Pontoon & Deck Boat

www.pdbmagazine.com PDB Pontoon & Deck Boat AUGUST 2015 36 PDB Pontoon & Deck Boat AUGUST 2015 36 Do you want to know about pleasure boating? Just rub shoulders with the Pierce family, who has been orchestrating it on Lake Tippecanoe since 1925. The history behind Tippecanoe Boat Company has aged like a fine wine, having been established exactly 90 years ago and just getting better as time sweeps on. Wooden boat era? The Pierces lived in it. Fiberglass revolution in the '60s? They aided it. Having been around from the Fageol 44 and the Homelite four-stroke days, witnessing the first V-4 Johnson and the molded plywood boat, and ushering in the deck- style boats and stern drives, yes, you can say the Pierce family knows boats. Now that Tippecanoe Boat Company is brushing up on a century, the "fourth generation" ribbon was metaphorically cut when Hallie Pierce, the great-grand- daughter of founder Bruce Pierce, first stepped through the front doors with an employee name badge of her own. "It's pretty neat. You don't hear about that very often," Hallie says as she smiles. Her father, Bruce (named after his grandfather), has been clocking in hours himself since he was a kid almost 60 years ago. These two and the rest of the team offer sales, service and a large parts department to each visitor. "We often have parts that no one else has because we've been here so long," Hallie laughs. "We've got stuff going way back." One Stop Shopping The full-service marina sells Sanpan, Aqua Patio and Sweetwater pontoons, Hurricane deck boats, and Lund fishing boats, as well as Paddle King paddle boats. The outboard lines they repre- sent are Honda, Mercury and Yamaha. The Pierces also own a separate com- pany, Tippecanoe Boat Rental Corp., which is the only place in the area that will rent out speed boats and deliver them to other lakes. For the small lake area they're in, they have an impressive fleet of 11 gorgeous rentals. "It's a tough business, so we're pretty proud," Hallie adds. With six full-time employees handling every part of the company, you could definitely say they're a very small team that can handle a very large A LEGACY LIKE A FINE WINE The Pierce family's business brushes up on a century My Marina By Austa Cook — Photography by the Tippecanoe Boat Company Staff S P E C I A L P L A C E S T O E N C O U N T E R PDB's Do you want to know about generation" ribbon was metaphorically A LEGACY LIKE A FINE WINE The Pierce family's business brushes up on a century generation" ribbon was metaphorically One Stop Shopping The full-service marina sells Sanpan, The Pierce family's business brushes up on a century The Pierce family's business brushes up on a century

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