About Wawasee Boat Company
Wawasee Boat Company has been the premier marina and the destination stop for Northeast Indiana boaters since 1929. With the growth of the Internet, we now serve boaters across the nation.
It is always a challenge to write an “about us” section on a website. Obviously, everyone wants to point out their best features and that is normal. We will depend a lot on history and reputation to discuss the “about us” section of Wawasee Boat Company. But, it’s important to realize that this “history” and “reputation” still applies to the present.
Since 1929, when it was established by Ken Harkless, Wawasee Boat Company has grown to become one of the largest marinas in the State of Indiana. It has become sort of an “institution” on Lake Wawasee and surrounding Northeastern Indiana lakes. Mr. Harkless always ran the marina in an honest and reputable way with good products and good service. His reputation was excellent.
Essentially the marina has had two owners; Mr. Ken Harkless and in 1977, Doug & Carolyn Anderson, along with their son, Russell, purchased the marina and have run it for over 45 years. The marina has always been open and honest with its customer base and has done everything possible to serve the customers’ needs in whatever aspect of boating they are participating in.
Over time, as the boating has changed on Lake Wawasee and surrounding lakes, the marina has evolved as well. The culture of the customer base has driven the culture of the company. Wawasee Boat Company is very pleased to be able to say that many of its employees have been here for 15 to 40 years or more. This attests to the loyalty of the company's employees as it relates to the desire to provide good service for its customers.
Product is of course very important to serving a customer in the marine industry. Wawasee Boat Company has always carried premier products for its customer base over the years and these include Nautique Wake/Surf/Ski boats, JC Pontoon & TriToon, Supreme Wake/Surf/Ski boats, Four Winns Runabouts, and Yamaha Personal Watercraft. As boating trends have changed, the company has been able to alter its product line to fulfill the needs of our current customers. It is an evolving process. Currently, the company has the best lines in the ski, wakeboard, and wake surf boat market with the iconic Nautique brand. It also is proud to carry the JC line of Pontoons (inventor of the TriToon), which is not only made locally but is a very well-built and “high-end” pontoon line. High-quality Four Winns Runabouts, Supreme Wake and Surf Boats and Yamaha Personal Watercraft round out the major product lines.
But, in addition to good product, there has to be good service to back it up. The customer base of Wawasee Boat Company usually expects the company to take care of their watercraft throughout the year by providing winterizing, storage, and summarization services in addition to any needed repairs that might come up during the summer. Most customers also are proactive and want Preventative Maintenance programs to make sure that their boats are inspected and maintained to anticipate and prevent problems before they occur or become serious. This needed service has been provided through our extensive preventative maintenance programs. It has been an important part of the company’s growth to store, inside our buildings, close to 1,000 boats- more than any other marina stores in the State of Indiana. It also allows us to maintain a very stable, certified, and well-trained mechanical staff that works year-round to care for our customer's boats. Many other services are also available to customers who want their boats on what we call a “concierge” service which includes pickup and delivery and also cleaning at various levels.
To adequately understand Wawasee Boat Company we welcome you to visit our facilities on the north shore of Lake Wawasee in Syracuse, Indiana. We have a total of 45 acres, 24 buildings, and 3 campuses. Our main campus is located at 6521 E. Cornelius Rd., Syracuse, IN, which is on a harbor off the north shore of Lake Wawasee. We also have an east campus with storage buildings and a south campus with storage buildings. All of our storage buildings are owned and controlled by us and were constructed specifically for inside boat storage. We welcome a visit at any time.
PRODUCTS and SERVICES:
- POWERBOATS – Nautique Wake, Surf, and Ski boats; Supreme Wake and Surf Boats; JC Pontoons and TriToons; Four Winns Runabouts and Yamaha Wave Runners
- PIER RENTAL FACILITIES – Year-round club plan offering pier slip rental in the summer and indoor winter storage
- PONTOON RENTALS – offered on a daily or weekly basis
- PREMIER SERVICE FACILITIES – Equipped to do all types of repairs that are needed for boats of the type that frequent the inland lakes of Indiana. This includes complete mechanical repair of marine engines, lower units, and other operating systems. It also includes cosmetic abilities to do fiberglass repairs, upholstery repairs, and complete boat detailing. The technicians are highly trained and experienced and do quality work. Wawasee Boat Company constantly ranks at the highest level of customer satisfaction indexes as reported by the customer response to the manufacturers on surveys regarding the service they received at Wawasee Boat Company. We also are classified as a Premiere Servicing Dealership by most of our major outboard and inboard lines. These include PCM, Mercruiser, Suzuki, and Honda.
- LARGE SHIP’S STORE – featuring “Lake Wawasee” apparel. This includes T-shirts, Sweatshirts, ¼ zip pullovers, hats, and other various lake-oriented clothing. We are also a dealer for Sperry Topsider shoes
- CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY CENTER – Families with young children in the 2 to 12-year range will enjoy the Children’s Activity Center which is open on Saturdays in the summer. This offering is unique in that there are many activities for young children that can be enjoyed with their parents and grandparents.
Wawasee Boat Company is conveniently located near the areas of Millersburg, Cromwell, Barbee and Leesburg.