Ted Bell Sells Bell Canoe

"We were looking at what our next step was going to be-polycabornate manufacturing, making kayaks, expanding the Rob Roy line. Whatever our next step was going to be was going to be capital-intensive, and we didn't have it."

Other, more personal factors, played into his decision as well, he said. He had turned 50 this year, lost his father and mother-in-law, and was watching his children grow up quickly.

"You take all that together, and when the offer came, it kind of made sense," he said.

"I started Bell Canoe 19 years ago in my garage, working full time at Midwest Mountaineeering, and somehow I was paddling more then than I am now," he said. "I built this into a pretty good company, and it's time for someone else to take it to the next level."

"I firmly believe that ORC is not going to mess around with quality, or with the reliance on specialty retailers-that's not the direction they want to go. I'd like to think that with my involvement, and hopefully with some of my staff's involvement, the company will grow and improve."

It's not clear yet whether any Bell staff will move with the company to Wisconsin, both Bell and Bahnub said. Those are details that remain to be worked out. And Ted Bell retains ownership of his factory in Princeton. Although he won't be using it for a paddlesports manufacturing facility, there are other kinds of specialty manufacturing that he could get involved with.

Stay tuned for more details.