After 40 years of selling and serving boats in the Lake Anna region Louisa Boat & Motor has been sold.
New owners, Pete Derosario, 40 and Ally Bell, 28, are residents of the lake with 15 years experience working on boats and a passion for boating. They have also retained the expertise of Greg and Billy Whitlock (previous owners) as service providers.
“We simply just love the water! Whether it be fishing, watersports or just floating around, we understand the importance of boats because of the memories and experiences that it helps us
create,” noted Bell.
What makes Lake Anna Watercraft unique is that they offer service on all brands of boat motors, both inboard and outboard.
“We have a multi-tiered service center with certified and licensed techs in inboards, I/O’s, and outboards. We work on Mercruiser, Mercury, Evinrude/Johnson, Suzuki, Indmar and PCM motors. We have a team with dedicated technicians for whichever brand you need service in,” Bell told Life & Times.
The business also offers detailing, winterization, shrink wrap as well as consignment and used boat sales.
Dealing with customers distraught over a non-functioning boat requires special customer relations skills.
“We do the best that we can to come up with a proper diagnostic, time frame and cost to repair the vessel. We also try to guide the customer to make an informed decision whether the vessel is worth putting the money in to repair vs. buying new or gently used,” explained Bell.
So why did they choose Louisa for their new business?
“Louisa was close to home, and we now live here. We fell in love with Lake Anna because of the community, the fishery and the beautiful lake in general. We have spent many years on this lake prior to forming this business and have made many connections and friendships in the area.”
Both Derosario and Bell have a service pedigree. Ally was a service advisor for Sheehy Ford in northern Virginia as well as Priority Toyota. She focuses on customer service/relations as well as the financial aspects of the company. She also has a school bus route for Orange County and spends her mornings and evenings transporting children safely to their destinations.
Pete was a chiropractic x-ray tech that focused on health and the human body. He says: “boats are much easier to fix than people”.
When they are not working on boats, they are boating themselves.
“We have a 22’ pilot house that we enjoy fishing on in the colder months when we have more time to be on the water. We also have a pontoon that we take friends and family on as well as a deck boat that we spend much of our time fishing on in the warmer months.”
Like Louisa Boat & Motor before, Lake Anna Watercraft will continue to serve Lake of the Woods and Lake Monticello.
“We are very pleased to live and work in this community. We are very excited to provide a place of service for all of our Louisa Boat and Motor customers as we continue to grow. The addition of Greg and Billy to our team has helped us to broaden our horizons in the service industry. Give us a chance as your one stop shop for repairs, parts, engine repower, winterization, shrink wraps and off-season storage. Thank you all so much for the opportunity to serve this amazing community.”
