The house looks like a Winnebego. It's got all the accoutrements - kitchen, bathroom, living room - with one key difference.
Bob Faflik: Let me just show you - this is the door going out to the boat.
So the boat's tied up outside here.
Bob Faflik: Tied up right outside. Walk through the door, climb on your boat, go fishing, water skiing or just enjoy Lake Erie.
Only at the moment, we're nowhere near Lake Erie. Rather than moored to a dock, this floating home is on solid ground, on display at the I-X Center as part of the annual boat show. And Bob Faflik has been showing this house to thousands of people over the past week. He's vice president of Marinas International, a company that's just breaking into the floating homes business. The company owns a marina near Sandusky. Lounging on a sofa in the living room, Faflik says the marina isn't the money maker that it used to be.
Bob Faflik: We're going backwards on our leases. We've seen a number of people leave boating. Retire, go to Florida. It used to be that there was an influx of younger people coming in to take their spots. We're not seeing that anymore.
Rather than selling the property, Marinas International has taken a more creative approach to bring people back. Not as boaters, but as residents.
Well, what makes you think people want floating homes?
Bob Faflik: Talking to our boaters. They say to us that they're using their boat now more and more as a floating condominium. We've thought about going out and buying a house boat. So after talking to them, investigating the situation, we thought that we could make a house for them at a reasonable price. Something on the water that they could live in and enjoy.
The obvious difference from a Winnebego or house boat is that it's stationary - there's no engine and no traveling involved. But it's even more than that. These houses are hooked up to utilities like sewer, electric, and gas. Marinas International plans to start by building a community of 13 homes and it's asking for a hundred grand each.
Bob Faflik: Well, this is the living room.
In a tour, it becomes quickly apparent that the people who live in them will make few sacrifices just because they're on the water.
Bob Faflik: We have an entertainment center over here. It's got a flat screen TV. Below it is a fire place that actually works. It's very, very cozy.
But this floating home will differ from its counterparts in California in one key way - the community won't be year-round. The developer intends these houses to be used as getaways, not primary residents. There's no word yet when construction will begin. The company is still looking for 13 buyers. But Faflik says if the response at the boat show is any gauge, that shouldn't be a problem.
Bob Faflik: Saturday, we probably put five and six thousand people through this unit. It was far beyond what I expected.
To anyone who turns green just at the thought of a house on water, Faflik says not to worry. His community will be tied down pretty tight so residents should be able to enjoy the sea without the sick. Eric Wellman, 90.3.