The renovated interior of the Ryan boathouse now resembles more of a party or gathering room. It houses his classic 1955 Chris Craft Continental. The Schweiss "Red Power" pump, right, gives more than adequate power to lift the Schweiss Hydraulic door.

A sideview of the new boathouse shows the log-sided cedar wood planks and new roof.

Schweiss Doors makes boathouse owner envy of the beautiful Lake Vermilion

"I can tell you this, I'm the envy of the lake!"

That's what Jeff Ryan had to say about his new boathouse that has a remote-controlled Schweiss "Red Power" Hydraulic door on it.

Schweiss Doors can't take all the credit for the envy. Ryan also goes first class with the 1955 Chris Craft Continental boat that cruises in and out of his boathouse. And for those not living on this lake, known worldwide as Lake Vermilion, that's also envious.

In the 1940s the National Geographic Society declared Lake Vermilion one of the top 10 most scenic lakes in the United States. And it still is today. With its 40,000 acres of water, 365 islands and 1,200 miles of shoreline, it stretches 40 miles across the heart of Minnesota's northeast Arrowhead Region.

Ryan believes the old original boathouse located on his lakeside lot was about 75 years old. Vinyl siding was added to it in 1990, but not too long ago ice, snow and a strong winds pretty much did it in. It was time for a fix-up before the entire structure floated away. He didn't mess around when he decided to rebuild it - everything down to the door is first class.

A barge was used to float the hydraulic door into place when it came time to mount it to the building, no small feat!

Building a boathouse is obviously a little more complicated than doing a project on dry land. Ryan said he initially was going to begin while there was still ice on the lake but because he got started late they used a Cat to put the door on a barge in the Spring, then eased it up to the front of the boathouse to bolt it on. This took more time than hanging the door itself.

"We put some weight on this door. It has wood planks on the inside and outside and a steel frame. This was a pretty heavy door, about 700 pounds (12.5 x 6.5 ft). It installed real easy. My guys did it for me, they put the door on in a day. The important thing was Brent (at Schweiss Doors) gave me all the dimensions prior so I had the cutout the exact size. So when we put it in, it fit perfect. It took about four hours to actually hang the door," explained Ryan.

On the boathouse itself, he put log-sided cedar wood planks on the outside and 3/4" tongue and groove on the inside of the boathouse. He also had to rewire the whole boathouse so could run power to it. Over the previous winter he rebuilt the boathouse by putting new cribs under the water and new supports in the roof and walls.

The boat sits on a rail system built into the ceiling and with the use of electric hoists the boat is lifted or lowered in and out of the water. Perfect for winter storage!

The boat sits on a rail system built into the ceiling and with the use of electric hoists the boat is lifted or lowered in and out of the water. This also enables him to store his boat there in the winter after freeze-up if he so desires. The hoists are on rollers which allow his baby to be moved forward and backward depending on the water level.

He gets some really strong winds on the west side of this lake. Schweiss Doors recommended to have his door windrated at 90 mph.

"I considered a (Schweiss) Bifold Door, but because of the height and the water height going up and down, I didn't want to be ducking down to get the boat on and off," noted Ryan. "The old door was basically a roll-up garage door, which obviously wouldn't have worked with my hoist system."

The damp and dingy interior of the old boathouse is gone. The revamped interior is so nice now you could have a party in it. After a summer season of use, Ryan said there's nothing he would have done differently.

In the 1940s the National Geographic Society declared Lake Vermilion one of the top 10 most scenic lakes in the United States

Lake Vermilion has long been known for its beautiful houseboats, now it can also be known for its beautiful boathouse.

"My neighbor said it's overkill. But it's beautiful," said Ryan with an envious grin.

As you can see, the old boathouse, built about 75 years ago, was in dire need of replacement. Ice, snow and strong winds finally did it in calling for a complete rebuild.

Jeff Ryan's daughter, Caitlin, 10, loves to fish, and she has a nice largemouth bass to prove she knows how to do it.

You Tube video shows the door in action

To see this boathouse hydraulic door in operation and to listen to the Chris Craft purr down the lake, go to the schweissdoors.com homepage, scroll down and click on the You Tube icon. If you own a lakeside home or cottage, after you watch this video, you'll be drooling.

Jeff Ryan is owner of Versare Portable Products Company in Minneapolis. Versare manufactures and distributes room dividers for churches, screens for hospitals, temporary walls for factories, mobile folding partitions for school, backdrops for meeting rooms and portable products such as room dividers, outdoor partitions and patio screens, acoustical and sound dampening partitions, expandable locking barriers, steel barricades, portable coat racks, etc. They also have locations abroad in France, China and coming soon to Bahrain. For more information on Versare visit: www.versare.com

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