The owner of the elusive boat car the City of Seminole’s Recreation Department has been looking for since February has been found.

After our original story about the search for the boat car aired Nov. 9, James Mclynas said a number of people told him the city was looking for him.

“People started coming out of the woodwork just after lunch today, saying 'hey', text messages, people showing up at the house saying 'Hey, they’re looking for you.' And I’m like, 'Wait a minute, who’s looking for me?'” Mclynas said.

The City of Seminole's Recreation Department posted a picture of the car earlier this week. One of the managers there, Kacy Little, said he snapped the photo posted and had been looking for the owner since February.

But he had no luck in his search, so they turned to social media and Spectrum Bay News 9 for help. The city wants Mclynas boat car to participate in their annual holiday celebration next month.

Mclynas said that help paid off, and he agreed to take part in the celebration on Dec. 8.

“Yeah it was surprising," Mclynas said. "Of course we’re going to do that. We have every intention of giving Santa a ride. He’s a personal favorite of ours as well,” he said.

Spectrum Bay News 9 reporter Saundra Weathers took a ride in "The Boatswagon" with owner James McLynas.

Another favorite of Mclynas and his daughter is SpongeBob Squarepants.

“I restore cars, and a couple years ago we were watching 'SpongeBob Squarepants' and she kinda elbowed me and said, 'Hey dad wouldn’t it be cool if we had a boat car? Like they have on the cartoon?'" Mclynas explained. "And I thought about it for a little while and said, 'Actually it would be really cool.' So we built this."

We also learned the boat car is called the "boatswagon." It’s custom built -- the multicolored boat sits on top of a Volkswagen Beetle and has a gas pedal shaped like a foot.

Oh, and the sound system grabs as much attention as the boat car.

“Everywhere you go people smile, give you the 'thumbs up,' they’re videotaping you, taking pictures of you everywhere you go," Mclynas said. "It’s fairly famous up and down the beach here."

That notoriety also extends beyond just the beach. His 14-year-old daughter, Jordan, said the boatswagon adds to her dad’s 'cool factor' and impresses her friends.

“They’re like 'Woah, what is that?!'" Jordan said. "Everyone asks, 'Does it float?' A bunch of people say that,” she said.

Her answer? "Not for long."