From affordable housing, we turn now to an industry that's making waves in a very different way.

During the month of May, Charlotte's average temperatures rise significantly with daytime highs averaging 76 at the beginning of the month and up to 83 by the end.

Water temperatures in our lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers are rising as well.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us with a look at what that means for the boating industry.

- Well, North Carolina's boating industry is a top tier economic driver ranking sixth nationally with over 9 billion in annual economic impact and supporting some 28,000 jobs statewide.

And it all makes sense too.

Between the Atlantic coast, the outer banks, and all the inland rivers and lakes, the state has more than 340,000 registered vessels.

But perhaps no place has done more for the local boating scene than Lake Norman Marina.

It was once filled with rolling farmland, mills, and a few small towns.

- We never knew, my parents never knew it would be what it is.

- [Jason] But once the Catawba River was damned in 1962, some 30,000 acres got submerged into what would become Lake Norman.

- There are parts of the community that are gone, that I loved, you know, that I grew up in.

- [Jason] And with a new lake came a whole new way of living.

- Water attracts people, whether it's at the beach or at the lakes, you know, and if you're sitting there watching it, well, I see all these people running around boats.

I need to be a part of that.

- NC Highway 150, seen here in 1964, featured new bridges over the lake.

Just off to the right, the old Highway 150, which was now partially underwater.

- My mom's uncle had a boat company, a boat manufacturing, and Lake Norman was near and new.

So, and they bought a lot on the lake for 500 bucks.

- [Jason] 500 bucks, that's all it took for Griffin "Dip" Kale and wife Elsie to buy a corner lakefront lot in Sherrills Ford.

Seems like a steal, right?

Well, it wasn't viewed way back then.

- Everybody knew that it was doomed because there was nobody up there and they're like, you know, "What are they thinking?

There's no way it could work ever."

- [Jason] Lake Norman Marina opened its doors in January of 1974, right in the middle of the gas crisis.

- A lot of people come to our place and they're like, "Wow, you know what vision, what planning?"

I'm like, "Nah.

They didn't know, you know.

They loved the business.

We were on the lake and they just leaned into that with their lives and their career and nobody knew, not just them, but nobody knew that it would be what it is.

- [Jason] So it was service, not sales that kept them afloat in those early days.

Dip and Elsie's guiding principles treat people right, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

- Both my parents quit school in the 10th grade, and they just, they didn't have a lot to bring to the table.

But I tell people the two things that drove my parents was they had an amazing work ethic, just amazing, and they loved people.

And they took those two traits and invested those into our business.

- [Jason] In those early days, the focus was on smaller boats, and it was only natural that Dip and Elsie's son Mark would come join the family business.

- I was one of the cool kids 'cause I had a boat, you know.

Not because I was a cool kid, but I just, we had a boat.

So you know, it was a lot of fun.

- As the region grew, so too did the marina.

Massive expansion projects led to huge storage, sales, and service facilities.

And through most of the '80s and '90s, the marina hosted Lake Norman's official Fourth of July firework celebration.

But it got so big, the county shut it down, citing safety concerns.

- See all that as a kid and no responsibility to get to run through the boats and check everything out without having to do all the work.

- [Jason] And just like his father, Logan Kale grew up at the marina.

That's him behind the desk, similar to the one he occupies now.

- I actually started pumping gas at the gas dock when I was 14, and it just so happened the recession in '08, you know, the boat sales went to crap, and so there was nobody around.

Well, I was cheap labor.

- This region especially, and the dealers that are here, they are family oriented.

You know, many of them are multi-generational where you'll have mom answer the phone, you know, the son is working it, and then his kids are learning the shop, you know, just behind him.

It's not uncommon to see that here.

- [Jason] The family vibe at Lake Norman Marina extends beyond just bloodlines.

Many of the 40 full-time employees plus another dozen or so during the summer have been here for years.

- You know, we have some employees that have been there over 40 years, and they just built this amazing culture with hard work and loving people.

It's pretty, the story's really cool, - Your work with people that literally I've known my entire life.

- [Jason] The marina has grown into the area's largest volume dealer selling Bennington pontoons, Cobalt boats, and Malibu wake boats.

The marina now encompasses 10 acres with multiple buildings showcasing new boats, all sorts of water sports equipment, plus storage for 200 boats and another 80 in the water.

- And you definitely feel that in their service.

They'll definitely take care of you and see you through your entire boat ownership experience.

And that's just kind of how the Charlotte vibe is.

I mean, I feel like overall, Charlotte is a very family-oriented region and these dealers are no exception.

- [Jason] Original owner Dip Kale passed away in 2014.

Elsie is still here, still helping out.

Mark is now president and owner occupying the office his dad once held, while Logan leads the sales team.

- Sales manager, I oversee all the sales, the F&I, the financing of the boats, I kind of oversee those departments.

And Dad, he's great at the HR stuff, the marina stuff.

So we kind of have different roles to be able to cover everything.

- [Jason] That's three generations of the Kale family, all at Lake Norman Marina.

- Yeah, and I think it's different because it's a passion.

It's not, you know, if you worked at a factory, the third generation doesn't have the excitement, the allure, but we get to play with both.

We're on the water every day.

- [Jason] And who knows, maybe someday will be a fourth generation.

- I've got four kids, my brother's got four kids, so we've got eight good opportunities.

(laughs) - [Jason] And as for the old Highway 150, which used to run right through the middle of here, well, it still kind of does.

Here's the old road on the marina side and over on the other side which now serves as, ironically enough, a boat ramp.

- Okay, I've got a quick question for you, Jason.

What's been the biggest change on Lake Norman over the past, say 50 years?

- Yeah, I mean it's kind of a night and day difference.

Biggest change has actually been just the overall culture.

Back in the day of the '70s and '80s, most people who had boats had small boats and would throw 'em on the trailer hitch and tow 'em to and from the lake.

These days, you, of course, have the mega million-dollar mansions on the lake with people have personal docks to go along with them.

So basically, to answer your question, the toys, they're just way bigger than what they used to be back in the '80s and '90s.

So that's kind of changed the whole culture of the lake.

- Thanks so much for sharing, we appreciate it.