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Vashon Island Kayak Company is a sweet little 13-year-old business that runs for 5 months out of the year, with enormous potential in one of the most beautiful paddling and living spots in the world. Here's a little history. In the early nineties, David and Doug met while training as nursing assistants at the old Island Manor. We discovered that, in addition to our each having made the same uncommon choice of midlife career changes, we both loved kayaking. One thing led to another, and, in 1994, we bought a bunch of kayaks and started Vashon Island Kayak Company. It seems to be in the nature of business to want to grow and expand and we soon had an outpost on Bainbridge Island and another on Alki Point, and started doing business as Puget Sound Kayak Company, King County’s only kayak outfitter with three saltwater locations. We were devoting more energy to business than paddling. Happily, a couple of years later, we found ourselves with just one location in the beautiful Jensen Pt. Boathouse in Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon Island. There’s been a lot of water under our bows in the last fifteen years. We have developed our own skills and had the opportunity to introduce hundreds of people of all ages to an activity that we still love as an athletic, environmental and meditative blessing.
As the outfitter for Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls and Boys, McMurray School, Bush School, and other organizations, instructors with credentials respected in the kayak community, and concessionaires for Vashon Park District in this uniquely accessible— yet remote paddling paradise, we have enjoyed a steady stream of business with little marketing effort. Annual gross revenues, exclusive of boat and equipment sales, range from thirty to fifty thousand dollars. Hourly rentals are pretty steady at about $13,000 a year. The biggest variable is the group business, schools, businesses and other organizations that need to be courted. When a business is run by a couple guys who don’t want to do any more than they’re doing, and maybe a little less, that segment doesn’t grow. But even a sweet little company like this has its demands and there are a lot of other things we want to do. Accordingly, we have decided to sell the company.
Historically we have operated with $60,000 to $80,000 worth of gear including boats, and all accessory equipment. We buy everything wholesale and periodically sell it for close to that and refresh everything. This year we have not ordered replacement boats thinking that a new owner would like to select the “personality” of the fleet. We have tended to buy boats we personally like to paddle and are proud to put people in but there is a legitimate argument that any kind of human powered craft is better than no kind of human powered craft and our performance orientation is not the only viable model. We propose to sell the website, logo, trade names, and good will and corporate structure to a qualified buyer for $20,000. We would sell current equipment at fair market value. New and replacement equipment can be readily financed. We would train the new owner and be available for assistance. If you are interested in this opportunity, please send a statement of your qualifications to us by email at kayak@pugetsoundkayak.com or mail to Vashon Island Kayak Company, P.O.B. 2957, Vashon Island, WA, 98070.