Winnisquam Marine dips toe in Winnipesaukee with purchase of Channel Marine

By ADAM DRAPCHO, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Winnisquam Marine, a family-run business founded 40 years ago and which has grown to become that largest pontoon boat dealer in New England, has made a splash in the Lakes Region boating industry by purchasing Channel Marine. The deal was finalized on Thursday evening.

The acquisition gives the Crawford family more boat storage space, more valet capability, more service and rental capacity, and, for the first time, a presence on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Winnisquam Marine was founded by Ed Crawford in 1977 near the Mosquito Bridge that crosses the channel on Lake Winnisquam. Today, Ed is joined in the company by his wife, Sheila, who serves as office manager; daughter, Julie Marsh, executive director, and; son, Ryan Crawford, who fills the role of vice president.

Ed said that Winnisquam Marine is "one of the bigger" marinas in the Lakes Region, and sells between 300 and 400 boats per year – the bulk of which are Bennington pontoon boats. While sales is the strong point for Winnisquam Marine, Ed said that the marina has to offer service to keep the customer happy. And, said Julie, doing so was a challenge without a location on Winnipesaukee.

"Our main customer base is over here, and we never had a location here," Julie said, speaking on Friday morning in the Channel Marine office.

Channel Marine, perched on Lake Winnipesaukee's Weirs Channel, covers nearly four-and-a-half acres, and includes 34 boat slips on the water, a valet building with room for 150 boats, and room to store 500 boats. Channel was founded by Vin Callahan in 1946, and sold the wooden GarWood boats. Bill Littlefield bought the business from Callahan, then in 2000 sold to Vin Mullarkey and Doug Hammond.

Mullarkey and Hammond had been in negotiations to sell the business earlier this year, but that deal fell through. When Ed heard that, he said, he said, "We approached them and came to terms." Within the space of two months, he and his family were signing the documents.

Being on Winnipesaukee opens a new category of sales for the business, said Julie. Selling from their location by the Mosquito Bridge, they were mostly limited to boats smaller than 26 feet – boats that could easily be transported on a trailer. People on Winnipesaukee, who have boats larger than 26 feet, wouldn't want to pull their boat out of the lake when it needs service.

"When you get into that big of a boat, the customer wants to be able to boat to you," she said.

By the time that the Crawford family took it over, Channel Marine was primarily a service business, servicing up to 400 boats each year, while selling about 50 new boats. Under their management, the Crawfords hope to greatly increase the sales figures out of its new location, which it will rename Winnisquam Marine on Winnipesaukee.

Winnisquam Marine will bring its brands of Bennington, Bayliner, Crownline and Heydey, and they think their sales philosophy, which has garnered them increases of 20 to 30 percent in the past few years, will translate to Winnipesaukee.

The Crawfords have built thier business by carefully managing the customer experience. 

"We don't use the 'hard sell,'" said Sheila. While other marinas might hire experienced salespeople, Winnisquam has instead sought boaters and trained them to sell.

"We try to find the right fit for the customers," said Julie.

Sheila said, "Boating's supposed to be fun. You want to make it fun from the moment they walk in."

Winnisquam Marine plans to retain all of the employees that had been working for Channel, which will help ease the transition for their new customer base.

"We're excited to be on the big lake," said Ed. "This was always kind of a road block as we were growing. The purchase of Channel Marine removes that road block. If our customer needs help, we can do it quicker, we're here now."

The Crawford family, which owns and operates Winnisquam Marine, closed on the deal to purchase Channel Marine on Thursday. The acquisition gives the growing marina a presence on Lake Winnipesaukee for the first time. From left are Ed Crawford, Ryan Crawford, Julie Marsh and Sheila Crawford. (Adam Drapcho/Laconia Daily Sun)