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Back in the mid-1950s, Springville grain-and-feed owner Jack Robertson did not think highly of his son's infatuation with boats.
But parental disapproval did not deter Don Robertson from pursuing his passion for fishing and boating. He bought and sold a few outboard motors. Then he branched out and bought a little Mobilcraft boat. 
"To look at it now, you'd laugh at it. But it was a boat. It floated," said Robertson, 76, and patriarch of a boating business, Robertson's Marine, which has flourished, partly through his acumen and partly because of a happy coincidence of events. Turns out that his passion took hold just as water development projects blessed the dry Western landscape with reservoirs and as technological innovations offered new recreational thrills to baby boomers with money to spend on expensive toys.
On a personal level, and just as importantly, he said, the professional side of his life has kept him close to his children - five work at the dealership - and has generated some lifelong friendships with customers, personal relationships that exemplify what Robertson likes about boating.
"Customers have said that boating kept their families together. Kids like to boat with Mom and Dad when they go to Lake Powell or somewhere else," he said. In his own case, "I never got rich in it, but the family has lived pretty well."
And spent plenty of time together.
Daughter Susan is the dealership's general manager. Oldest son Calvin, 55, has been service manager for 20 years, one of many jobs he has held since starting as a teenager, "cleaning boats, fixing boats, selling boats."
Calvin works closely with brother Carl, a self-described "jack of all trades," including referee when having so much family around leads to the inevitable quibble or two. Youngest son Casey is sales manager. He is assisted by his sister Amy who returned to the family fold after a stint selling motorcycles.
"This is pretty much what I grew up with, and I took to it. It's all I've done," said Casey, who also sold motorcycles for a while just after high school, only to "realize I didn't want to leave boats."
Added Carl: "I'm surprised it works as well as it does. A lot of family businesses don't survive to the next generation. I think we've done pretty well."
New reservoirs, motors
Part of the reason for their success is that the siblings share an appreciation for the water that enables them to play together, as well as work together.
"After work, we'll get a boat and go fishing. It's more fun to go with them," said Susan, a devotee of bass fishing at Lake Powell or in Jordanelle or Deer Creek reservoirs.
Of those, only Deer Creek Reservoir existed when Don Robertson got into the business, which has grown in concert with the development of water storage projects in semi-arid Utah.
He recalled taking a river trip into Glen Canyon before the dam turned it into Lake Powell. "We watched the dam being built. Naturally, we were eager to see it."
The addition of northeastern Utah's Flaming Gorge Reservoir later in the '60s "really helped the boat business. From then on, it's been excellent boating," Robertson added.
Those 1960s water projects coincided with significant improvements to boat engines, particularly the development of the inboard-outboard motor. Far more powerful than their predecessors, more fuel-efficient and environmentally cleaner, these new motors stimulated the construction of bigger and faster boats.
Water skiing took off. So did powerboat racing.
Robertson's personal experiences followed the trend.
In his youth, he said, "we had no racing or skiing. I enjoyed fishing and boating." But before too long, he was participating in speedboat races on Utah Lake, speed being a relative word with 25-horsepower engines as the norm.
Years later, however, Robertson was racing in the World Outboard Championships on Arizona's Lake Havasu, approaching speeds of 100 mph. He even sponsored a race on Utah Lake for several years in the 1970s - the Provo 250 - until insurance costs made it impractical to continue.
Changing tastes
There have been tough times over the past half-century.
The gas crisis put a damper on sales in 1973-74. High interest rates and inflation in the mid-'80s hurt, too. Still, as Americans had more disposable income to spend on recreation, Robertson's Marine added more boat brands and types to respond to the varied desires.
After that first Mobilcraft boat, Robertson picked up Glastron, a brand still displayed prominently in his showroom at 1045 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City. Several Glastron boats are alongside a sleek, 26-foot Formula craft that Robertson called "the best there is." The dealership also has "done real well with Ranger bass boats," he added, as well as Crestliner and Wellcraft.
"I like brand names and the reputations of the companies," Robertson said. "Most dealership boats are beautiful. [The manufacturers] do a great job. We like to back up what we sell. If you have a manufacturer who does that, it helps."
It also helps to have a well-stocked parts department and what Robertson calls "the ship store," where customers can find just about anything needed to outfit their boats in style. Stereos, speakers and lights are among the most desired accessories these days, along with wakeboards.
"We used to have double skis and slalom skis, but now it's wakeboards," he said.
Fore to aft, outfitting the kind of motor boats customarily seen on Utah waterways can cost as little as $18,000 for a modest craft to $365,000 for a 37-foot-long Formula model. And if desires run bigger than that, Susan Robertson said, "you could spend as much as you want to."
Staying on top of the changing scene is crucial.
"There's lots of competition out there for a desert state," she added, noting the Salt Lake Valley has a half-dozen major boat dealerships. "Each has its own boat lines, so it's good competition."
Dennis Petersen, president of Petersen Marine, which started in Ogden in 1949 and also has a dealership in Draper, concurred.
"I've known Don Robertson for a lot of years and he's a class competitor. He's nice to have on the other side because he's honest, fair and runs a real tight ship," he said.
"It's a different ballgame now. The buyer is much more educated, much more astute. There are a lot of choices out there, and these buyers, they look around a lot. They just don't settle for the first one they see."
Good personal service 
For Robertson's Marine to continue to sell 150 to 175 boats a year, Susan said, it is essential to establish and maintain long-lasting relationships with customers and to be involved in whatever interests them.
Consequently, Robertson's Marine sponsors a professional fishing team of a dozen anglers who compete in bass and walleye tournaments, conduct seminars and promote fishing in general.
"It's not real big in Utah, but it's our goal to grow the sports of walleye fishing and bass fishing," said Rick Kinross, a salesman who helps oversee the fishing team and the dealership's educational campaigns promoting catch-and-release initiatives and other conservation measures.
Repeat customer Paul Reutlinger, 52, of West Jordan appreciates these efforts. He has bought six or seven boats from Robertson's and keeps coming back because "it's a family business and it runs off good personal service, something you don't get much of anymore. It's big enough to do anything you want but small enough that you can be relaxed around them. They're genuine."
A tournament bass fisherman, Reutlinger said, "It's an expensive venture, but they make it not quite so painful. They'll teach you how to run your boat. They'll take you to the lake. They offer safety courses on the boats, all that kind of stuff."
Providing personal attention is why the company has endured, Don Robertson said.
"This is the type of business where you are selling somebody something they want. They don't have to have it. They want it," he said. "You meet some great people buying boats. I enjoy them because they're pleasant."
mikeg@sltrib.com