The weather outside is frightful, but inside the cabin it's delightful as you gaze out of the picture window at the huge snowflakes dancing in the blustery wind. Ah yes, there's nothing like being in a ski lodge in winter to make you fully appreciate the change of seasons. Unfortunately, this wonderland is taking place in April aboard an 80-foot houseboat called the Star Gazer on Lake Cumberland in South Central Kentucky. But like the Whos in Whooville, the weather Grinch can't stop the clan from celebrating the (nor)Easter holiday ... you can even hear singing and guitar playing emanating from the toasty-warm vessel.

        

When you book a houseboat trip, chances are you won't inquire how well the heater works, for the obvious reason that houseboating is usually a fun-in-the-sun kind of proposition, as evidenced by the curved waterslide on the stern. But what happens when you check the weather and see the forecast is calling for temperatures that are more consistent with the winter holidays? Your answer is to shift to plan "C," since the first two plans of action involved wearing swimsuits. But wait a minute, isn't there a hot tub on the upper deck? Well, alrighty then. 

Adding to the uncertainty of the happiness quotient is the knowledge that the Army Corps of Engineers has dropped the water level 40 feet, leading to gloom and doom speculation by some boaters that the lake won't be the same. And they're right; it's not the same - in many respects, it's even better. To dispel myth No. 1 that navigation will be tough because there isn't enough water, Waterway Adventures, which owns a vast armada of rental houseboats in the area, is clearly not worried - none of the boats even have depth finders on them. The downside is that 48 usable boat ramps in the area have been whittled down to 10.

So why did the Corps of Engineers pull the plug and drop the lake's level so far? The problem began back in 1968 when seepage was discovered at the Wolf Creek Dam, which was completed in 1950, thus creating the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi and the ninth largest lake in the United States. A quick fix of piping fill material into the leaking areas was completed in 1970, but the problem continued to worsen, and even though a concrete wall to block seepage paths was added in 1979, water has again  found its way under and around the foundation. This led the Corps to conclude that the dam was likely to suffer a devastating breach sometime within the next five years, with catastrophic results to cities downriver like Nashville if the problem wasn't addressed immediately. Originally, the Corps wanted to drop the water level 80 feet to take most of the pressure off the dam, but public outcry led to the compromise decision to drop it to its current level while $309 million worth of repairs are made over a seven-year period.

You can immediately see evidence of the drawdown as soon as you arrive at Beaver Creek Marina near Monticello on the southeast quadrant of the lake and drive down the steep, newly formed makeshift parking area. The marina and slips are all on floating docks, so it's business as usual here, and upon checking in with Terry Bell, the manager, a Kawasaki Mule ATV is dispatched to transport the mountain of gear brought for the four-day adventure down to the boat. Despite the large quad runner, it's a two-tripper ... hey, a family's gotta eat. Making up the crew is the author's brother, Jon, and his three kids, Marc, Tyler and Allison - ages 17, 15 and 11 - who are all on spring break. Staci, the mom unit, will join the clan at halftime due to a work-related conflict. There's idle speculation that she's waiting to see how well the houseboat's heater works before showing up, but she insists she really has to work.

During the briefing, you learn that there are no anchors aboard the Star Gazer ... on purpose. Upon further questioning you learn that you do, in fact, use a rather large anchor when you want to settle in for the night: It's called planet Earth. It seems as though the procedure is to pull into one of the seemingly countless coves, beach the 80-footer, and tie up to the shore on either side with maroon-colored docklines that are as long as a Disney World attraction line. With that explanation, the eyebrows raise, betraying your poker face.

You're more than happy to allow a Beaver Creek employee to pull the tanker-like Star Gazer out of the slip since there's only about 3 inches of clearance on either side of the "houseship" -  a maneuver that's a little like pulling a giant sword out of a scabbard. Finally, you get your hands on the wheel and engage the twin 135-hp MerCruiser sterndrives and motor toward the main part of the lake. A GPS helps you navigate, along with the chart taped to the wall next to the helm.

During a previous visit to Lake Cumberland with a group of friends from north of the border, you couldn't help but compare the unspoiled wooded surroundings to their homeland: "Isn't this great! It's like Canada without Canadians." As beautiful as it was before the drawdown, it's even more captivating now that you can see the incredible rock formations that lie beneath the tree line. Made of stratified limestone, it's a little like viewing the geological history of the area in graphic relief. 

Reaching the main body of the lake, you feel the full force of the nor'easter that's blowing the arctic air at a brisk 25 mph and whitecapping the rumpled surface. The Star Gazer handles the chop pretty well, but the massive two-story windage makes it prone to slew sideways  if you don't stay on top of things.

As the sun begins its retreat toward the horizon, the hunt for an "anchorage" begins. When a promising cove is found, you practice maneuvering in the channel before entering. When the adults are satisfied that the twin-screw houseboat is,  in fact, agile - thanks to the widely spaced engines - they take her into the cove, which resembles a rocky cathedral without a roof. One would assume that when you're supposed to "beach" a boat like this there would be sand involved, but almost all the coves are ringed with shale, which actually proves to be soft and forgiving. That's not to say you aren't nervous the first time you do it, but by the third different anchorage, you quickly become an old hand. The best method to secure the boat is to gently ground the boat at the bow, and keep the engines in forward so the wind doesn't blow you to the side. Then, run two lines from the bow and tie them to trees or boulders. Next, run one or two from the sides, which can be difficult since the shale walls on the sides tend to be steep, and there isn't much other than widely scattered tree stumps to tie a line to. This steepness indicates if you have deep water because the angle of the shore tends to remain constant below the water line, so you can easily visualize it, negating the need for a depth finder.

In a sense, the cold weather helps to make it a relaxing trip because you don't feel the pressure to "do something" other than read a good book, cast for striped bass off the rear deck, watch a movie (only the Mystic-class houseboats offer TV reception), and catch up on your sleep. The hot tub is especially fun in the chilly air, and everyone has a daily dip or two, although the dismount and panicky dash to the warm cabin is a system shocker. Mealtime takes on a special aura of entertainment, and you dine well, starting with green Thai curry with coconut milk and scallops the first night, and on subsequent nights, grilled chicken a la Cavender's, and medium-rare Delmonico steaks. During the day, there are running PlayStation car races in which the kids whoop up on the adults, and at nighttime, the no-limit poker games where the adult's experience and treachery comes to the forefront.

Staci finally arrives and joins the family, and the folks at Beaver Creek Marina run her out to the houseboat on a shuttle boat. They waste no time showing her the interesting rock formations they've found, as well as several scenic waterfalls. Heading into Otter Creek, which is one of the many main branches on Lake Cumberland, they find a beautiful private cove and settle in. By now cabin fever is rising, and there's enough flat area in front of the boat to stretch your legs. While strolling around the next morning, you notice a rock that looks like a potato and pick it up. It's curiously light, and then it dawns on you ... it's a geode! Cracking it open, it's hollow on the inside and full of quartz crystals. When you glance around, you notice they're strewn about everywhere. Showing the discovery to the kids, the PlayStation controllers are unceremoniously dropped  for the next several hours as everyone goes in search of these beautiful treasures. Marc finds one the size of a bowling ball, and later when it's cracked open, they discover that it's not hollow but instead a solid crystal geode called a nodule. As you gaze at everyone stooped over searching in rapt concentration, it looks like an Easter egg hunt. Pretty appropriate, since it's Easter Sunday.     


WHEN YOU GO

Lake Cumberland is one of the finest boating destinations in the country and is host to nearly 5 million visitors a year. Despite the drawdown, there’s still more than 35,000 acres of lake to go around, and there’s plenty to do. One of the best ways to enjoy the area is to go houseboating, and Waterway Adventures (www.waterwayadventures.com) has two locations on the lake, at Beaver Creek Marina (www.beavercreekmarina.com) and Burnside Marina (www.burnsidemarina.com), where you can rent several different types of houseboats. All houseboats can be rented by the week or a partial week that runs from Monday  to Friday, or Friday to Monday. The “smaller” 64-footers rent for as little as $995 for a Monday to Friday duration in the spring-saver season (April-May). Larger 80-footers like the Mystic and Star Gazer models rent for as little as $1,595 for a partial week and sleep up to 12 people. A great idea is to bring along your own boat to use as a tender to visit the various attractions in the area. If you want to leave your boat at home, you can always rent ski boats or personal watercraft at the marina.

There are many recreational opportunities at Lake Cumberland with two state parks (http://parks.ky.gov/stateparks/index.htm). Lake Cumberland State Park offers camping as well as cabin accommodations and activities like golf, tennis, horseback riding, and hiking. Burnside State Park, which is Kentucky’s only island park, offers camping and cabin accommodations with a swimming pool, and features activities like golf, horseshoes, and bird watching. If you love to fish, there are great opportunities for trophy striper, walleye, large- and small-mouth bass. — A. Jones



House Hunting

If you're interested in taking a trip on a houseboat or would like to learn more about houseboats of all shapes and sizes, visit these manufacturers' websites:

Sharpe Houseboats
(www.sharpehouseboats.com)

Sumerset Houseboats
(www.sumerset.com)

Gibson Houseboats
(www.gibsonboats.com)

Monticello River Yachts
(www.monticelloriveryachts.com)

SkipperLiner
(www.skipperliner.com)

Bluewater Yachts
(www.bluewateryacht.com)

Majestic Yachts Inc.
(www.majesticyachtsinc.com)

Harbor Master Yachts
(www.harbormasterboats.com)

Destination Yachts
(www.dmrtc.net/~desyacht)

American Waterways
(www.american-waterways.com)