SELBYVILLE – What started as a passion for boating has turned into a successful business for one local couple.
Last month, Route 113 Boat Sales & Service celebrated its 20th year of operation. With Capt. Glen Smith, wife Karen, and son Zak at the helm, the family owned business has grown from a small boat dealership to a multi-faceted sales and service operation.
“We do everything,” he said. “Sales, service, storage, transportation, launch and retrieval. We store about 200-plus boats a year, and we winterize 300-plus boats a year.”
Smith said he and his wife retired from the information technology business in 2001, packed up their family and moved to the beach. A year-and-a-half later, however, the couple began looking for new business venture.
“I did a couple of consulting jobs, but after a year-and-a-half or so we realized not working at age 47, 48 is probably not a good decision,” he joked. “So I looked at many different business opportunities down here, either to start something or buy something. Nothing seemed like a good fit.”
To that end, Smith said he and his wife decided to take their love of boating and turn it into a business.
“I always had a passion for boating, both of us, so we figured let’s look into it,” he said. “We literally wrote a four-year business plan in Excel, bought a commercial property down the street, renovated it and executed on the plan. We were absolutely tickled. Actually, I was terrified because I had never run a boat store before.”
Smith said opening a boat dealership came with its challenges. He said he remembers the first boat that came onto the lot.
“The first boat we got in, Karen’s reading off the manual, how to hang a motor on the back of a boat, and I’m turning the wrenches and doing it,” he said. “The first motor we had to hang three times to get it right.”
But the risk paid off, Smith said. That first year, the couple ordered 12 boats. And in the years that followed, the company averaged 89 boat sales annually.
“Karen sold the first boat,” he said. “She kicked me out of the office for a few hours, and when I came back, she said we had made our first sale, a 17-foot Triumph that sold for about $15,500 with trailer.”
From the early 2000s until the Great Recession, Route 113 Boat Sales cemented itself as one of the area’s top dealer. And in the years since, the company has expanded its product line to include three brands – Triumph, Pursuit and Cobia.
“The highest-end line is Pursuit, which is crazy high-end,” he explained. “Next would be a boat that’s not real popular around here but is gaining popularity, and that’s call Pathfinder. Then Cobia is the one we sell the most of. They are all fishing boats, fishing crossovers. Most fishing boats now have a lot of family amenities.”
Smith even recalled the most expensive boat he ever sold – a 44-foot S428 Pursuit with four Yamaha XTO motors.
“Selling something in that size or price range is rare,” he said. “In fact, it’s the first time we had sold anything that size. That boat now resides up in the Indian River.”
After 20 years of operation, Smith said his son is now taking over daily operations at Route 113 Boat Sales, where he has played an integral role in building the company’s service department.
“Zak focused in on service, and he went from knowing nothing to being a master Yamaha tech,” Smith said. “He sends all his people to Yamaha school, Garmin school, to generator school to do all the things you need to do to service these big boats.”
Smith said information on Route 113 Boat Sales & Service can be found online at www.rt113boatsales.net, or by visiting the company’s social media accounts. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and closed Sunday.
