MILFORD — City government has been promoting ecotourism along the Mispillion Riverwalk. And one local business has taken note.

“We’re going to rent out kayaks, canoes and possibly stand-up paddleboards,” said Casey Lynch, the owner of 7 Seas Concepts, a metal fabrication shop.

His facility is located right on the Mispillion River, next to a floating kayak dock, one of three in the immediate vicinity.

“That will probably be our main drop-off point,” Mr. Lynch said.

Shop manager Nicolas Kernisan has been using the dock and the river to kayak for a few months.

“I recently got a kayak in November. Because of the quarantine and whatnot, I was just taking advantage of our location on the Mispillion,” he said.

“I was going up and down and noticed I was the only one on the water,” he added. “There should be more people out there to experience it. It’s beautiful.”

Around the same time, Mr. Lynch read about the Milford Parks & Recreation department’s efforts to bring more ecotourism to the Mispillion Riverwalk by potentially entering a partnership with the Delaware Nature Society, a local nonprofit focused on environmental education and preservation.

“As of yet, we have not finalized our memorandum of understanding with Delaware Nature Society, but we are close,” said Brad Dennehy, the department’s director. He hopes to have “nature-based kayak tours up and running, but as yet, there is no definitive date as to when this will occur.”

Mr. Lynch is aiming to have around 20 boats by April, when rentals will begin for the season. Some of these could hold more than one boater, so he expects to be able to accommodate around 30 people at a time.

But he and Mr. Kernisan hope to do more than simply rent boats. They also want to help shuttle boaters and their equipment to various of bodies of water.

“We plan on setting up a couple of different locations where we can pick up and drop off,” Mr. Casey said.

Although they’re still working out all the details, Mr. Casey hopes to shuttle boaters to docks at Slaughter Beach, the Broadkill River in Lewes and various local ponds and lakes.

“We’ll have to come up with some kind of schedule,” Mr. Kernisan said.

Although 7 Seas will be the only place to rent boats within city limits this summer, at DNS’ nearby Abbott’s Mill Nature Center, Lewes-based Quest Kayaks will have a seasonal rental outpost.

In the past, Quest had an outpost along the Mispillion, behind the Arena’s restaurant in Milford, but owner and operator Matthew Carter said the business didn’t have it last summer and won’t this summer either.

“There wasn’t quite enough business to constitute having a full-time staff there,” he said.

Hourly or daily boat rentals won’t be available behind Arena’s, but Mr. Carter said Quest can still shuttle kayaks to the Arena’s dock if it gets a reservation for a large group of people ahead of time.

“It’s usually for a corporate deal or a nature paddle of some sort,” he said. “(But) we do our daily rentals and our hourly rentals at the Abbott’s Mill location.”

Mr. Carter, who grew up in Milford, said the Mispillion can sometimes be a challenging river for amateur boaters because it’s tidal.

“Imagine the tide’s going out. That’s great. You take the tide out,” Mr. Carter said. “But all of a sudden, they’ve gotten out so far that they need to turn around and come back against the tide.”

To avoid this, he likes to coordinate with his customers disembarking from Arena’s ahead of time.

“What we prefer, if dates are an option to look at, is let us check the tides and look for that incoming tide, so we do our hard work first, so it brings us back to the same location,” Mr. Carter said.

“Our location at Abbott’s Mill is not tidal, (so) it’s an easy self-serve location,” he said. There, his employees can help boaters cast off without too much effort.

Back in 2019, Delaware River Adventures also was renting boats behind the Delaware Branding Co. on Northwest Front Street.

Although its website says, “See you in the spring of 2020,” that operation did not reopen last summer. Nobody from 7 Seas, Quest or the tattoo parlor had any indication it would be open in 2021.

Mr. Dennehy had a few safety guidelines those boating on the Mispillion, and anywhere, should follow.

“Always wear a life jacket. Know how to operate the craft you are in, even if it’s a kayak. Don’t paddle alone (and) make sure your cellphone is in a waterproof case or bag,” he said.

It’s also important to “tell someone where you are going and when you are likely to return, keep an eye on the weather and, particularly on the river, understand what the tide is doing and know your limitations.”

There are several rules and regulations boaters must follow, Mr. Dennehy said, which are enforced by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.

“I would encourage anyone operating any type of vessel to visit the DNREC website, which has a host of information,” he said. “Anyone who gets on any waterway should be knowledgeable and know what their responsibility is.”

Mr. Dennehy expects there to be a lot of interest in the Mispillion this summer.

“I anticipate seeing more people kayaking on the river this year,” he said. “With the pandemic, people are looking for more opportunities to be outside and interact with nature.”

Launching “from any of the ramps in Milford and taking a paddle down the Mispillion is really enjoyable. You see a range of bird life,” Mr. Dennehy said.

“Paddling under the Route 1 bridge is pretty cool,” he added. “A real unique experience is to catch the drawbridge coming up on Rehoboth Boulevard with a boat coming through.”

Mr. Lynch and Mr. Kernisan are also excited for the summer. If demand is high enough, they plan to buy additional boats to rent out or to even start selling boating equipment outright.

For more information about rentals, boaters can reach out to 7 Seas at 503-3054 or via its Facebook page. They can also get in touch with Quest at 745-2925 or at questkayak.com.

Both shops will begin renting out boats in mid-to-late April and will continue doing so into the fall.

“We want it to go late enough to where you can see the color change … and early enough for it not to be too cold,” Mr. Kernisan said.