March 28, 2024
Business

Houseboat plan runs aground

LONG ISLAND – Thousands of people come to Maine each summer to rent cabins in the Maine woods and along the coast.

Curtis VanBrocklin wants to rent out cabinlike houseboats in Casco Bay so people have that camp experience – on the water instead of in the woods. He has built one houseboat to start and hopes to build several more depending on demand.

But the Board of Harbor Commissioners has denied his repeated requests for moorings to anchor the houseboats, saying safety takes priority over vacationers.

“Part of our job is to see that navigation is not impeded and the rights of others are not injured,” said Dick Ingalls, chairman of the commission. “We are very concerned about the houseboat.”

VanBrocklin, 33, said he’s just trying to start a small business and that the board is treating him unfairly. He has launched an Internet site that provides details of his business and said the houseboat is perfectly seaworthy.

“I established the Web site to meet their request for a business plan,” he said. “I asked for 20 moorings, but said I didn’t know how many boats I would build. That depends on the success of my business.”

A former boxer turned commercial fisherman and urchin diver, VanBrocklin spent $14,000 to build his 16-by-24-foot houseboat, the Hide-a-Way. He started a company, Casco Bay Marine Recreation Center, to rent out the houseboat.

The vessel looks like a small floating cabin and has two beds, a shower, sink and a portable toilet. The lights run from solar panels, and the deck is large enough for patio furniture and a barbecue grill.

But finding a place to moor the craft has proven more difficult than having it built.

VanBrocklin was able to get a recreational mooring from the Long Island harbor master to moor the Hide-a-Way in Long Island waters off of Cow Island, but he is prohibited from renting the boat.

When he went to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, which has jurisdiction over the rest of Portland Harbor, commissioners asked him for a detailed business plan and approvals from the Coast Guard, the state and code enforcement officers for Portland and South Portland.

That hasn’t kept VanBrocklin from marketing his business on his Web site. Even though he is forbidden from renting his houseboat, the Internet site says vacationers can explore the islands, moor over prime fishing spots or have lobsters delivered to them by the fishermen that catch them.

Prices range from $225 for a day with a two-man kayak, to $2,800 for two weeks with a power boat.

Ingalls has not been on the Hide-a-Way, but he said he’s looked at it closely and has questions about its safety and integrity.

“Until we have all the information we have requested from him, we will not act on this matter,” Ingalls said.

VanBrocklin said the Coast Guard has inspected his boat and that it is registered with the state.

For now, the Hide-a-Way will remain moored off Cow Island. VanBrocklin said he won’t give up.

“You may not like the style of my boat, but it’s a boat nonetheless,” he said. “I have a dream and there is plenty of open water out here.”


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