Houseboats offer alternative to traditional vacation home

by Jill Henry

SBJ Reporter

jhenry@sbj.net

For some, the perfect vacation spot isn't overlooking the water it's on the water.

"Houseboats used to be a trailer house on pontoons 20 years ago. They were not pretty," said Bill Cox of Kimberling City. "The houseboat industry has changed so much in the last 10 years that these boats have a lot (of features) that a lot of homes don't have the crown molding and granite countertops and all."

Cox and his wife, Karen, moved to Table Rock Lake from Springfield five years ago and now live on an 18-by-87-foot Sumerset houseboat year-round. The boat is also a demo boat for Dream Boats, the couple's business, in which they sell Sumerset houseboats custom-manufactured in Somerset, Ky.

"I thought, like many retirees, I wanted something to do. I thought I'd sell one or two boats a year to keep me busy," Cox said. He has sold about eight boats since January and anticipates selling a total of 15 by year-end.

Cox said that most houseboat buyers are successful people who use the boats to get away from work, relax and enjoy their families.

"Table Rock has a tendency to be more family-friendly. Lake of the Ozarks is a great lake, but it happens to be what I call a faster lake," Cox said.

John Swanson of Springfield uses his houseboat as a way to relax and get some work done. "I don't play golf or tennis or anything like that. It's my escape from the busy life that I have owning Sign-A-Rama. I can go down there and I still work. That's usually what I do Fridays. I'll make calls in Branson and Kimberling City, or I'll work on the boat and just do paperwork."

Swanson heads to Table Rock Lake most Thursday evenings to stay on his 16-by-72-foot Sumerset, The Sign of the Times, and returns to Springfield on Sunday. The 56-year-old Swanson said he has been boating since he was 14 or 15 years old and has owned at least 10 boats.

"Both my wife and I enjoy the water," he said. "There's something quiet about it, and there's something that just settles you."

Swanson bought his boat used five years ago and completely remodeled the interior. He estimates a comparable new boat would cost $285,000.

Details

Price tags for the new Sumerset models sold by Dream Boats range from $200,000 to $600,000, Cox said. "The bigger boats 20 feet wide, 100 feet long, five bedrooms, three bathrooms that would be your $500,000 to $600,000 range," he said.

The boats are custom-manufactured based on the buyer's preferences for the floor plan, appliances, fabric, carpeting and countertops. Cox walks customers through the selection process, and the boat is delivered 10 weeks later, with Cox providing instruction on how to drive the boat, if needed.

"This is bigger than an 18-wheeler. When we bring the boat in, we only have nine inches which is almost nothing on each side, so you have to be exact. Believe it or not, it is easy," Cox said.

One of the most popular features, and one that helps make driving the boat easy, is thrusters, which allow the boat to move straight sideways.

"Once you're shown how to drive it and which way to thruster it, you quickly get the feel for it," Cox said. "They truly are easier to drive than most of the smaller ski boats. They're big. They're mammoth. But they have so much power equipment on them that it does become easy."

Maintenance on the houseboats is surprisingly low.

"I've had everything from 14-foot john boats to runabouts to 45-foot ocean-going, motor-type yachts," Swanson said. "I have to say the houseboat's been less maintenance."

John Crouch, sales manager for Fantasy Yachts in Monticello, Ky., agrees. "If you want to keep one shiny and new, it's a major undertaking to polish the whole boat, and if you've got a big one, you've got the whole interior to clean just like a house. But there is not lot of maintenance."

The average boat sold by Fantasy Yachts is an 18- by-85-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath model for $325,000, and Crouch said most are used as vacation homes rather than a primary residence.

The boat owner's choice of the slip and marina are as important as the boat itself, Cox said.

"Most of the boats are within six feet of each other, so you get to know everybody on the dock, their kids, their grandkids, their dogs. It's a very personal thing on the dock. It's close-knit."

Benefit cruise

Several close-knit owners on Table Rock, including Swanson and Cox, participate in the Moonlight Cruise, a fundraiser for Court Appointed Special Advocates, each June.

Linda Hyde of CASA said the event is becoming one of the organization's biggest fundraisers. "It raised over $20,000 last year and we had about 400 people. This year we're planning for 500."

Owners donate their boats for the evening, with each hosting a group of up to 65 people who have made donations ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 depending on the size of the boat. Dinner is served on shore, then guests board the boats at Port of Kimberling and cruise to the dam and back.

"Last year I had 65 people on our personal boat upstairs," Cox said.

"It goes for a good cause and it's beautiful. You get out on the lake, the moon is shining, it's a soft breeze and people remember it."