That sophistication is translating into sales in the swim-in-place niche. "It's doing really well, says Murdoch. "We're very pleased entering our second year [with the Fastlane unit]."

Says Davidson, "The market is great. This winter has been surprising. This last quarter we've had about three times the inquiries and about double the sales." Davidson attributes the success to consumer awareness; clients are seeking out the product.

"It surprised me because money is getting more expensive," he says. "The big rush of home-equity money is pretty much over as the market adjusts. It's surprising us that demand has been so steady." It's not surprising that fitnessminded people are, at the moment, the primary customers for a swim current installation; they're seeking them out. The pool of potential customer is what's really exciting. "I think that in this arena it's crucial that we recognize that the consumer needs to be educated about the possibility of swimming in their backyard pool," says Murdoch. "They've never thought of their backyard pool as a play where there could swim. The backyard pool is a place to relax. So it's incumbent upon us to teach them that such an opportunity exists."

Davidson makes similar observation. "We have a few builders that promote [the swim current] on renovations; most of it is consumer-driven, though," he says.

"My goal is to make something that's for the everyman," says Murdoch. "I want a pool builder to be able to say to clients, 'Look, you have a swim-out, you have a slide, your spouse wants to swim, how about you get one of these?'"

Kirstin Pires, has been on the editorial staff of AQUA magazine since 2002. She has a B.A. in art from Carleton College and M.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., and currently lives in Madison, Wisc