On a sunny summer day, looking for a boat outside is just fine, but not so much in January or February, or if it is raining.With their new 6,400 sq. ft. indoor showroom, Kemptville Land and Sea will be able to provide their clients with a much more enjoyable experience. Courtesy Photo

MOUNTAIN – Kemptville Land and Sea (KLS Marine) has a reputation for quality and have for many years been the place to go if you were looking to purchase a gently used watercraft. There is no disputing that they have been successful, so much so that they are now adding a new indoor showroom to their property on county Road 43 in Hallville.

Todd Mattie, who along with his wife Felicia have operated the business for 20 plus years took a few minutes to explain the new investment in the business, and in the community.

We’ve come to a kind of a stage where, you know, with the growth of the business and the expansion of the business that we’ve decided to put in an indoor showroom,” said Mattie.  “That’s more to cater to our clients, and even to us, where we don’t just sell in the summer and in the Fall, we also sell in January, February, March, April and so on, as well as in inclement weather.

According to Mattie, the new facility will have room for indoor display of 35 boats. “The dilemma we’ve had in the past was you have limited space, limited area here, and we’ve wrapped our boats. Then when clients are coming in, when it’s raining, or in earlier season, you’re walking them out and all they can see are wrapped boats. They’re under tarps and everything else, and it becomes a lot harder for them to see what is available.

Before founding KLS Marine, Mattie was a part of the Myers Automotive Group in Ottawa, so he understands very well the concept of the consumer experience. While he may not be selling a new boat, he wants his clients to have the same experience they would if it was a new boat.

“We were trying to make this experience as close to a new boat experience as possible,” said Mattie.  “We stand behind it with warranty. We basically do a full inspection on our boats as well. We detail them, so we’re trying to make it as close to new as possible.

“A lot of clients today, they’ll come in and they don’t want to go through the hassles, they don’t want to have that uncertainty where they’re buying something and it could, really have something wrong with it.  We’re very unique that way.  We recondition our boats, we give them a full inspection report, full marine inspection, and then we stand behind it again with the warranty. We also take them out for a one-hour orientation on the water.”

Mattie says that it doesn’t matter if you’ve been boating for forty years and know a lot about boats or if you are new to the activity, they will walk them through the experience and let their clients know that they not only have more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, but they too are also boaters.

“As avid boaters ourselves, we’re trying to share that with our clients and say, hey, this is a wonderful fun pastime. And you know, this is what we do, and this is how you can maintain your boat. And the nice thing we also do is relationship selling with our clients. So not only do we sell a boat to them, but we will also service it, and we will bring them back for winterization, for storage and these types of things as well. So, it’s an ongoing relationship.”

The new indoor showroom will be 6400 square feet, and it will allow KLS to store 30 to 35 boats. It will make it much easier, on a cold day in January or February to visualize what it will feel like to be out on the Ottawa or St. Lawrence River, or one of the many lakes in the area on a boat you can trust.

“One thing worth mentioning,” said Mattie, “Is that we don’t only sell to people from this area.  We draw in a lot of customers from everywhere. We’ve had customers from New Brunswick come in because normally we have 40 to 45 bolts in stock. We’re trying to kind of focus and push that idea.  Here is our huge selection, and here is this 6400 square foot showroom that we have, state of the art facility that we have here to show off a product.”

Kemptville Land and Sea is located at 1759 County Road 1, Mountain, Ontario (right at the corner of County Road 43 where you turn into the Village of Hallville.) You can reach them by phone at 613-698-7393, or by email at info@klsmarine.ca. You can also visit their website at klsmarine.ca.

 

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