Lake Minnetonka’s Smith’s Bay marina is changing hands, but the boats and members are staying put: Minneapolis-based Your Boat Club is selling the property to pay down debt while keeping its boating operation there. The result is a sale that changes who owns the docks without immediately changing how customers use them.
The Marina Changes Hands, Not Its Boating Business
Your Boat Club sold the marina for $6.85 million and will lease back 24 slips while continuing to operate at the site, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. The deal gives the Minneapolis boat-rental company cash to ease its financial pressure while preserving its presence on one of the region’s most valuable boating lakes.
The buyer is Willow Properties, an entity representing the personal real-estate holdings of Tim Elam, a managing director at Scannell Properties, and his wife. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported that Smith’s Bay has 77 slips, making this less a goodbye than a landlord swap with boats.
The Wells Fargo Lawsuit Behind The Sale
The sale’s immediate purpose was financial. Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance sued in 2025 after alleging that Your Boat Club defaulted on a $4.5 million loan and sought to repossess 269 boats, according to the Star Tribune’s earlier lawsuit report.
The litigation was later paused under a payment plan, and interim CEO Patrick Finn told the latest Star Tribune report that proceeds from the marina sale paid off the remaining Wells Fargo debt. The arrangement keeps the company’s fleet and rental business operating while removing the lender dispute that threatened to put hundreds of boats in play.
A Leadership Reset On The Water
The property sale comes during a broader transition at Your Boat Club. The Business Journal reported in April that turnaround executive Patrick Finn became interim CEO after founder Luke Kujawa retired…