When Luke Erickson’s grandparents, June and Roger, opened a Gamble’s Hardware store in Hastings, they could have never imagined what that company would become decades later. Today, Erickson Marine sells, services, stores, and hauls boats across the metro with locations in Hastings and now, back in Tonka Bay.
The story of how Erickson Marine came to, left, and finally returned to Tonka Bay goes all the way back to the Gambles store. A few years after opening the hardware store, “they started selling a few Lund fishing boats in the store parking lot,” says Luke. In doing so, the couple came to realize that their business growth was coming from selling boats over hardware.
Roger purchased a property just across the Mississippi River from downtown Hastings, where Erickson Marine can still be found today. He continued to sell a wide variety of products through the years, such as ATVs, snowmobiles, television sets, furniture, and, of course, boats. Regarding the move out to the highway location, Luke remarks, “Everyone thought he was crazy,” but the results speak for themselves.
By the 1980s, Erickson Marine had leased a second location on Tonka Bay, but the site was troubled by the severe drought of that time, which made boating in the area extremely difficult. This, unfortunately, led to the unexpected closing of the location. In the mid-80s, Jon Erickson, Luke’s father, began taking over the business from his parents and still runs the company today.
As the third generation in the business, when asked if he had always planned to work in the marina, Luke responds, “It depends on who you ask.” Luke grew up on boats and has early memories of dealer meetings with his family. A seasoned young boater, he even recalls being able to demo the first boat-docking joystick as a child…with an audience. “That sticks with me to this day,” says Luke. But despite how familiar and experienced he became on the water, working at the marina was never a foregone conclusion.
According to Luke, it was the pandemic that brought him fully into the business. After an initial slow period for the marine business during Covid, Governor Walz released avid boaters back onto the lakes, and “That’s when business got crazy for us,” says Luke.
For the first time in months, people trying to escape their living rooms took to the lakes. It took multiple years for the boating industry to “catch up with the demand,” says Luke. For all the hardships of the pandemic, quarantine provided the gift of time for many. During a much-needed Minnesota summer, many families across the state took to the lakes. This surge in boating led Erickson Marine to open an additional sales location at Tonka Bay in 2023. This new sales office is in the very same spot leased by Roger Erickson approximately forty years prior.
The foundation of Erickson Marine has always been, and remains today, providing their customers with quality boats and outstanding service. The company’s technicians are certified in various popular brands such as Yamaha, Mercury, MerCruiser, and Volvo Penta and provide prompt remote service on everything they sell. “One of the main reasons we are here today and have been in business this long is a direct result of our wonderful service,” says Luke. Erickson Marine’s technicians have over one hundred years of combined experience in the industry, with many of those years spent at Erickson Marine. “It’s cliché, but we are one big family,” says Luke.
The company has always done business in and around Lake Minnetonka, known simply as ‘The Lake’ to employees. Returning to open a sales office was a way to better serve that community. The entire Erickson Marine team is excited by the opportunity to have a physical location back on Lake Minnetonka.
At the Tonka Bay sales office, “almost everything there is water-ready,” says Luke, often surprising customers by asking them ‘do you want to go for a ride right now?’ for boats they are looking at on the show floor. Erickson Marine also secured some slips in the marina to display boats for demonstration.
Coming from a long line of boaters, Luke is keenly aware of the weight of history and tradition in the boating industry. Luke and his father travel to boat shows across the country, using those experiences to bring new ideas to their own inventory. They are always looking for unique, exciting, and innovative brands that they feel will fit in the marketplace. A current example is Nimbus Boats, a popular luxury brand started in Sweden that stands in stark contrast to popular boats in Minnesota.
“When we start looking at these boat manufacturers, we say, ‘Why wouldn’t this be perfect for Minnesota boating?’” says Luke.
With the arrival of warm weather here in Minnesota, it is officially boating season. And for anyone looking to get out onto one, Erickson Marine is here to help. https://www.ericksonmarine.com/