Dreamboat almost ready for the water
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 27/01) - Others looked at it and saw a boat whose next port could only be the dump; Bogus Zdyb looked at it and saw a diamond in the rough.
"It kind of reminded me of an old sports car," said Zdyb.
For the past year, Zdyb has been breathing new life into the 14.5-foot vintage runabout. The moment of truth -- when the boat will once again sit in water -- will come shortly after a thank-you party Zdyb is throwing in early May for those who helped him with the extensive rebuild.
For now, the gleaming vessel sits in one corner of a large room above the Black Knight Pub.
After being given the boat by Malcolm MacPhail, Zdyb began work on it outdoors, near the Yellowknife River bridge.
"I started ripping it apart there, then the cold came along and I realized we had this big building here."
For Zdyb, it was a case of ownership having its privileges. He's part owner of the pub.
Once the rotten wood had been separated from good there wasn't a whole lot left of the boat.
Though it is still faithful to the original design, the reincarnation contains only one of the original ribs.
The deck is new mahogany, freshly varnished. The hull, of fibreglass coated marine plywood, is also new.
"It was built somewhere in the early '50s," said Zdyb. "I've tried to look through the internet and various other places to find out what model it is, but I haven't found anything."
Zdyb said his first try at boat-rebuilding has been a learning experience. He's hoping to put the experience he gained on this one to work on another.
"Like anything, you start somewhere and by the time you're done you know how you should have done it," he joked.
Fenton Bernhardt, one of the friends who will be attending the thank-you party, has poked fun at Zdyb for his meticulous approach to the rebuild.
"Fenton calls this a violin, because he thinks I'm taking way too much time with it," said Zdyb.
He later joked about trusting the gleaming vessel to the icy embrace of Great Slave Lake -- "I'm going to put it on my trailer. I don't want it to get wet."
Having teenage children who like boating is also cause for concern, but not much. Zdyb said both he and they will have to be a little more careful than they would with an aluminum boat.
Getting it to the water will be the first challenge after the rebuild is complete.
But Zdyb says that's pretty well taken care of. A few studs have been left out of wall near two big windows to allow the boat to be passed through what will one day be a women's washroom into the light of day.
