Last week, the Drum went for a ride in the Canadian-designed and built amphibious vehicle. When co-owner Carl Falsnes cranked up the conventional marine diesel engine, the hovercraft lifted, slid down the sloped shore and onto the water.

Headed downriver, the cushion of air on which the craft floats almost eliminated the half-metre chop created by a wind opposing the current.

"We were going to build one and were advised by somebody else, 'If you want one quicker, this one's available,'" explained Falsnes.

He went to Manitoba to take a look. What he found was a one-of-a-kind craft, known as the ICE-187. It wasn't operational, but the work it needed could be done. He negotiated a deal and hauled it back to Inuvik in April. Since then he and mechanic and hovercraft driver Dirk Koenen have been repairing, redesigning, testing, fine-tuning and learning about the machine's capabilities.

"Once we were coming around a bend in the river and my wife said, 'Look out for those ducks!'" recalled Falsnes. "It was too late, we ran right over them. But when I looked back they all popped right back up."

Hovercraft were first perfected by British engineers in 1959. Less than a decade after the first working prototype was demonstrated, they built a 100-metre-long, turbine-powered craft to ferry cars and people across the English Channel. A fleet of them are still in service today.

Hovercraft float on a cushion of air contained by a rubber skirt that looks like a giant inner tube. The lack of contact with water or ground requires a completely different approach to turning.

Travelling at 45 km/h, Falsnes must start turning the machine well before the bends in the river. It slides sideways as the big propeller on the back that provides forward thrust pushes it into the turn.

At the suggestion of mechanic and driver Dirk Koenen, Falsnes jerks over the stick that controls the rudders mounted behind the big blade and the machine does a 360-degree turn at speed.

"I've had an interest in them since I was a kid," said Falsnes. "Even before I wanted to fly I wanted to drive hovercraft."

With seating for 16 and a carrying capacity of up to two tonnes, (depending on the terrain), unique rescue capabilities, a cruising speed of 100 km/h and fuel capacity to go as far as Paulatuk, the business possibilities are endless.

For now, however, Falsnes and Koenen are holding their cards close to their vests. "We have a few ideas, but we haven't decided on anything," said Falsnes.