All A-Boat It

Rochester Boat Company Keeps Locals Equipped and Ready for the Water

Writer / Lois Tomaszewski

Photographer / Jubilee Edgell

Hitting the water of Lake Manitou is a seasonal pastime for many. This engineered lake has a legacy in history and has been a place to enjoy for nearly two centuries. The folks at Rochester

Boat Company (RBC) endeavor to keep today’s lake lovers happily on the water.

“Lake Manitou is an all-sports lake, meaning that there is fishing, pontooning, skiing, surfboarding, wakeboarding, sail boating, kayaking, canoeing and jetskiing,” says Lisa Reffett, co-owner of

Rochester Boat Company. She and her husband, Shane, started the business in 2009, adding additional services to the original pier, dock and boat-lift services.

A lake that serves as many water sports as Manitou requires finding the right boat for the sport. Whether that calls for a speedboat or run-about, which are designed for skiing, a wake boat for that ultimate wakeboard or surfboarding experience, fishing boats to give anglers the upper hand in the many fishing tournaments on the lake, or the everpopular pontoons for cruising.

“The pontoons of today are not like yesteryear’s pontoons that were floating platforms with small motors that would idle around the lake for sightseeing,” Reffett says. “Today’s pontoons are larger with comfortable seating and maneuverability, with high-horsepower motors that will go fast enough to pull a tube or a skier.”

The original pontoon design uses two long floatation tubes. A recent change to pontoon design is the introduction of the tritoons, which have three long flotation tubes. This design change allows the boat to sit higher out of the water and have more maneuverability, Reffett says.

“Pontoons of today can offer the flexibility of going fast to pull a skier or tube, being a platform to hold more people for sightseeing or being very stable for fishing,” she says. “At Rochester Boat Company, we sell new Crest pontoons that are for sightseeing, tubing, or a model called the Fish especially set up for fishing.”

According to the owners, Rochester Boat Company is also the only new boat dealer in Fulton County. The company sells Crest pontoons and tritoons along with Suzuki and Mercury motors, and is authorized by the original equipment manufacturers to sell these brands.

The authorization process is based on the company getting their workers certified by the manufacturers to work on their products, insurance bonding, and having an Indiana dealer’s license, Reffett says.

It also allows the company to guarantee warranties of their products.

“We also have a wide selection of used lifts and boats,” Reffett says.

Although RBC has several models of boats to choose from, the company is there for the long haul of boat ownership. From routine maintenance to winterization, detailing and storage, the Reffetts make sure boat owners don’t need to look elsewhere to take care of their boats. And the same applies to the maintenance and care of lifts and canopies.

“Rochester Boat Company is a one-stop shop,” Reffett says. “RBC can not only sell you a pontoon and motor, but we can put it in the water and take it out to store with us in any of our storage facilities.”

Keeping a boat showroom fresh is the work of RBC’s dedicated detailing shop that uses a commercial, wall-mounted hot-water power sprayer. Boats and motors can be power washed and then waxed. Interiors are power washed with specialized cleansers and the vinyl on seats are thoroughly cleaned and conditioned.