BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A huge watercraft is now finally safely out on the water.
I was there as one of the biggest and most expensive houseboats ever built was launched onto Dale Hollow Lake. It was a bit of an adventure.
The launch effort was shown on my Facebook Live, and it was something to see.
In fact, at last count, more than 20 million people have watched.
From the beginning, it was obvious this would not be a typical launch into Dale Hollow Lake.
The Cooper family told the designer they wanted one of the biggest houseboats ever built.
"He 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,'" said designer Kevin Warner.
So, three years and about $2.5 million later, a tractor trailer delivers the big boy to the banks.
The trick was getting it into the water. It was so big that the electric company had to go up and lift the power lines.
That worked, but the ramp proved too steep, and at mid-launch, the steel trailer just gave way — cracking in half.
For the next three hours, engineers worked to gently lift the hull to the point where two large trucks could nudge the giant boat off the trailer and into the lake.
It worked, and the aluminum hull was unscathed. It's now a perfect summer hangout on the water.
"We spend most of the time on the lake so let's build the house on the lake," said owner Cindy Cooper.
At 2,700 square feet, it includes a centerpiece kitchen, five bedrooms, three baths and a huge party deck. The houseboat could have been bigger, but there are size limits to transporting something that big by truck from the manufacturer Trifecta in Kentucky to Dale Hollow Lake.
"It's a dream home. It has everything you can put on a houseboat."
The Coopers have the means to build such a boat in large part due to a successful scrap metal business, which explains the name Knot 2 Scrappy.
Now their plan is to enjoy the houseboat for years to come with friends and family.
After all it took to get in it, they say this boat will never leave the lake. The boat itself is now becoming a tourist attraction.
By the way, top speed is about 17 knots or nearly 20 mph.
That will leave a wake.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
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