As an outdoor recreational site, Lake Cumberland seems to have it all. With 63,000 acres of water stretching some 100 miles, the lake provides more than 1,200 miles of mostly undeveloped shoreline. Forested foothills yield to overhanging cliffs that serve as a natural sanctuary for multiple species of birds and wild animals.
It was with Lake Cumberland in mind that Ken Vance decided in 2005 to make a career change … well, sort of. He had been in the automobile business for years, following a family tradition that began in the late 1950s with his father, Kelly Vance, in the Elizabethtown area.
“I was contacted by a friend who was one of the owners of State Dock on Lake Cumberland,” Ken said. “Their company had decided to enter the houseboat and cruiser brokerage business.”
Vance made the move from selling vessels that run on asphalt to those that float on the water. Eventually, he rose to oversee Elite Boat Sales.
He had been an avid boater for more than 30 years, going from a small runabout to a 40-foot Carver Motor Yacht.
“I went from selling a car, which is a necessity, to selling a lifestyle,” Vance pointed out. “It’s similar to selling a house, except what I sell is in the water. Also, I am not required to have a real estate license.”
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Lake Cumberland is known as “The Houseboat Capital of the World,” with nine marinas spread over several counties. At one time, there were 14 houseboat manufacturers in the area. While that count is down to two, houseboats remain a primary recreational focus of the lake.
“It’s safe to say there are probably 1,800 houseboats here,” Vance said. “And on a given day, there are at least 125 for sale.”
The 70-year-old Vance has navigated regional waterways, including Lake Barkley to Wolf Creek Dam, Kentucky Lake to Knoxville, Louisville to Cincinnati, and even Kentucky Lake to Mobile, Alabama, via the Tombigbee Waterway, and then continuing to Tampa, Florida.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to sell and send boats all over the USA,” Vance said. “I’ve even sold three houseboats that went to Russia.”
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Over the years, Vance received inquiries about the possibility of a reality show featuring the adventures and lifestyles of houseboating. “Most were not what I would call a good reflection on our industry,” he said.
One show caught his attention.
In August 2014, he was contacted by a production company from New York City wanting to produce a segment for HGTV titled Lakefront Bargain Hunt.
“Their idea was a show featuring a prospective buyer searching for and buying a houseboat,” Vance said. “The parameter and demographics were to be a family with children looking at four different houseboats and then selecting one to buy. As luck would have it, I had sold a boat to the ideal family less than six months prior.
“A lot of viewers may not know, but these types of shows are all a reenactment of the already-completed shopping and buying process.”
Vance selected four houseboats for the HGTV show, one being the boat the family had purchased.
“They brought in a director, producer, associate producer, two cameramen, soundman, stagers and three other assistants,” Vance said. “Two days later, a crew of three arrived to do drone shots out over the water and other locations in the area.”
Each day, the production crew filmed boats, lakeside homes, waterskiing and conversations with the “prospective buyer,” all in an effort to show viewers the quality of life a family could enjoy by owning a high-end houseboat on beautiful Lake Cumberland. After four days, HGTV had all it needed for the 30-minute show (actually 23 minutes plus seven for commercials).
Vance said the show was great exposure for State Dock at Lake Cumberland State Park and for the entire state of Kentucky. The experience left him with the untold secrets that go on behind the scenes of national cable shows such as that one.
“We had to wear the same outfits for several days to make it look like it all happened on the same day,” he laughed. “And when our buyer looked at the houseboat he had previously bought, he remarked how much he liked the wood flooring. Truth was, he had recently installed those floors right after he purchased the boat a few months prior to filming.”
Vance found that some aspects of making TV magic were less than glamorous.
“They purchased props in the area for the show and then returned them to the stores after filming, giving the excuse they didn’t work for what they needed,” he said. “I thought that was most bizarre.”
The show initially aired on HGTV on Memorial Day 2015.
Vance noted that shows like that have a shelf life of several years. “We still get comments on it,” he said.
“It convinced me what you see as a finished product is not quite all the truth, being a reality show,” he said. “But it was a great experience that many do not ever get to be a part of.”