Dave's boat shoppe ?
 

Believe Daves' Boat Shoppe, Gilford was sold this winter-haven't seen any notice by new owners as to plans-got notice that Champlain was to take over, apparently that fell through-now what ?

Just did a little looking, this seems like a sticky situation. Not a lot of information out there other than that it sold.... The assumption is that there are multiple boats in storage, I would look to organize the boat owners, and hire legal representation....

The purchase agreement should have, had details about how owners where going to get their boats back I would hope.....

Oh my. We have friends who have their boat there.

We drove by today, two vehicles there and Dave's sign still up. I don't know what to make of that. There are a lot of boats stored there.

Alan

Another thought just ran through my mind, for boat owners that are having trouble retrieving them... would be to call the State Atty. General.... The office should be interested in this, as part of their charter is to protect the consumer.

At the end of the day, this might be a miserable start to the season for some boaters...

Yes it sold. My understanding is that everything was running as planned from multiple inside sources. My friend got his notice about the sale from the new owners and that everything will carry out the same. I haven't heard from him since that letter.
Have you tried calling the location?

Looks like the property was sold in January 2024 to a newly formed company.....was previously Dave's Motor Boat Shoppe....and was transferred to a new business named Dave's Boat Shoppe. It is in an LLC and the registered member is listed as a Nickolas E. Tamposi in Laconia NH.

Has anybody had trouble retrieving them or is this speculation?

Sounds like speculation to me Tis….

Dan

Me too. I hope so for people that have boats there. I am sure it will be fine.

Had heard through grapevine Tamposi bought it …was the grapevine so expected could be true or false. Tamposi family are real estate developers from down south. They own lakefront properties in Laconia.

They also own the former site of Arlberg across from Gunstock main entrance. Received approval for rezoning of adjacent property they bought so can develop. Could be an inn and restaurant. Could be multiple residential dwellings. Guess time will tell on all fronts.

They are developers so the former Dave’s may change and condos get built.

Seems to be the new normal up here, doesn’t it?

New owner
 

Funny this thread started yesterday. I just called there yesterday to make an appt to get my boat thinking it was Champlain Marine. A nice young man answered and informed me that deal fell thru but he had no details. He was a little unsure of when but was confident everything would be straightened and signed soon (I had the impression he will be running the place or heavily involved). It will be called Beacon Marine

In the mean time he gave me the appointment I wanted to get my boat. Said it would be the same service as Dave provided. Asked if I needed any extra work done etc as well as offered a few extra (detailing, boat cleaning etc).

Very Nice. Doesn't sound like deal is totally done but I'm not worried

Hello all to the past and current customer's of Dave's Motorboat Shoppe.

It is true that Champlain Marine is no longer here unfortunately. I know no specifics of that deal but I am working with the new leasee working as the mechanic here. Everything has not been finalized in stone/signing paperwork.

We're doing what we can in the meantime to progress into the season so that everyone can get their boat's eventually. The weather so far between the last couple snow storms leading up to this week with rain has put a halter on trying to move a 30000 lb piece of equipment in the soft ground and not get it stuck trying to get boats out of storage so they can be prepped for the owner's.

As far as contacting the business, the current phone number for Dave's is still active (6032938847) and an answering machine is available for when we can't get to the phone.

Thank you

Kyle Cosselman

I'll miss Dave and Katie. Wonderful people and he is a great mechanic.
Happy Retirement.

This is indeed speculation.... And something I certainly hope doesn't become a problem. Just want to let people know there are reasonable steps to take.

The problem when you see things like this, is that it is really unclear who is in control. it sounds like there is still some uncertainty. Although from Kyle's post, it sounds like there is staff, and they are trying to move forward, with getting the season started.

Time will tell..... Transitioning a business to new ownership sometimes isn't for the faint of heart....

With all this said, there is a Bob's Beacon Marine, over on Sunapee I believe.... I wonder if they are trying to branch out....

Thanks. I found out our friend's boat is their old one and they are going to sell it anyway, so if something did happen it wouldn't be a big disaster.

I think transitioning a business is probably never for the faint of heart. But then again owning a business is not for the faint of heart, do you think?:D

There is no ties to that business with this one here. Entirely separate.

The current concern for anyone choosing to step in and operate the business is the length of the lease being offered. My understanding is that the short lease is what caused the first deal to fall through.

It will be difficult to find a good management team to take over, hire and retain employees, and grow the business, if they know the window to operate the business is short. Why bother?

Wanna bet that there will be condos built on this property?

I’d almost guarantee it. Much more money to be made than leasing out a boat shop. I saw it hit the market, and was surprised to see how much less it actually closed for. Wishing I had taken a shot at it, but for boat purposes not development.

Of course we don’t know the particulars of the deal, but I am surprised that there wasn’t some sort of arrangement up front between Dave and Tamposi to have him come back in the spring to at least get people’s boats taken care of and launched for the season. Pretty ****ty if you ask me. Lots of loyal customers are being held in limbo now.

He poked me a bit on a deal once so I haven’t been back.

All of the flats will be condos ("walk to beautiful town beach") someday unless the good people of Gilford zone the area as agriculture.

Is there water and sewer nearby?

Flat land without ledge and easy access to utilities holds high value...
But you can also build a commercial operation in a lease or condo variation below the residential lease or condo units.

One NOT So Loyal...
 

Advised the replacement of both magneto modules would make the repair (which I thought was an ethanol issue) not economically feasible, I approved the repair anyway. It was, after all, the prettiest of my three 6-HP Johnson outboards. (All for sale in June).

The bill came to $600 :eek: and the modules were the old ones :eek2:. Handed a bag containing my requested new 15-foot fuel line, I slouched back to Wolfeboro only to find it was five feet short!

:fire:

No. 4 years ago, I assisted an RI developer who wanted to build a mall complex similar to other resorts with commercial as well as residential condos. The sticking point was water and sewage access. Since there is no access, the idea is questionable as to ground sustainability. He shelved the idea. The RI developer is related to the original Gunstock Acres developer, Cherry Valley Road condos, and Pier IV at the Weirs.

Tamposi is related to the Tamposi developers in the Nashua, Bedford area. He also bought Dave's Motorboat Shoppe land and building. I believe he is renting out the space to a marine shop manager. His plan for the property is anyone's guess.

I know Winnisquam built a building on 106 just below me. They use that for boat storage... maybe a this will be a mixture of storage and repair/detailing?

Those operations if well orchestrated do not have to be on the same site as a marina with valuable land being used up.

Lakeport Landing has boat storage off Lily Pond Road in Gilford. Irwin Marine has boat storage in the back of Gilford CVS at the former Grosman site and in Laconia at the former Texwood plant.

Where is West Alton's?

All of their storage is on site. They have a huge amount of acreage down there.

Maybe seeing an opportunity to buy, move the storage offsite, and develop the lot in other ways?

Lots of parts moving in that area... possibilities seem endless.

About that
 

The problem with that property is that it would likely require a sewer hookup if more than a couple of residences, and even then it could be a problem because the water table is quite high on that property. That means no septic system. Nearby homes have septic, but they've been there for decades. The newer laws under the Clean Water Act would likely prevent condos on the property unless the developer wanted to spend a lot of money for a sewer hookup. They would have to go out all the way to Route 11 to intercept the sewer main.

It's the new home of Beacon Marine....

Woodsy

Money is not a problem...

I think he meant the cost of developing the property for such a use would equate to the need for a higher sales price for the condos.

I went to Daves Motorboat Shoppe this morning. Ryan is going to launch my boat Monday morning. End of story, business as usual.

How does launching work with Dave's? A few years ago while having lunch at the Lyons Den I watched a Dave's guy launch a boat and then got into my boat in order to get it to an open spot at the visitor dock. Getting into someone's boat is a no-no and I figured it was probably a regular thing. I went down to the dock and let the guy know I wasn't happy. I don't think it meant anything.

That may have been the issue years ago. I have heard on social media that some people will move a boat some (untying the dock lines) to move it so there's extra space for a larger boat. As far as getting in a boat that's not your's to move it, is a huge no in my eye's.

For launch process with Dave's aka Beacon Marine, we have a launch schedule for every 30 minute time slot (9am to 230pm) thru the week day (we are open from 8 to 12 on Saturda). Ryan will transport the boat to Glendale Ramp and launch it for the owner. Past few boats that he's launched the owner has met him there to take the boat away. Other time's its tied up to the visitor dock and the owner will come down later and take the boat away.

But...
 

I have a feeling they would have a tough time getting Planning Board approval for a project like that. Plus, I am not sure of the zoning on that lot as the zoning map is a little unclear - It's either RC (Resort Commercial) or LR (Limited Residential). If it is LR then there's no chance for approval. Plus with the wetlands that make up part of the property there may be an issue with NHDES approval.

Just my 3.72 cents worth...

Not so a no-no. You block, you get moved. Period. Resident or not. Were you in the way of the launch area?

We are residents and launched and pulled ourselves for years and were annoyed with non-residents taking up the launch and general resident spaces to dine. We pay taxes for the privilege. Non-Gilford residents do not. The restaurant should insist its patrons park on the multiple “Island only” resident docks. The Island spots are mostly empty days and evenings.

Bottom line - you get moved if you block launch areas.

You assume wrong. I was not blocking the launch. I was parked in a 3 hour spot. But thanks for the feedback.

Well I apologize then.

It's been a big concern with Gilford residents who own boats. We pay taxes and we should be allowed to share the island residents' docks when they are not used. You are right, they are underutilized. The late John Goodhue was a big voice in preventing Gilford non-islanders' use of the docks. Now that he is gone maybe we should have a say.

It was the islanders who wanted the Northern end of the docks as drop-in or off only area. They should move that to one of the islanders' dock so that more people can have access to the Northern dock.

Launch day
 

Ryan at Daves Motorboat Shoppe launched my boat this morning, business as usual.

Don’t you live in Laconia??

But on the other hand, Islanders have vehicles at Glendale and if they need to come to the mainland and the docks are full they're basically screwed. I can usually get into a spot with inches to spare on either side...a lot of folks aren't able to do that. If I go to a hospital parking lot and park in a " physician parking only" spot because it was empty and I couldn't find a spot in the regular lot...you get the point. The services Gilford provides for our tax dollars is the fireboat and the two islander only Glendale docks. How big is your list?

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