"We call it the best in lakefront living," Lou Lee said as she looked around the spacious boat equipped with two fireplaces, a slide, hot tub, full bar and extensive kitchen.
This boat is the fifth in a line of houseboats the Lees have enjoyed, starting with the Philly Lou -- a 10-by-32-foot boat they owned with friends.
The Lees often tie up the Pinnacle III alongside their friends' houseboats and have joint parties in coves along the lake.
"This is a perfect houseboating lake," said Tommy Lee, who owns Savannah Lakes Marina and Family Resort with his wife. "Lake Lanier, Lake Murray, Columbia -- all of them have boats all over the place, but it's not hard to find an empty cove here on Lake Thurmond."
Two of the Lees' five grandchildren visited them on the boat recently: Sydney, 11, and Synclaire, 7.
"These two would be here every day," Mr. Lee said with a laugh.
"I like anchoring out the best," said Sydney, who enjoys swimming off the boat and going down the water slide.
Entertaining is a breeze on the boat, said Mrs. Lee, who holds yearly Georgia-Florida football parties and recently had a 60th sleepover birthday party on the boat for several friends.
The Lees love sharing their houseboat with other people. They insist houseboats are more reasonably priced than some might think. Mr. Lee said houseboats can be less expensive than the cruisers, require less upkeep and are more fun.
"I think if anybody tried it, they'd be hooked," Mrs. Lee said.
Geoff Sheen found the Lightning in the Bone Yard -- a graveyard for retired boats at Augusta Sailing Club.
"I found this thing pushed back in the woods and started asking around as to whose boat it was," he said.
He was told it belonged to Dr. Gilbert Klemmens, a founding member of the club who used the Lightning in club racing.
The boat needed a lot of work to get it back in sailing condition.
"The basic Western red cedar hull was OK, but everything else was shot," said Dr. Sheen, who replaced the deck, transom and keel with teak and mahogany.
He estimates he spent 500 to 600 hours over seven years restoring the boat to its former glory.
Larry Fuller worked for years in the Washington, D.C., Metro subway system. After an illness forced him to retire, he moved to the Augusta area, where he and his wife had relatives.
His job in the nation's capital kept him busy 24/7.
"At the time, it didn't seem that bad, but you look back and say, that was pretty doggone stressful," he said.
Mr. Fuller takes it easy now. He doesn't even own a watch. He uses his time to cruise the lake, observing wildlife and the beauty of nature.
"This is ideal, right here, because you have both legs of the lake and the Savannah River, so there's plenty of area to explore."
In the five years he has had his boat, Mr. Fuller has come to appreciate the slower pace that he can enjoy on the water.
"To just sit on your boat and hear the water just lapping against the boat is relaxing," he said. "When you come out here, you just slow down."
Scott Winkler first saw his boat in the parking lot of Sam's Club, where it was being displayed by Augusta Marina. It would be years before the boat was his.
In 2003, while he was an Army sergeant on his second tour of duty in Iraq, Mr. Winkler was thrown off an ammunition truck. His spinal cord was crushed and he became paralyzed from the waist down.
"You go through a lot of anger," he said. "It's like learning to live life all over again, but differently."
As he went through rehab at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, he met other newly disabled veterans struggling to redefine their lives.
"I told Jeff Snover, who I met through rehab, 'Man, we need to find something to do,' " Mr. Winkler said.
"I want a boat," he told the owners of Augusta Marina in 2005. "What's the biggest thing you've got?"
They pointed him to the boat that had caught his eye years before.
As vice chairman of the nonprofit organization Champions Made From Adversity, Mr. Winkler helps empower others who have been disabled.
"Anything I can do to show people that there's life after injury -- that's what I want to do with this boat," he said.
Mr. Winkler, a world-renowned Paralympian who holds three world records in shot put and discus, helps disabled athletes with a variety of sports.
"To me, this boat is freedom."
The Greene boys, as they are known around Little River Marina, own a 44-by-14-foot floating platform with a mobile home and a detached separate deck.
They bought the boat in 1985 and use it for fishing, parties, weekend getaways or just a place to stay.
The Greenes have added air conditioning, a microwave and refrigerator, making it a comfortable place for themselves and their guests relaxing at the lake.
David Greene estimates that six to 15 people at a time can enjoy the boat.
"This thing is not going to sink," he said with a laugh, noting that it only needs a little more than a foot of water to float.
The brothers live in Metter, Ga., but they come to the lake almost every other weekend.
"More often, of course, if the fish are biting," David added.
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