there, and not a lot of space for people to store them. They want to make sure they’re all set come September,” Tina said, “The community has been so welcoming and we’re really happy to be here.”
The Cranberry Lake Marina currently offers a variety of services, including engine sales and service, boat sales and service, winterizing, wrapping, and storage, boating accessories, trailer storage, propane tank filling and exchange, and will be offering snowmobile parts and service in the offseason. They are an authorized Suzuki Motors and Sno-Way Plow dealer. Any parts or accessories which aren’t in stock can be ordered, often for next day delivery, and they hope to add a line of pontoon boats in the future.
Cranberry Lake Marina is located at 262 Rt. 206 in Byram Township, and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Sunday. They can be reached by phone at 973-347-3333, and until their website is completed, can be found online on Facebook, search: Cranberry Lake Marina.