Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1380
feature 25 July 2009 The Search Begins Most people can't just decide they'd like a house- boat and manage it financially right away, but Pitman's successful career in real estate meant he could start his hunt immediately. "I was just looking at random marinas," he said. "I knew I wanted a diamond in the rough." Pitman was searching for a fixer-upper, but there were a few spe- cific qualities he wanted in his prize. For starters, he was looking for a 50-foot Gibson with a blue hull and a Marine air system. "And a galley down. I didn't really care for the galley up," says Pitman. "It needed to be in somewhat decent condition and I didn't want to spend a lot of time work- ing with fiberglass." After a short search, he found it: a 50-foot Gibson with a blue hull at Kentucky Dam Marina at Kentucky Lake. Pitman made the trip with his four closest friends to see what kind of condition the Gibson was in. They only ran across one problem—the sea trial was a complete disaster. The owner hadn't taken the house- boat out on the water for over two years, and after an aborted attempt at a run on the lake, Pitman was convinced the entire engine had blown. "I was so upset and I offered them a ridiculously low price knowing they wouldn't accept, went home, and drank my sorrows away," he said. An Unexpected Development To his surprise, he got a call at 7:30 the next morn- ing telling him his offer had been accepted. "I was shocked," Pitman said. "Hung over and shocked." Pitman made the trip back to the marina and pre- pared to move the boat back to his home lake. However, he ran into a slight problem just a few miles into the