Lakeway Houseboat rentals investing in a 'shore' thing, two additions to their fleet
Lakeway Houseboat Vacations in Mactaquac, N.B. is adding to their fleet in order to meet the demand of New Brunswickers stay-cationing this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Larry Jewett began the business after buying a used houseboat of his own, and seeing the potential.
“I got started by looking to purchase a cottage and I ran across a houseboat, so back in our farming days we had a shop so we fixed it up,” Jewett said.
The business is now in it’s 11th year at Mactaquac Marine - the marina which Jewett leases from the province in Mactaquac Provincial Park.
“I had a used houseboat and loved it, and kind of became addicted and I guess when we saw that the waterway was ideal for houseboats, that’s what put it all together," he said.
The houseboat rental business is the only one of its kind in Atlantic Canada.
“It’s basically a cottage in the water, they have everything, household appliances, hot tub on the top deck, slide down the back. Basically, they’re like a cottage,” Jewett said.
But unlike some cottages, houseboats offer the extreme privacy and isolation from other people which many have craved during the pandemic and that has been good for business for Jewett.
“We hadn’t built one in three years and we knew there was some demand there for it. The pandemic has really made it take off, so we put together to build another boat, a couple boats actually is what the plan is,” he said.
Lakeway Houseboat Vacations will be adding their seventh houseboat to the fleet this year and are planning to have their eighth in the water for next summer.
“We start from scratch and weld our own pontoons, and we do all the aluminium welding from the ground up, it’s about an eight month process,” Jewett said.
The popular summer experience had already been largely booked up for this season according to Jewett.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.