SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE -Some jump, throwing both arms frantically above their heads. Others prefer the slow, one-handed wave.

The techniques vary, but the goal is the same - get the ice cream boat’s attention.

For five years, brothers Travis, 20, and Ryan Burke, 16, have spent the summer on their boat, The Ice Cream Float, selling ice cream to people on their docks and in their boats.

“We were just wasting our summers doing nothing and dad thought it would be a good idea to start a business,” Travis said.

The result is a pontoon boat, complete with a banner of blue Nestle flags, a large freezer stocked with ice cream and a speaker system that plays a jingle, repeatedly.

“A lot of people say they’ve never seen (an ice cream boat) before,” said Travis. “We say, ‘Neither had we.’”

For up to 12 hours a day, Travis, Ryan and their father Bill weave in and out of coves handing out King Cones, Fudgesicles and ice cream sandwiches.

All of the ice cream costs $1 or $1.50. People often tell the young entrepreneurs they should raise their prices. The brothers said they want to keep the prices low so parents don’t have to pay $3 for an ice cream treat.

The family moved from Roanoke in 1992 and live on the Franklin County side of the lake.

They run the ice cream boat from Memorial Day through September.

During the summer, they usually spend four or five days a week on the water, breaking to restock ice cream in Roanoke. In the fall, Travis comes back from Longwood University in Farmville, where he is a rising junior, to spend the weekends on the water.

The boat has become a local phenomenon.

“You’ll see some docks with kids jumping up and down,” said Bill, waving his hands to demonstrate. “Sometime, I take pictures of them.”

Most of the time, people take pictures of the boat. The brothers laugh and say they are probably the most photographed thing on the lake. Shenandoah Valleyartist P. Buckley Moss recently made a print of the famous ice cream boat.

People recognize the bright-colored boat, but mostly they know it by sound.

The 30-second ditty plays over and over, except on birthdays. Customers call ahead so the boat can play “Happy Birthday” when it comes to a dock celebration.

On Saturday, a little girl in a pink shirt celebrated her 3rd birthday. The “Happy Birthday” song blared from the speakers as the boat pulled up to their crowded dock. She celebrated with an Oreo Bar.

“Any change, any change,” Bill said with a smile when the music finally switched.

Dogs are the first to hear the sound.

The brothers hand out more than 5 pounds of dog treats a week. They used to give the dogs popsicles until one swallowed the stick.

Travis said next summer he will have to get an internship instead of running the boat. He hopes to teach Ryan how to drive the boat and take over the business.

“I’d like to do this forever,” Travis said, “but I know I can’t.”