Tuktoyaktuk’s turbid shoreline may not be the first place you recommend a novice sailor drop a barely-tested boat in the water.
But that wouldn’t deter Alex Gurba, who drove a boat he made himself all the way up from Alberta to see if it would float in the Arctic ocean.
“Everything’s hand-made,” he said. “We figure if we get it in all the oceans in Canada that would be pretty cool.”
The retired former-northerner said he always wanted to build his own boat, an opportunity that presented itself when he reached retirement.
So he found the blueprints for a ‘bartender boat’ and got to work figuring out how to build it. Four years, dozens of coats of paint and countless hours of sanding later, the replica 1960s U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat was ready for a dip. Gurba and his wife Sheila, a former swamper for Kenn Borek Air, put together a plan to set the vessel to sail.
“Everyone should drive 938 kilometres up the Dempster Highway to put their boat in the ocean,” said Sheila. “We met a few interesting people that stopped and asked about the boat — that was really neat.”
There was only one problem: the Covid-19 pandemic was in full force and finding an open dock during lockdowns was practically impossible. So Gurba would have to practice patience to find out if his creation was seaworthy.
“It’s been in the water maybe a dozen times since it was built,” he said. “Even all our docks were closed in Alberta, so there wasn’t much of an opportunity to do anything.
When restrictions were lifted, the pair set off for the coast. First, they christened their toy in the calmer, gentler waters off B.C. before turning their trailer north to Whitehorse and up the Dempster towards Inuvik.
Finally, on Aug. 22 the dream became reality. The Gurbas pulled up to the point in Tuktoyaktuk and launched their prize, with a crowd of curious spectators keeping close watch.
“It was really, really windy,” he said. “The dock area was pretty shallow, which we found out after my motor got stuck in gravel for awhile. Finally I got it out there and did a few circuits in the water.
“It was a cool day, but was worth the effort of everything we’ve done to get it here.”
Having tested their new transport, the Gurbas caught up with old friends from the Delta and have now turned their bow towards the Atlantic to complete the trifecta.
Alex offered some parting advice for anyone with plans to build their own wooden boat from scratch.
“It’s bending wood in two directions at all times,” he said. “There’s no square corners in a boat. I would dry fit everything before I would glue them.
“The varnishing was the toughest job for me, probably because I don’t have the experience in it. And tedious hours of sanding so the paint looks smooth. It’s not just something that you build.”