A wealthy family has built one of the biggest and most expensive houseboats ever to enter the waters of popular Tennessee lake for $2.5 million.
When Cindy Cooper and her husband wanted to upgrade her houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake, she wanted it to go big… and go home.
‘[Cindy’s husband] came in and said: «How wide can I build it?» 22 foot? «How long?» I said: «120 foot.» And he said: «That’s what we are building»,’ Kevin Warner, the home’s designer, told News Channel 5.
Last week, the behemoth floating house that took three years to build finally hit the water.
‘We spend most of the time on the lake, so let’s build the house on the lake,’ Cindy told the outlet. ‘It’s a dream home. It has everything you can put on a houseboat.’
The stunning new home is 2,700 square feet, has a living room, a huge kitchen – which the boat was built around – a laundry room, a ‘party top,’ and five king-sized bedrooms, the entrepreneur told News Channel 5.
‘It’s a mansion boat,’ she said of the vessel that weighs up to 70 tons.
The couple bought their first houseboat in 2004, which pales in comparison to their brand-new one when it comes to size, Cindy told The Herald-Citizen.
When Cindy Cooper and her husband (both pictured) wanted to upgrade her houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake, she wanted it to be the biggest they were legally allowed to go. Last week, the behemoth floating house that cost $2.5 million and three years to build finally hit the water
‘We spend most of the time on the lake, so let’s build the house on the lake,’ Cindy told the outlet. ‘It’s a dream home. It has everything you can put on a houseboat’
The stunning new home is 2,700 square feet, has a living room, huge kitchen – which the boat was built around – a laundry room, a ‘party top,’ and five king-sized bedrooms
‘We’d always said we’d build a big boat, and so we did,’ she said.
The new ship is now the largest one of the lake and is named Knot 2 Scrappy.
For Cindy, the kitchen was the most important part of the boat, and after seeing a finding inspiration with another kitchen she admires, she decided to build the boat’s floor plan around the room she envisioned.
‘I love to cook. I love to entertain. That’s where you entertain is in the kitchen,’ she told The Herald-Citizen.
She also wanted to make sure the home had plenty of space to house their large extended families.
And everything is full-sized, meaning its appliances and dimensions are the same size as you’d find in a regular home.
The home is powered by two engines, which allows the vessel to move up to 20mph, according to News Channel 5.
The boat can also run for several weeks without refueling, according to The Herald-Citizen.
‘It’s a mansion boat,’ she said. The vessel weighs up to 70 tons
The home is powered by two engines, which allows the vessel to move up to 20mph (pictured: the boat being transported to the lake)
The launch of the boat into the water on March 28 didn’t come without some problems.
It took more than three hours to get the boat into the lake and parts of the boat did take on water, which was to be expected.
The ramp broke mid-launch and the steel trailer than gave way before breaking. This caused engineers to spend hours gently lifting the boat and nudging it into the water.
Eventually, the home glided into the waves, and the couple never plan on taking the boat out.
