For the Pensel family, operating Boats by George is ‘like breathing’ 

Lake George boat business thrives across 3 generations

By Holly Riddle

“It’s our family history. It’s something that they grew up with, just like me. It’s almost not work. It’s like breathing,” described George Pensel, founder of Boats by George in Lake George, when discussing bringing his children, Adam and Andrew, into the family business. “This is how we breathe. This is how we survive.” 

It’s clear when talking to the Pensel family that they have a deep love for their customers, boating and, more specifically, Lake George. It’s a love that began growing decades ago, when George’s father purchased Dunham’s Bay Boat Storage in 1948, renaming it Dunham’s Bay Boat Company and operating it for more than two decades. 

“Growing up around the marina on Lake George was quite the upbringing,” George described. “I really enjoyed the lake, the activities around the lake, the freedom of boating and waterskiing — all those things.” 

Then, when George was 15, his father sold the business and, since the family didn’t have a lake house or any other direct access to the water, George said it “made quite the impression.” To get around this fact and back out on the lake, he secured a job at the marina under the new owner. 

Eventually, he wanted to open his own marina, but without the resources, he started a boat canvas business instead, and soon he’d saved enough to start Boats by George, in 1982. Today, Boats by George is a multigenerational business, with a 30,000-square-foot showroom, two marinas and a service and repair center.  

George’s life has revolved around boating and Lake George, and that’s given him a keen insight into what boaters who visit the area want and need — and his knowledge has fueled the business’s growth.

“It’s an understanding as to what our consumer is looking for,” he said. “One of the key ingredients is understanding that Lake George is a special place. People invest huge amounts of money to be on that lake and they want the very best,” he said, admitting that it wasn’t always an easy business to run. “The economy was difficult in the late 1980s and early 1990s — but we always took care of our customers.” 

Sons Adam and Andrew began working at the company when Boats by George purchased its first marina, in 2005. 

“That was a huge turning point for the company, because, from ’82, when [George] purchased his first lot to open his boat dealership, until 2005, we didn’t own any property directly on the water. We couldn’t offer things like dock space, quick launch or lakeside service. We had avenues to do that through leasing a small amount of space at an independently owned marina that already existed, but that creates a lot of challenges,” said Adam. “Purchasing the marina was a huge game changer.” 

In 2005, Adam estimates, the company was doing $3–$4 million in sales. Today, that number has risen to $28 million.

Following in dad’s footsteps

Growing up, Adam and Andrew had a somewhat similar experience as their father, with their lives being so intertwined with the lake, but, while George likens the business to breathing, it wasn’t ever a concrete expectation that they two sons would end up joining the family business full-time, as adults. 

“There wasn’t any pressure,” said Andrew. After high school, he pursued an associate’s degree in business and moved to Colorado for a while. “Then, one day, my friends were like, ‘Oh, your dad owns this boat business in New York. Wow. That’s pretty cool.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it is pretty cool actually — I should work there someday.” 

Adam likewise recalled, “I was always very proud of my parents for what they’d done in the business, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of my career or out of life.” After high school, he completed a few years of college, but eventually made his way back to Boats by George. “At the end of the day, the grace I was given for growth in this business, by my family, allowed me to hone and develop my professional skillset… I’m incredibly grateful…and I certainly don’t take it for granted.” 

Today, the two are fully entrenched in the business’s operations and managing its continual growth. As for what comes next, at least where George is concerned, retirement isn’t an option.

He joked, “I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say, ‘When I retire, I want to work in the [boat] business. I never say it, but I chuckle inside, because no one retires in this business. This is a full-time and beyond business — but there’s a lot of reward in it, and that reward is watching people drive away in their boats very happy.”