DRC/David Minton

This boat, which survived Hurricane Ike when it hit Kemah, waits to be purchased at Lake Ray Roberts Marina on Saturday. According to boat retailer Jeff Norwood, there are many customers who have the means to spend on large boats, but today’s buyers are much more specific in what they want and will delay their purchases until they find exactly the boat they are looking for.

Jeff Norwood, a tanned, middle-aged salesman at Lake Ray Roberts Marina, drifts between row after row of used sailboats and schooners — stacked and ready to be spruced up and sold at a discount. But Norwood is awash in big, brand-new, high-priced yachts and houseboats. As he faces a punishing recession, finding buyers for a $150,000-plus craft is about as easy as finding water in the Sahara. In Denton County, sales of high-priced luxury goods — yachts, jewelry, fine art, motorcycles and high-end real estate — are taking it on the chin.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Joni and Lynn Chatwin, co-owners of AlphaGraphics, are shown Thursday at their business on Loop 288.

Not only is AlphaGraphics focused on quality, it also is focused on giving back to the community. The printing company was honored by the Denton Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Year for 2009. Lynn and Joni Chatwin, who have been married 36 years, have owned the almost 11-year-old business for about eight of those years.