COEUR d'ALENE - Last year was a record sales year for Hagadone Marine Center, which made one general manager and 230 premium boat buyers extremely happy.

So how do you top the best year ever for a company that's been selling boats since 1944?

The answer is in Craig Brosenne's smile - and on the lake's waterfront.

Brosenne, general manager of the Hagadone Marine Group, has added a multi-million dollar weapon to his boat-selling arsenal. It's a sparkling new renovation of Hagadone Marine Center that features a 35-slip showroom right on the water.

"This, nobody has," he says, nodding toward the array of premium boats in those 35 slips just waiting for prospective buyers to test drive. "Nobody has this kind of capacity to show boats and have this experience."

The experience includes music on the two showroom docks and lighting installed for evening boat perusing. The 35 showroom boats will vary, with an assortment of styles, sizes and costs on display. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and Brosenne's crew is eager to give shoppers on-the-spot demos of the boat they'd like to buy.

"When they get that far in the buying process, all you're doing is pulling out and going for a ride," he said.

The overall renovation has also brought the company's $5 million inventory - 150 boats, 100 of them brand new - together. That's a big benefit because, Brosenne said, inventory used to be scattered from storage facilities at State Line all the way across the lake.

"A customer would come in and we'd have to say, 'Oh, man, the other boat's over at the other marina, or the other boat's over at Silver Beach,' because we didn't have space," he said. "You just lost that passion, the positive emotion of the buying process."

And you just lost the sale.

"It's all right here," Brosenne said. "The big thing is, this is one destination to show the largest boat inventory in the Inland Northwest."

That destination is the doing of owner Duane B. Hagadone, he said.

"What you see here is another example of Mr. Hagadone's vision," Brosenne said. "His passion for boating, for the lake and the pride he has in his properties and facilities, all of that's on display here."

In addition to the on-the-water showroom, Hagadone Marine Center has two spotless concrete-floored facilities a few steps away from the water, buildings loaded with sparkling new boats. There's another 15,000 square-foot facility for service only, and a yacht dome for detailing and other maintenance of any sized vessel. Service played a key role in the overall renovations, which include two new commercial launch ramps.

"It's just quick and easy," Brosenne said. "A customer comes in here and just drops the boat off. They don't have to trailer it somewhere. They don't have to leave, go to a dealer and then bring it back to the water and test it. We can do the testing right here, right on the water."

Convenience isn't just a byproduct of all the investment, Brosenne said: It was a goal.

"With Mr. [Duane] Hagadone, we untangled four different businesses: Service, sales, the marina tenants and the Cedars restaurant customers," he said. "They were all on top of each other, and now they all have their own designated areas."

One of the biggest improvements, Brosenne said, has nothing to do with the boat sales and service business.

"This is great for the environment," he said. "There was asphalt before, but everything used to just run into the lake."

Now, with curbing and a 2 percent parking lot grade, runoff is funneled into swales where water is collected and treated. Power lines have moved underground. On the aesthetic and safety fronts, beautiful LED lights now illuminate all the parking lot areas at night.

The renovation didn't happen overnight, but it sure did move quickly. Brosenne said that after six months of planning, most of the work was done by 85 employees from 12 different companies in 90 days.

"I've been on this island for 12 years, and I've never been excited like this," he said. "Nobody has this spread on the water. In the boat business, this is the Taj Majal of fancy."

Did you know?

Boating Industry magazine ranked Hagadone Marine Group No. 16 among the Top 100 Dealers in the U.S. There are about 3,000 boat dealers nationally. According to Craig Brosenne, general manager of Hagadone Marine Group, the ranking is based on numerous criteria - training, marketing, facilities, processes, efficiencies and so on. It's considered the most prestigious ranking in the business.

For more information

Hagadone Marine Center is on Blackwell Island, just off U.S. 95 near the southwest entrance to Coeur d'Alene. Phone: 208-664-8274 or hagadonemarine.com