Island outdoor store doubles in size with a move upstairs.

Sparkling and spacious, Northwest waters are a welcome sight for Udo Wald.

Just give him a boat and paddle and show him the way. His ideal ride is in a canoe on a slow-moving river – but kayaks have their place too.

“I just enjoy getting people on the water,” said the gray-bearded Wald, who along with his wife Janet owns the Back of Beyond outdoor store on Winslow Way.

For the past five years, Wald has been doing just that by offering boating classes, rentals and “social paddles” – much like your average mixer, but with water added – on Eagle Harbor.

What he hasn’t been able to do is expand his inventory, which until last month was crammed into a small basement store.

After moving upstairs, Wald has doubled his space, and is expanding his inventory to match. The transition is already taking place, and will continue into the summer.

In addition to stocking more canoes, kayaks and boating accessories, Back of Beyond will venture into the camping and foul-weather gear markets by offering tents, jackets, backpacks and sleeping bags, among other outdoor products.

The store also will carry a wider selection of books and charts, by which boaters can expand their nautical knowledge.

Wald will continue to repair boats as he did at the old space, he just won’t have to do it below street-level.

“We’ve moved up into the light,” he joked. “It’s exciting to have all this sunlight and all this space.”

Though he now has the room, Wald doesn’t want his store to change with the seasons. It is, he said, first and foremost a boating store, and that identity will remain intact.

He still spurns the idea of selling boats online. For one thing, he encourages potential buyers to try a boat out before plunking down their money.

Wald said he has a demo for nearly every kayak he carries, and most buyers will take one out for a spin before committing. Just as important as touching the product, he said, is understanding what makes each one special.

“If someone is going to pay $3,800 for a boat, I want to be able to explain to them why it costs what it does.”

So how does a kayak or canoe get to be $3,800? Most, he said, are handmade and take about three weeks of labor from start to finish.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said.

For those not ready for ownership, Back of Beyond also has an expansive rental fleet that includes several conspicuous “swan boats” as well as some new arrivals, like an eight-person Voyager canoe and four new rowing shells.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the store staffs the boat rental concession at Waterfront Park until dusk. The rest of the year, those interested in renting can call the shop from a dockside phone.

The ever-popular social paddle season begins tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., launching from Waterfront Park.

“A lot of people get started that way,” Wald said. “Then, sometimes, they move on to bigger and better things.”

Wald started canoeing as a youth in Germany. He also spent time in San Diego, where 12 years ago he learned to kayak.

He’s happy now on Bainbridge, and says he’s doing well thanks to local support and abundant waters that afford him endless possibilities.

“There are so many places to go boating and to camp overnight,” he said. “Where else can you get all that within reach of a major city?”