Boathouses: Houses “on the Lake”

One of the first thing I noticed on my first visit to Lake George were the beautiful boathouses that can be found throughout the lake. 

  What are Boathouses?

In their most simple form boathouses are garages for a boat that are built right on the lake. In areas where the weather gets very cold, like Lake George, most of the high-end lakefront properties have nice boathouses. Due to the cold winters these are very practical.

Boathouses make it possible to store your boat out of the weather without having to take it out of the water everytime you use it! Many boathouses have systems to lift the boat out of the water while “parked” inside. this keeps it from being hit by waves caused by passing boats or storms. It also keeps the hull nice and clean.

The Fascination and Transformation of Boathouses

Boathouses, however, go far beyond being practical! Many creative minds have renovated them in spectacular ways!

Many boathouse make living rooms out of the enclosed dock area. A great thing about that is that you can relax in your “living room” while keeping an eye on the kids while they swim right next to you!

Another idea that I love is that many boathouses actually put apartments or in some cases entire houses above their enclosed boathouse! That means you have a close-up lake view in almost every room of the house, if you want you could even dive out your kitchen window in the morning!

Some go as far as taking the boat “garage” out and turning the whole thing into a house. It wouldn’t technically be lakefront property. Maybe it should be called lake-top property! 🙂

If you visit Lake George take the time to notice the many varieties of boathouses on the lake. You will see that they come in all shapes and sizes. You may want to try going on a private boat tour of the lake, or you may want to try on of the larger cruise ships. However, you go one thing is sure: you will enjoy your time on this spectacular lake!