Just outside of Three Rivers, Mich., is a small lake surrounded by oak woodlands. It’s a splendid place to grow up boating, and Shawn O’Donnell spent so much time outside hanging around his father’s sailboat or double-decker pontoon that he rarely even wore shoes.

“I went barefoot everywhere because I was always on the lake. I’d go weeks without putting shoes on,” Shawn said. Every so often his mother would make him find his shoes so they could go into town for groceries.

Though he still lives on Corey Lake, the same barefoot oasis of his youth, Shawn now has a family, a dock-installation company, and a boat of his own.

“I’ve lived on Corey Lake my whole life, so being on the lake is basically second nature to me,” he said.

Shawn gives his youngest daughter, Kellie, a chance to drive.

Two decades ago, Shawn met his wife Christine through mutual friends and introduced her to lake life and boating. She grew up in Portage, Mich., surrounded by fields and trees, so the marine world was new to her. These days she’s dived right in, serving as secretary of the Corey Lake Association and packing pontoon picnics to share with their daughters, Katie and Kellie.

The couple has owned many pontoons over the years, since pontoons are perfect for this family of four. Their daughters love tubing and skiing behind the boat in the warm humid summers, as well as bringing their friends and cousins along for an afternoon ride and on board pizza party.

Beautiful Barletta

And they’re thrilled with their current pontoon: a Barletta Lusso L25UE paired with a Mercury 300hp. In southwestern Michigan, the O’Donnells live within 20 minutes of a handful of pontoon manufacturers. So how did they end up choosing Barletta?

“Hands-down it’s the quality,” Shawn said. “My old boats, and I won’t mention names, were not the quality of the Barletta. We upgraded two years ago, and this Lusso is absolutely perfect. In my eyes Barlettas are the best boats out there,” he said.

Christine added, “We love our boat and we love talking about the great options it has.”

When they were on the hunt for a new pontoon, the O’Donnells saw the model at a boat show, but the clincher for their decision was being able to tour Barletta’s factory.

“The tour of the manufacturing plant was really neat,” Shawn said. “It helped our decision when we saw these boats are put together without cutting corners at all.”

Ahead of the boat shows, Christine started paging through boating catalogs and fell in love with the Lusso’s table option.

“Then when we went to the boat show and were able to actually walk on the boats and see everything about them, the table really stood out to me,” she said. “I thought it would be ideal for kids and their friends to sit there and have a meal or snacks. I love that it’s a designated area and perfect for entertainment.”

Other great features are the plentiful storage, an additional fold-out table in the center of the lounge area, and a nearby adjacent trash can. Shawn said he also enjoys the versatile lounger at the back of the boat.

“It can lay flat, turn seats to face different ways, and it becomes a whole aft deck back there to watch the kids jumping and diving from the boat. There’s a lot of room,” he said.

Another Barletta feature that Shawn is grateful for is the Summer Help Hotline. Though it began as a holiday service for boaters on the water needing help with questions, the help line became so popular that Barletta now offers it all summer long. Simply make a call and a technician is on the line to walk you through any challenge such as where to locate the fuse or what to do if the power steering isn’t working.

“I haven’t personally had to use it yet, but I think it’s amazing you can make a call from your boat and have a professional on the line to hold your hand and walk you through a problem,” Shawn said.

After all, sometimes a little hand holding is all that a new boater needs to feel more confident. Shawn has years of experience getting similar calls from his customers.

“My customers know I boat, so they often ask me questions. Usually it’s something simple, but it’s nice to be able to help,” he said.

The Dock Doctor

Shawn’s dock company, O’Donnell’s Docks, really began when that barefoot boy was a young teen and working on a dock at Corey Lake. He started pumping gas at the marina when he was 13 years old, and a customer started asking around if someone could help him install a dock. Shawn quickly said, “I can do that,” and rode his bike to the customer’s house and installed the dock. After that, he was never short of customers.

He installed docks through high school, and then to pay his way through college. His mom and wife both taught school, and Shawn had planned to become a teacher, too, intending to teach physical education at a nearby high school. But the business was so successful that even the plan to install docks and lifts during the summer and teach during the winter fell by the wayside as he had plenty to keep him busy full-time.

The company has sold all kinds of boat lifts and dock products over the years. Currently they sell the most Craftliner boat lifts since they pair nicely with Barlettas, which many customers own since the manufacturing plant is only 20 miles away. They also sell freestanding, floating, and roll-in docks, and are committed to helping customers find the right lift for their boat and budget.

Wakeside Marine

Endeavoring to please customers has made Shawn appreciative of working with capable sales teams for his own large purchases. When the O’Donnells were ready to buy their Barletta they went to Wakeside Marine, a boat dealership just over the state border in Elkhart, Ind. The family-owned and operated company is staffed with employees who are passionate about boating, and head of sales Mike Micheli said that the O’Donnells have been excellent longtime customers of theirs.

“We have a great personal relationship with the O’Donnells. They’ve been on their lake for generations, so we were excited to get them on the water in a newer pontoon,” Mike said. “They’re great ambassadors for us and for Barletta, so we were thrilled to update them with the Lusso entertainer model. Unfortunately I haven’t been over there recently to have a cocktail with them, but that’s definitely on the radar for this summer,” he added.

Shawn also had excellent things to say about Mike. “He’s a terrific sales guy and did a great job walking us through our purchase,” he said. “Wakeside is a top notch dealership that goes above and beyond what’s needed. I felt like they listened to our needs and what we were looking for to make sure we got the right boat.”

Opening in 2002, Wakeside Marine began carrying Barletta boats shortly after the factory was built nearby. Mike said, “It’s been awesome to see Barletta grow from its infancy to where their market share is now. Their focus on dealer and customer relationships as a manufacturer is awesome to work with and has made them a great brand.”

Idylls Of Summer

Now the only task at hand is to spend as much time as possible boating in the fresh air with friends and family. The O’Donnells love the wonderful Michigan summers, and although the boating season is only four months of the year, they’re careful to savor it.

“We try to get going early in the morning and meet friends on the lake and raft up together. Or we’ll go to someone’s beach and have a party. Usually we’ll stay out all day, order pizza and have it delivered to the dock, or Christine will bring plenty of snacks. My favorite part of the day is sunset because we have amazing sunsets here. And if we stay out long enough, we can see the stars, too,” Shawn said.

Since Corey Lake is a popular tourist spot with summer camps and seasonal houses, the summer months have a steady flow of people and traffic across the lake. Which is why Christine said her favorite month for boating is September.

“When everyone leaves their summer homes and goes back to the cities it feels like we have the lake to ourselves. All of the trees change to gorgeous autumn colors, but we still have 80-degree days and the water temp is perfect,” she said. It’s probably even warm enough to go barefoot.