PALATKA, Fla. — An unusual boat is making Palatka its new home.
The vessel looks like a blue and white chapel floating on the water. It caught the attention of many people on the First Coast as it came up the Intracoastal Waterway and glided along the St. Johns River this week.
It arrived at its new dock at the Crystal Cove Marina in Palatka Friday afternoon.
Mary Castello of New Smyrna Beach is the boat's new owner. She is a talent requiting officer as well as a children's book author. She told First Coast News she plans to turn the boat into a place for children to read and learn. She is also considering making the boat a women's wellness retreat location as well. The boat has been a VRBO in its former life.
The trek to Palatka was a tricky one, as the 500+ mile voyage took more than 20 days. The boat departed from an area just north of Tarpon Springs, traveled south to Fort Myers, west along the Caloosahatchee River, through Lake Okeechobee, up the Intracoastal Waterway on Florida's east side, up to the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, then south to Palatka.
The boat is 30 feet by 60 feet, according to Captain Karl Weber. He owns At The Helm Delivery, which is a company that moves boats. His company maneuvered the boat along Florida's waterways.
"It's bigger than most mobile homes," Weber said. Describing the voyage, he said it was "tricky" because the houseboat "is like a big box." It's hard to maneuver.
Weber said the houseboat moved very slowly. On a good day, Weber said, the boat moved at 4 knots.
Because it is 30 feet wide, it's too big for most marina slips. Castello said it was challenging to find a marina that could accommodate the boat. She said Crystal Cove Marina was amenable at creating a slip large enough to handle her boat.
When it docked Friday, it was a tight squeeze into the slip. As the boat approached the slip, the crowd watching kept craning their heads to see if was going to fit. It did, due to some stellar captaining.
The boat's previous name was Chapel on the Bay. Costello will be changing it to Archangel.