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Sailing collective wants derelict houseboat hauled

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Brendan Burke/NNSL photo. The houseboat's owner Archie Johnson says he's making every effort to have the derelict dwelling removed from its watery grave. He says a lack of assistance dashed his plans to pull the houseboat out last summer. June 12, 2018.

The stubborn presence of an abandoned and half-sunken houseboat is drawing the ire of some members of a nearby sailing club who say the derelict dwelling is both an eyesore and an environmental hazard.

“It’s just kind of embarrassing,” said Karen McLeod. “As a citizen here, it just appalls me that this was going to be allowed to collapse into the lake.”

After noticing the beleaguered houseboat located just south of the Giant Mine boat launch on Back Bay was partially submerged last Spring, a concerned McLeod contacted the owner of the one-time home.

McLeod, a member of the Great Slave Sailing Club an outfit headquartered just metres from the houseboat said the owner agreed to “do the right thing,” by retrieving the sinking structure, but that he never did.

“It sat there all summer getting worse and worse, then it got locked in the ice over winter,” she said, adding she visited the site recently to find the houseboat “sinking faster and further.”

With furniture and other possessions of past residents still onboard, McLeod is concerned the deteriorating houseboat, which juts out just off shore in a small cove, will soon sink, bringing harmful contaminants with it.

McLeod, who said she’d complain about the dilapidated dwelling even if she wasn’t a member of sailing collective, wants to see the houseboat hauled out before it’s too late.

She isn’t alone. Ian McCrea, who heads the Great Slave sailing outfit as commodore, said he shares McLeod’s environmental concerns, adding the houseboat poses safety risks, too.

Brendan Burke/NNSL photo.
An abandoned and partially sunken houseboat, located beside the Great Slave Sailing Club on Back Bay, is being called an “embarrassing” eyesore by some concerned Yellowknifers who say its presence poses environmental and safety risks. Karen McLeod wants it hauled out – before it's too late.

With a sailing school for children operating in close proximity during the summer, McCrae said the leaning structure could present worrisome safety woes. He said its presence could also stand as an appealing attraction to young adults in search of adventure.

But McCrae also empathized with the houseboat’s owner, saying there’s “two sides to the street.”

Giving his side of the saga to Yellowknifer, the owner Archie Johnson said he intended to get the houseboat out of the water last July, but that his arranged helper wasn’t available.

Johnson said he decided to leave it for the winter after a freeze came sooner than expected.

With no fuel onboard the vessel, Johnson said the houseboat doesn’t pose environmental risks, adding he doesn’t believe it’s disturbing anyone.

But he acknowledged its presence as being irksome for some.

“It’s a bit of an eyesore and I can understand that. Some people would like to see it gone right now but it’s not that easily done,” said Johnson, adding he’s hoping to get the houseboat on land in early July with assistance he’s already arranged.

“I’m really not interested in getting into any kind of a battle with anyone. We’re going to make every effort to make it successful. It’s going to be an arduous task and I just hope things work out."

Following conversations with both McLeod and Johnson, senior response officer at the Canadian Coast Guard in Hay River Mike Leonard told Yellowknifer the houseboat was inspected.

Leonard confirmed the absence of "pollutants or hydrocarbons" onboard the houseboat, and that Johnson relayed his plans to retrieve it this summer.

While McLeod’s frustration was directed at one houseboat in particular, she said its deteriorating state and the lack of action to remedy it is a symptom of a larger pollution problem in and around the city.

“Yellowknife is still young and we’re still trying to deal with these things, and we have this sort of frontier approach to things but honestly we need to get beyond that now and clean up some things,” she said.

To reign in rogue houseboats, Ian McCrae suggested revisiting a previous plan to establish a harbour commission overseen by multiple levels of government.

“Where we can provide a good environment with some level of services to houseboaters and also provide certain standards so we don’t end up with those derelict boats,” said McCrae.

“I think that would be a good thing and it would be to foster healthy and safe use of the water including a welcoming environment for houseboaters,” he added.

Echoing McLeod’s own appreciation of Yellowknife’s "eclectic" houseboat scene, McCrae underscored his support for houseboaters, who he said act responsibly by and large.

“Houseboats in general add character. They’re part of our community,” he said.