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This is the third houseboat built by Gary Summers of Karnack and was built like a Sherman tank especially for Caddo Lake because of the stumps and cypress knees. Gary started this boat in his front yard and 14 months later – on Dec. 26, 1988, launched it at the TX 43 bridge ramp and spent 3-4 months more completing it.
Wes and I purchased the boat from Gary in 1999 with plans to have a floating houseboat cottage. Shortly afterwards, Wes’ health kept us from fulfilling that dream. Then in 2005, we came up with the idea of moving the houseboat out of the lake and making a cottage on land. Finally, in April, 2005, Johnny Winn in a small fishing boat, directing, and John McCullough in a pontoon boat, pushing, managed to float the houseboat to Johnson’s Ranch Marina’s boat launch ramp. Rick Sparks House Moving of Henderson, TX took on the daunting task at that point of moving it out of the lake, relocating it to 557 Cypress Drive in Uncertain, TX and leveling it up – which they accomplished without a hitch.
The makeover began with Johnny Procell of Karnack, who cut out the motor and back of the boat so that Lawson Construction of Karnack could take on the monumental task of converting it from a houseboat to a cottage on land. Combining wood with steel was not an everyday challenge, but Pam and Jerry did a beautiful job of designing and decorating the entire extreme makeover.
Also, the extreme makeover was a challenge for Keller Construction Company of Jefferson who put all his expertise to work and figured out a way to plumb in a small full bathroom in the boat. Carl did have to locate the hot water heater outside in an “outhouse”.
In October, 2005, we had our first guests in Cottage No. 7, The Ship Wreck. |
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