Washington Water Sports LLC, a Liberty Lake boat dealership, says it will close its doors later this month after four years in business.

The dealership, located at 19651 E. Cataldo, carries the MasterCraft line of boats and was called MasterCraft Inland Northwest until it added three other boat lines—Supra, Moomba, and Centurion—to its inventory last year.

Stan-Craft Marine Center Inc., in Post Falls, will become the new MasterCraft dealer in the Inland Northwest.

Washington Water Sports' General Manager Don Taylor says the down economy during the last three years has hit the boat industry hard, and that "it just doesn't support the facility that we have here."

Taylor says the business's owner, Wayne Sorenson, who is from Utah but also has a home in the Inland Northwest, announced his decision to close the dealership on Sept. 30.

Washington Water Sports' last day of business will be Oct. 29. Prices on boats and other watersport accessories have been reduced significantly to liquidate the business's inventory, its website says.

The dealership's 10,800-square-foot building that's visible from Interstate-90—constructed in 2007 at a cost of $2.7 million—is listed for sale at a price of $2.4 million by Spokane commercial realty firm NAI Black, the firm's website shows.

Taylor says the closure announcement came as a surprise despite the economy's effect on the business's sales.

"We knew about the down economy and that the owner was under stress under the situation of not selling boats, but we didn't know it was going to close," Taylor says. "Ironically enough, our sales increased this year, but not enough to maintain or sustain the dealership location."

Washington Water Sports employs five people. Taylor says he has accepted a position at Stan-Craft, and the Post Falls dealership's co-owner Robb Bloem says he plans to hire two or three others.

Bloem says Stan-Craft, which has been making its brand of wooden-hulled boats here for almost 80 years under the name Stan-Craft Boat Co., last year began selling other lines of boats besides its own, and is a dealer for Formula boats.

He says the business's marine center also repairs all makes and models of boats and jet skis, and offers boat storage at a 60,000-square-foot facility in Hayden.

Bloem says Stan-Craft has been doing well throughout the last several years, and has benefited from the closing of other dealerships in recent years.

Stan-Craft's wooden boat inventory also has sold out every year for the last three years, Bloem says, and he adds that the business' storage and maintenance services also are growing.

Stan-Craft's 18,000-square-foot showroom and factory are located at 4739 E. Seltice Way, in Post Falls. It employs a total of 30 people, Bloem says.