Great Lakes Yacht Sales

What Great Lakes Yacht Sales does

Great Lakes Yacht Sales is a privately held, family-owned boat dealership and marina operator founded in 1996 and headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin, serving recreational boaters on Lake Michigan in the greater Chicago and Milwaukee markets. The company sells new and pre-owned boats (with approximately 21 vessels currently listed, ranging from about $9,900 to $329,595 in price), and operates complementary marina infrastructure including slips, storage, parts, and marine service. It is a small operation, with a stated employee count of 1 to 10, and has been continuously family-owned since inception with no disclosed private-equity backing or external capital raises.

The business model combines transactional brokerage (new and used boat sales, often with dealer-arranged financing) with recurring/annuity-style marina revenue (seasonal slip rentals, indoor and outdoor storage, and ongoing maintenance and repair service). Customers are predominantly individual recreational consumers rather than commercial or institutional buyers. Inventory appears diversified across price points and vessel types, broadening the addressable market from entry-level to mid-tier buyers.

There are no documented technology platforms, digital products, or AI/ML capabilities in the source material; the offering is traditional marine retail and marina services. There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, partnerships, leadership changes, or geographic expansions in the input, indicating a stable, single-location operator with a multi-revenue mix anchored by its Kenosha waterfront position.

Name

Great Lakes Yacht Sales

Legal name

Great Lakes Yacht Sales

Website

https://glysinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Yacht Sales is a family-owned boat dealership and marina in Kenosha, Wisconsin, founded 1996, selling new and pre-owned boats and offering slips, storage, and marine service to Lake Michigan recreational boaters between Chicago and Milwaukee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Boat Dealership and Marina Services

NAICS

Boat Dealers (441222), Marinas (713930)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Day Cruiser, Bowrider & Runabout Manufacturing (IMAJAEAI)

Keywords

• Boat dealership
• Marina services
• Boat storage
• Yacht sales
• Marine service

Headquarters

HQ city

Kenosha

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. New Boat Sales: Sales of new boats including SunChaser pontoons, Starweld fishing boats, and other brands. Revenue generated from one-time transactions with varying price points from approximately $16,000 to over $300,000.
2. Pre-Owned Boat Sales: Sales of used boats from various manufacturers including Sea Ray, Four Winns, Carver, Bayliner, and others. Used inventory ranges from approximately $9,900 to $329,595.
3. Boat Service and Maintenance: Ongoing vessel services including repairs, winterization, and 100-hour service requirements performed by skilled mechanics and technicians.
4. Boat Storage: Heated indoor storage and outdoor slips for boats. Storage services include pickup in October and return in May.
5. Financing Services: Boat financing assistance provided to customers to facilitate purchases.
6. Parts Sales: Parts finder service for boat parts and accessories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Yacht Sales is a full-service boat dealership and marina based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, selling new and pre-owned boats from multiple brands (SunChaser, Sea Ray, Starweld, Smoker Craft, Four Winns, Carver, Bayliner, Albemarle, Rinker, Penn Yan, Maxum) along with related services including boat financing, parts supply, marine service and repair, wet slips, and heated indoor/outdoor storage. The company serves the greater Chicago area and the eastern shores of Lake Michigan, positioning itself as the #1 Midwest boat dealer.

Product overview

Great Lakes Yacht Sales operates as a full-service boat dealership and marina, offering new and pre-owned boat sales across multiple manufacturers including SunChaser pontoons, Sea Ray cruisers and bowriders, Starweld and Smoker Craft fishing boats, and various other brands. The company provides a complete boating ecosystem through its core sales operations complemented by marina services including slips, storage, and maintenance/repair services. Additional offerings include parts supply through a part finder system, financing services, and service scheduling. The company operates Simmons Island Marina in Kenosha, Wisconsin, positioned centrally between Milwaukee and Chicago along Lake Michigan's western shore. This is not a unified software platform but rather a collection of physical products (boats) and services (marina, repair, financing) for recreational boaters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Boat Sales Sales of new boats from multiple manufacturers including SunChaser pontoons, Sea Ray, Bayliner, Four Winns, Carver, Albemarle, Rinker, Penn Yan, Maxum, Starweld, and Smoker Craft, serving individual boating consumers.
• Pre-Owned Boat Sales Sales of used boats including express fishermen, cruisers, bowriders, pontoons, and fishing vessels from various manufacturers, with inventory ranging from approximately $9,900 to $329,595.
• Boat Financing Financing services to help individual customers purchase boats, offering flexible payment options for both new and used vessel acquisitions.
• Boat Service and Repair Comprehensive vessel maintenance and repair services performed by skilled mechanics and technicians, including repairs, winterization, and 100-hour service requirements for individual boat owners.
• Parts Department Parts finder service enabling customers to locate and order replacement parts for their boats and marine equipment.
• Marina Slips and Storage Wet slips and storage solutions for boats, including heated indoor storage options and outdoor storage at marina facilities, with seasonal pickup in October and return in May.
• Simmons Island Marina Full-service marina offering boat slips, fuel service, fish cleaning station, and launch facilities for recreational boaters.
• SunChaser Pontoon Boats Tritoon pontoon boats designed for Lake Michigan and larger inland lakes, featuring third-tube configuration, lifting strakes, spray deflectors, and underskinning for improved performance.
• Sea Ray Cruisers and Bowriders Power boats including cruiser models (530 Voyager Pilothouse, 378 Vista, 290 Sundancer) and bowrider configurations for family recreation and fishing on Lake Michigan.
• Starweld Fishing Boats Purpose-built fishing vessels suitable for Great Lakes salmon and trout fishing, designed for downriggers, planer boards, and serious angling applications.
• Smoker Craft Fishing Boats Fishing boats designed for Lake Michigan angling, offering models suitable for trolling and fishing operations in various conditions.
• Service Scheduling Online service request system enabling customers to schedule boat maintenance appointments for spring, summer, fall, or winter service.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving the greater Chicago area and eastern shores of Lake Michigan as #1 Midwest boat dealers

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• OneWater Marine: Publicly traded marine retailer with a large network of dealerships across the Eastern U.S. and Gulf Coast. Comparable business model to GLYS at much greater scale, with similar new/used sales, service, and storage offerings.
• MarineMax: National largest recreational boat retailer with sales, service, brokerage, and financing across the U.S. Operates as a broad incumbent in the same category as GLYS but with vastly greater scale, public-company financial transparency, and geographic reach.

Direct peers

• Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales: Michigan-based boat dealer offering new and brokerage sales, service, storage, and financing in the Great Lakes. Highly comparable in scope and Lake Michigan customer orientation to GLYS.
• SkipperBud's: Multi-location Midwest boat dealer and marina operator with new and pre-owned boat sales, service, storage, and slips. Closely comparable to GLYS in offering a full-service dealership-and-marina bundle, but at significantly greater scale across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
• Walstrom Marine: Long-standing Great Lakes boat dealer offering new and used sales, marina slips, storage, fuel dock, and service in northern Michigan. Comparable full-service model and Lake Michigan/Huron customer base to GLYS.
• Spring Brook Marina: Illinois-based marina and boat dealer offering sales, service, slips, and storage on the Chain O'Lakes region. Directly comparable geography and service bundle to GLYS, even referenced by a GLYS customer in testimonials.
• Bradford Marine: Multi-location boat dealer and marina operator in Florida and the Bahamas. Comparable full-service dealership model (sales, service, slips, storage) but serving a coastal/saltwater recreational market rather than freshwater Great Lakes.
• CenterPointe Yacht Sales: Midwest boat dealer focused on new and brokerage sales of Sea Ray, Meridian, and other powerboat brands, with service and storage. Comparable in product mix and customer segment to GLYS, operating in adjacent Wisconsin and Minnesota markets.

Regional players

• Boat Town USA: Wisconsin-based boat dealership focused on fishing and recreational boats. Comparable in regional Midwest positioning and product mix (fishing boats, pontoons, runabouts) but without the marina/storage component.
• Lakeside Marina (Chain O'Lakes): Marina and boat dealer on the Chain O'Lakes in Illinois serving boaters who trailer or store in the Kenosha/southern Wisconsin region. Overlapping customer base and use cases with GLYS, with a distinct inland-waterway focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-lakes-yacht-sales-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Yacht Sales