Old Saybrook - Boater, Sailor, Angler, Spy.

OK, forget the spy, though West Marine's flagship Connecticut store does carry some nifty electronics - navigational aids and fish finders among them.

When it comes to serving those who live and play on the water, the new 25,000-square-foot store at 1667 Boston Post Road appears to have it all. And if it doesn't, it promises to get it.

The full breadth of West Marine's merchandise was on display Thursday, the start of the store's grand-opening celebration, which continues through Sunday. The bounty included more than 150 high-tech electronics; an on-site boat show featuring Connecticut-area dealers and on-the-water demonstrations at nearby Saybrook Point Inn and Marina; more than 500 rods, reels and other fishing gear; paddleboards; kayaks; outboard engines; wireless man-overboard systems; and voluminous sailing and apparel sections.

The store also includes Port Supply, West Marine's wholesale division, which services marine businesses and governmental and educational institutions.

West Marine, a Watsonville, Calif.-based outfit that bills itself as "the largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories," has been a presence in town for decades. Over the last couple of months, it closed its original Old Saybrook location on Boston Post Road and shut down its stores on North Frontage Road in New London and East Main Street in Clinton.

The new Old Saybrook store, which opened for business a month ago, employs more than 40 people, some of whom transferred from the stores that were closed.

By consolidating, the company hopes to optimize its reach along the shoreline, according to Kevin Dawson, the company's district manager for southern New England. The sheer size of the new store may be its most outstanding feature.

"With the depth of items here - we've got 20,000 products - you're going to be able to complete any project you start," Dawson said.

The new flagship store is about three times the size of standard West Marine stores, of which the company owns more than 310 in 38 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. It also has three franchised stores in Turkey. In Connecticut, West Marine also has locations in Mystic, Branford, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford.

Its other flagship stores in the Northeast are in Newport, R.I.; Woburn, Mass., and Brick, N.J.

"We want our customers to have a great experience," Geoff Eisenberg, West Marine's chief executive officer, told reporters prior to a tour of the new store Thursday. "What you see today will be a lot different a year from now. We'll make changes as we learn what our customers want."

Eisenberg plans to resign once a new president/CEO is appointed, West Marine announced last week.

West Marine sponsored a charity event at the store Thursday night, providing entertainment, food, raffles and a silent auction. The grand-opening celebration, including discounts and demonstrations of equipment, will continue from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com