Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor
Pilot Knob Marina, which sold for “just under $3-million in 2021,” is on the market again for $5.749-million by the man who purchased it, John “JD” Donnolly.
Davies-Davies has the listing, touting it as “an extraordinary investment opportunity” whose “centerpiece is a 0.66-acre lakefront property featuring a large, well-established marina complete with gas docks, boat launch ramp, multiple dock slips, heated service shop with parts department, office space and a 3-bedroom apartment above.”
Of Chaparral, he said, “I’ve grown that business to the 20th largest dealer in the United States for Chaparral. Robalo [fishing boats] we’re doing extremely well. And we really just got into pontoon boats. We carry Harris, which is a marquee brand.”
Asked about Arctic Cat snowmobiles, Mr. Donnolly said, “So Arctic Cat is on pause. The new person, whoever takes over the dealership, can decide. If they want, they can turn that back on.
“That is a very challenging business to be in. Believe it or not, I had 18 snowmobiles when I started the winter and I’m down to like four. Last year, I couldn’t move a snowmobile to save my life. This year, they’re flying out the door, so very fortunate, liquidate a lot of that.”
Mr. Donnolly tells The Chronicle, “Whoever acquires it right now, they’re very fortunate. because a lot of the heavy lifting’s done.
“We redid all the infrastructure. We had them come in and blast the rock, put a new ramp. We went 60 feet into the lake with the rocks. We had the Army Corps of Engineers. We redid the buildings, the parking lots, every roof on the place, well, not every, the roof on the main building and the roof on [the sales building on Route] 149 have been replaced. And then we did internal, we gutted a lot of the buildings and redid them.”
Mr. Donnolly’s principal business is a software company in Massachusetts that helps manage health care finances.
How did he like the marina business?
“Running a marina is no joke,” he replied. “It’s a tough job. it’s really like five different businesses, right? You got service, you got parts, you got boat sales, you got quick launch, winter storage.
“So you have all these little micro businesses, and when I bought the place, there’s really no software that ties the whole picture together.
“So, about a year ago, because I’ve got about 60 programmers, we started building software to solve this problem. When the software was done and up and running, it kind of made this decision, probably late last year, that it’s better to put the marina in somebody else’s hands.
“I pray that whoever buys it still uses the software because it is a pretty neat package.”
“The marine industry is very transient,” notes Mr. Donnolly. “You close in the winter. I was able to create — I’ve got 11 employees full-time year round, and then we go up to 20 to 25 in the summer. And that core team, we meet every morning, we huddle. Sales is talking to service and parts and it’s great I think it’s all about culture, right? It took a long time to build that culture.”
Pilot Knob’s prior owners, Nick Barber and Mike Smith, operated the marina for 35 years, selling it in 2021.
“We think it was just time,” Mr. Barber told The Chronicle then. “Neither one of us have children. There’s nobody to follow us up. And you know, we’re not getting any younger. That’s the big thing.” He added, “We got the asking [price].”
Pilot Knob Marina, on the east side of Lake George next to YMCA Camp Chingachgook, is 104 years old.
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