Floating Charm Tug-Like Boats Offer A Different Lake Vacation

I stood at the wheel, master of my fate and also that of my wife and our friends Ed and Mary. I was steering the M.V. Candide down Kootenay Lake, running ahead of the storm that kept sending big rolling swells and windblown whitecaps to challenge my appallingly limited seafaring skills.

We were in the third day of our vacation on what is arguably North America’s most dramatic lake, set between the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges in southeastern British Columbia. Snowcapped peaks rise to 8,000 and 9,000 feet right from the lakeshore, and half the land along Kootenay’s 90-mile length is unroaded wilderness.

In other years we’d stayed at resorts on the lake, but we decided this year to see things from a different perspective. Friends told us about the utterly charming Kaslo Shipyard Co. Ltd., which has four specially constructed boats for rent, even by landlubbers like us. That the names of three of the boats have literary allusions didn’t hurt compulsive readers like us either. We rented the 42-foot M.V. Candide, a steel-hulled tub built like a tugboat. It’s powered by a diesel engine that probably could have carried us across the Pacific if only we’d known a way down the Columbia River, which the lake feeds.

Though the boat can sleep six, it works best for four adults. The Candide comes with a wheelhouse complete with mahogany wheel, a kitchen with four-burner stove and oven, a refrigerator and small freezer, and a dining area. There are two bunks in the rear (each with reading light), a double-size futon in the wheelhouse, and the ability to convert the dining area into another double bed. There’s a delightful upper deck for sunning, for cocktails, or - for my wife and me - sleeping under the stars.

There was a bathroom with shower, sink and chemical toilet, and the boat had plenty of hot water for bathing or doing dishes. The boat came supplied with bedding, towels, all pots, pans and utensils, dishes, glasses and cutlery. Even more important is that all diesel fuel was provided, with no refueling necessary - no matter how long and how far we motored.

Our intention was to cruise the lake each day, putting in at deserted beaches along the unroaded shoreline for a swim or a picnic, hiking up to one of the waterfalls that were raging with snowmelt, or just lazing around. The Candide was a charm. The boat moves at a stately pace (8 knots), but we weren’t in a hurry. It actually was designed and built for the tourist trade, and is not a conversion from some other use. It was easier to maneuver than I’d expected, as long as it was treated like a small ferry and not like a slow speedboat. That is, it took its time to change direction, stop or back up.

Since the lake has few docks, and none for casual use, the boats are designed to nose right up and onto a beach, which was much more to our taste anyway. We’d brought all our provisions for five days, and the Candide handled storage and refrigeration with ease.

We arrived at the company’s dock in Kaslo and met Marty Lynch, son-in-law of the company owners, Dick and DeeDee Smith. Once our things were stowed away, we got a 15-minute mini-lesson in the mechanics of the boat and its operation - basically how to start, change direction and stop. It turned out that Marty had in fact taught us everything we needed to know; we were never in doubt, or in trouble, at any time during the five days, including the day of what we came to call the Perfect Storm.

We were of course not heading out into untouched wilderness. There were lake charts galore in the wheelhouse, and both Marty and some friends who’d rented before were most helpful with suggestions of places to put in. The boat has radio communication with the Smiths through an open channel that belongs exclusively to Kaslo Shipyard. We called in each day to tell DeeDee what our plans were for the day and where we intended to put in for the night. We also let her know when we changed our plans.

Our first night we put in at the mouth of Clute Creek, an isolated little cove just up and across the lake from Kaslo. An unoccupied cabin and the remains of a logging skid road were the only signs of civilization. After a quick dip in the chilly but deeply clear lake, we ate, read and went to sleep.

Although we aren’t fishermen, all of Kaslo Shipyard’s boats are equipped with custom-built fishing rod holders, and many of their clients come for the fishing. While we were on the water, a sister ship reported catching a 5-pound kokanee and a 7-pound rainbow by trolling. The lake is known for record catches.

Around midnight of the second day, as we were beached at the sandy shore of Campbell Bay near the north end of the lake, the rain began, and by morning a powerful north wind was blowing the rain sideways down the lake. Looking south, though, we could see blue skies and sunnier weather, so we decided to run for it, though at 8 knots it felt more like jogging in place. The wind, rain, swells and the Candide’s trusty diesel power carried us south 30 miles to the protected Sawmill Coveat Pilot Bay, just across from where the lake’s West Arm leads off to the lovely tourist town of Nelson, B.C. The weather cleared in time for dinner on the deck and another lovely night under the stars.

On the fourth day we explored the unroaded west shore south of the West Arm, where every mile or so a beautiful whitewater creek carrying snowmelt empties into the lake. We found a perfect little beach for sunning, swimming and watching a remarkable assemblage of monarch butterflies. We motored slowly back up to Campbell Bay for the night, and the next morning returned the Candide to its rightful owners at Kaslo Shipyards.

IF YOU GO Kootenay Lake

Getting there: Kaslo is on the west bank of Kootenay Lake, 190 miles north of Spokane via Metaline Falls and Nelson, B.C., where you can buy any needed supplies at supermarkets and other stores.

Kaslo Shipyard Co., Ltd., has four boats available for rent: The sister ships M.V. Candide and M.V. Cacambo, each 42 feet long and identically equipped; the 50-foot M.V. Ariadne, which sleeps eight; and the M.V. Cameronian, which is 35 feet long and sleeps four. Two of the boats are well-heated and available year round.

Costs vary by boat, by high and low season, and by length of rental. We rented the Candide in late June, from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning, for $800 Canadian (about $560 U.S.), all inclusive. No credit cards.

Information: (250) 353-2686. Photos and complete information available on their Web site at www.netidea.com/shipyard.