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An old houseboat
--F.C. "Butch" Felterman photos

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The beginnings of a new houseboat

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A small houseboat

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A two-story behemoth

Bayou Teche, Lower Atchafalaya River houseboat styles are varied

By F.C. “BUTCH” FELTERMAN

The use of houseboats has changed dramatically since the early 1900s.
At that time they were used as the primary residence for most of the area’s trappers, fishermen, moss pickers and others as they were spread over the vast South Louisiana wilderness. Change came when the swamp dwellers realized their children needed to attend school and get an education.
Then followed a period of several decades when a person would be hard pressed to find a houseboat anywhere in this area.
Now change has occurred once more as the number of houseboats in South Louisiana is clearly on the rise. On a recent outing down Bayou Teche and the Lower Atchafalaya River, houseboats of all shapes and sizes — from those simply providing shelter to those equal to a five star hotel — were seen between Calumet and the Berwick Lock.
Some are gone now to hunting leases on the bayous and canals of South Louisiana and along the coast on the Game Management Preserves. More moved on with the opening of deer and duck hunting seasons.
Many tall stories will be told on these “camps” while the gumbo simmers and the wilderness “chefs,” who never fry an egg at home, prepare their special concoctions of venison and duck. Of course, the sound of beverage can pulls can be heard without interruption while the twirl of ice is heard in glasses held by others.
Could that be why it is so hard to roll out of bed on a cold winter morning to go shiver in a duck blind or climb a deer stand?
Other houseboats rarely move. Often they are moored behind the homes of the owners. Those with motors may occasionally be used for a tour of the river or to attend the “Blessing of the Fleet.”
It is very special to entertain family and friends on a houseboat floating on our beautiful waterway. Egrets, herons, gulls, hawks, eagles and occasionally a pelican can be seen in and above the Cypress, Willow and Oak trees — while in the water possibly an alligator.
Add in seafood caught from the surrounding waters cooked on the houseboat while watching LSU and the Saints, and you have the ultimate in Bayouland hospitality!

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