(2 of 2)
His & Her Moorings. Pittsburgh Businessman Carl Volkwein, who for 20 years owned cruisers ranging from 24 ft. to 30 ft. in length, switched to a 40-ft. houseboat two years ago so that he could treat clients and their families to weekend jaunts up the Allegheny; he has already ordered a 43-ft. replacement with even more room. Mystery Writer Erie Stanley Gardner likes houseboats so much that he operates two of them on California's Sacramento River. "They're my floating offices, the only place in the world where I can really get away from it all in comfort," says Gardner. But why two? "At night we moor them about 50 ft. apart, and the women take over one and the men the other," he explains. "That way the women can gab all they want, and we can play penny ante in peace."