GRAND LAKE, Colo. — Most of the boats at the Trail Ridge Marina all look the same but owner Renee Valentine said there’s one that stands out when it’s cruising across the water: a tiki-themed pontoon boat.
“We came up with this and it has been very popular,” said Valentine.
The marina is located in Grand Lake, which is a a little more than two hours west of Denver in Grand County. It’s a busy place in the summer with people looking to boat and fish.
But given the uncertainty of how business might look during the pandemic, Valentine wanted to try something different to attract customers. That's when the idea came about to build a tiki-themed pontoon boat.
The boat has a grass skirt, palm trees, several tiki heads, a wooden deck chair for the captain to sit in, a whiskey barrel steering column and a tiki bar on board.
The staff did most of the decorating but over the summer people have been adding more things to it.
The tiki pontoon has become so popular that there’s often a waiting list to rent it, and on weekends it gets rented out three to four times a day.
Next summer, the marina plans to add golf and pirate-themed pontoon boats.
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