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Houseboat decor's crisp colors
These weekend homes turn a getaway into a bon voyage
Robert and Jennifer Marconti, with daughter, Alexa, 2, aboard "Hooked Up." (Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara / June 23, 2008)
BY KATHY LARKIN | Special to Newsday June 20, 2008
There are 110,000 recreational boats on the shores of Long Island, according to the latest available information from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Here are two whose owners live part of the year on land - and the rest of the year on water:
Alexa Marconti, 2, loves Hooked Up - the 32-foot fiberglass Luhrs Convertible, a sports fishing boat with flying bridge owned by her Bayport-based parents, Jen and Bob. No surprise. Notes her mother: "She's been onboard since she was three months old. "
Alexa, like her parents, enjoys weekend trips, from the Sayville dock to Fire Island's Watch Hill, where they anchor Friday nights and join other boaters.
Hooked Up, with its single stateroom, galley and a salon area where a couch can fold out into a full bed (and Alexa can snooze in a playpen), carries on a family tradition.
Bob Marconti, who owns the wholesale Harvest Bakery in Central Islip, was 17 when he bought his first boat; he met Jen while onboard his second, a 22-foot cruiser. Since then, they've been inseparable - and on the water every weekend. This is their third season on Hooked Up.
The Marcontis sought design help from East Islip -based Nautical Seams, owned by marine engineers Mary Miller and Rob Coleman, who specialize in boat interiors - everything from shifting inside walls to providing custom-made decor. Together they chose a seaworthy theme of blue, white and beige. The stateroom comforter is dark navy and beige. Couch pillows are blue. Windows have pleated beige curtains that slide open. Front windows are backed with light-blocking material. And, there are unbreakable plastic plates in the galley - and furniture is secured.
Space is important. Storage drawers sit beneath the stateroom bed, and the sitting-area table has fold-down sides. Bob says the boat cost $100,000 three seasons ago and has appreciated in value.