Mark and Heather Lakefish's floating home on Westlake is bursting at the seams. When their daughter, Lucy, arrived a year ago, they shifted their possessions around until she fit. But the boxes piled high in the living room testify to their need for more space.
Heather Lakefish holds her daughter, Lucy, in front of their houseboat. Photo by Bill Keasler
They thought rebuilding was the answer. In the last few years, new houseboats, rebuilds and all sorts of new construction have swept the lake. Their plan was very similar to many of those other projects. They would build a larger second story and try to make a useable space out of the area below water. So far, however, they haven't been able to get a permit from the city. See Puzzling Permit Decision.
Mark has been around the lake his entire life. His grandparents are the Haydens of Houseboat Harbor. 13 years ago he moved onto Flo Villa as a renter, then bought his own place on Westlake in 2000. He and Heather married in 2002, and they set up housekeeping together in his houseboat.
Mark has worked for Microsoft and is now with an ad agency on lower Queen Anne. Until she got pregnant, Heather was a pastry chef at the Blue Ribbon cooking school on Fairview and used a paddle boat to commute across the lake. "I loved doing that. We're committed to staying on the lake. But we only have 850 square feet," she says. "If we can't do something soon, we'll have to move."