Knoxville third on magazine's list of best places in U.S. to boat and live

Area's top 10 ranking no surprise to boating execs

With the Knoxville skyline in the background, a boat motors toward Volunteer Landing on Thursday. Knoxville was ranked third by Boating Life magazine as a top area in the country to boat and live.

Boating Life magazine ranked Knoxville third — tied with San Diego. Tampa Bay, Fla., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ranked first and second, respectively.

http://www.boatinglife.com/article_content.jsp?ID=52931

“I’m not surprised,” said Pepper Marcum, owner of Sea Ray of Knoxville.

“Look at our lakes. Look at our natural beauty. No one can compete with that,” she said.

Harbormaster James Bisch at Concord Marina is not surprised, either.

“We keep thinking the business is going to slow down because of gas prices and it never has,” he said.

He also said many people use boating as “mini vacations” as opposed to taking traditional vacations.

Here’s what the magazine had to say about the Knoxville area:

“It’s not hard to figure out why boat manufacturers such as Sea Ray, Bayliner, MasterCraft and Skier’s Choice, among others, set up shop in or near Knoxville. The Tennessee River, which runs right through downtown, is part of every aspect of life here. Upstream of the city, the river is a popular fishing and camping spot. Closer to the city, recreation is ever feeding from the river.

“ ‘The biggest pull for the downtown area is the football season because of the massive tailgating parties on boats,’ says Joe Cornelius, manager of the Marinas on Lake Loudon.

“As the river flows out of downtown, it forms Fort Loudon Lake where there’s been a recent boom of lakefront housing development. But the centerpiece of the area is Tellico Lake, where most of the boat builders test their boats. It also became the place to live ever since nationally known Tellico Village opened in the 1990s.”

One of the boat builders on the banks of Tellico Lake is Cobalt Yachts in Vonore south of Knoxville.

Cobalt president Constantinos Constantinou said the ranking does not surprise him.

“I think the area is certainly a very attractive boating region,” he said.

He credited TVA with being “very diligent” in providing access to the water.

“Accessibility is a factor, and the lakes are managed well by TVA,” he said.

John Dorton, CEO of MasterCraft Boat Co. said the Knoxville lake region is essential to his business.

“First, we lake test every boat we build and therefore must have immediate access to big water for the 20-plus boats a day we build. Secondly, this area attracts a lot of talented people because of the great outdoor lifestyle and natural resources. We count on this region to bring us top talent and hold them here. Lastly, our lakes provide great inspiration for our new product develop efforts,” Dorton said.

Bisch said his marina has 420 boats ranging in size from 18 feet to 63 feet with 70 people on a waiting list.

“This lake is so full of boats I’m surprised we don’t have some rules limiting them. It’s getting crowded out here,” he said.

Bisch said he has three kinds of boaters who use his marina. Full-time boaters represent about 25 percent of his business with weekend boaters and football season boaters proving the rest.

To a lot of those customers, boats are a second home, a mini vacation, or both, Bisch said.

Henry Luken, an owner of Christensen Shipyards, said the area’s moderate weather and being a safe place to live contributed to Knoxville’s third place ranking.

As for boating-related jobs, Luken predicted employment in the Tellico area will grow from approximately 2,000 employees now to 4,000 or 5,000 in three or four years.

“Once we (the boating industry) get done we will be the largest boating manufacturing place, period,” Luken said.