I have been a boater and in customer service as a profession for 30 years. I have never encountered a full service boat broker and services consulting company Like Lakeside Boat in all that time. It is unique and extremely rare to find an owner as experienced, committed and with a total customer care oriented as Chris Silhan.
Over the past year I have worked with Chris to; find and broker a used boat that met very tight guidelines, repower and complete a failed restoration project, sell my used vessel, consult on Coast Guard vessel documentation process, DMV registration, Insurance, trailer purchase and rebuild among many other issues. This breadth of expertise, attention to detail, project management and dedication is unheard of in my 30 year of boat ownership. Typically I would have been forced to deal with 4-7 different shops and specialist to complete this massive transition project. Chris readily accepted it, handled every last detail and delivered a very troubled project under budget and way ahead of technical specification and quality.
From the first meeting with Chris I was completely comfortable he had the knowledge, resources, skill and business model to own the project as "HIS". Its one thing to have the capability, quite another to deliberately build a service business around "the total life cycle management of the boat ownership process" . Some claim to do this, Chris is the first I have encountered that does by design of his organization and business model.
Lakeside Boat researched and acquired a very unique 40ft express cruiser refit project for me. Chris was very candid and fair about the risks and benefits of the project. He reviewed in significant detail the options
and potential of each. Once under his control he aggressively managed and shared the financial risks of the project with me.
Chris Silhan treats his customers as "clients for life". He provides that kind of services and balance in the transactions. He makes the relationship fair with give and take. He understands if he provides the best services and product across every possible aspect of the boat ownership process you will be satisfied and committed to being a lakeside Boat client. I have found a real professional that I could totally outsource every aspect of a several $100K project too with complete confidence. The boat looks, runs, and is perfect in every way, all the time, 365 days a year. He manages to the smallest detail and is a perfectionist. And if you need him, Chris is instantly there.
Lakeside Boat is not a broker, Not a service shop, not a performance shop, or a consultant or a property manager, detailer or friend in a pinch. They are all those things and every day. The first shop I have encountered that shares my view of service. Total customer care throughout the boat ownership experience. All I do is use the boat and enjoy it a great deal.
Chris Silhan managers every other detail to a level of perfection that even impresses a customer service professional with 30 years in the customer care business.
Thanks for Being you Chris, and creating a business in your own image. I am a Lakeside Client for life.

Dave Despard
 

We are writing this letter to recommend Nordic Boats and the local dealer Lakeside Boats in Bellevue and owner Chris Sillhan.

We first started looking into Powerboats because we had a ski boat for many years and felt that it was time to upgrade a little. We wanted to get a boat with a smoother ride and one that could handle the change of weather better.

After researching many different types of Powerboats and making visits to different dealerships, we decided to check out the Nordic boats at the Seattle Boat show last January. What attracted us most to the Nordic Boat was that we could choose everything we wanted in our boat. We were able to personalize it. We chose our own graphics, color, the cabin layout for our needs, and accessories.

Something convenient, was that Lakeside Boats is capable of handling any installation.

Lakeside Boats is committed to pleasing us and making sure that we are happy with our boat. Furthermore, having a dealership within 2 hours of where we live is important to us. We plan on using Lakeside boats for any maintenance in the future.

We are looking forward to this summer so we can take the boat out!

Sincerely,

Sam & Darcy Moss

Dear Chris,

This is a quick note to let you know how excited we are to own our Nordic 28' Heat. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality and performance of the boat we bought.

Prior to our purchase, I scrutinized boats from several well-known vendors (Fountain, Formula, Baja and Donzi to name a few) and feel strongly that there is no better performance boat on the market, regardless of the price. With price factored in, the others can't touch Nordic. 76 MPH top-end, incredible mid-range acceleration, excellent tracking and handling, and vastly superior fit and finish put Nordic head and shoulders above the rest. This, coupled with Nordic's award-winning styling, make us feel great about our purchase.

Thank you for all the help that you gave us during the process. Lakeside Boat is quality outfit and I shall recommend you to all my friends who express interest in a performance boat.

Sincerely,
Steve and Debby Fletcher