SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Byron Sawatzky loops his arm through a thick rusted chain and steps into a pool of water. He plunges a wooden stick under the opaque surface, hitting ice just as water creeps up to the top of his rubber boots.

Byron Sawatzky and Susan Fitzpatrick recently relocated from P.E.I. and have been adapting to life in a houseboat on Yellowknife Bay, just in time for break-up. - Elizabeth McMillan/NNSL photo

"It's still pretty thick underneath. They say it'll be another two or three weeks more," he says, stomping on the submerged ice before hoisting himself back onto his porch.

Sawatzky is facing an unusual predicament that's commonplace to a small pocket of people in Yellowknife. The surface around his home is disintegrating. He lives on a houseboat.

For those who've lived on houseboats for years, the break-up period may be just another part of day-to-day life viewed with astonishment by onlookers.

But for new residents of Yellowknife Bay, the prospect of getting back and forth to work via a surface that threatens to give way is more than a minor adjustment.

They have to learn how to walk on water.

Sawatzky, who's from Calgary, and his wife Susan Fitzpatrick, from Pleasant Grove, P.E.I., like the challenge.

"Most people say walk with a canoe or long sticks, so if you fall through, you have the ability to get yourself out," he says.

"Good advice we got was not to be brave, that it's not worth it. Just be cautious," Fitzpatrick adds.

The couple moved to Yellowknife mid-February and moved in just as the lake became too precarious for vehicles.

They bought a canoe and are anticipating the balancing act that will be required when the ice starts to give way – one that might require an impromptu jump into the boat. Already they're cautiously navigating the trek home as the ice crackles and transforms from a mucky surface to pointed crystals, depending on the temperatures. They've learned to avoid dark patches at night and are keeping an eye on the pools forming by the banks of Jolliffe Island.

The laid back couple isn't fazed by the rustic living in an apartment that relies on diesel fuel and doesn't have running water. Six months ago, they were working on an organic farm in P.E.I. Now they're once again close to the outdoors.

Some family members have wrinkled their noses at descriptions but for the most part, it's not such a jump from how they were living before.

The day-to-day logistics of living in a one-room houseboat do require some discussion about household tasks. Like what happens to the honey buckets.

"It's a bucket," Fitzpatrick says laughing, in reference to the makeshift toilets. "We're pretty earthy anyway so it's not a big deal. I'm not anti-toilets or anything."

They take turns trekking one bucket to the dump, and pouring the other on the island. Being on honey bucket duty can serve as a trump card when it comes to drawing straws for the other necessary chores.

They estimate the logistics of the houseboat adds several hours of work per week -- lugging garbage around and collecting and boiling water. Neighbours have helped them with water and friends have helped provide showers.

Body waste aside, both Sawatzky and Fitzpatrick say their new digs have made them be even more mindful about their effect on their environment.

"If we were huge consumers, we'd have to truck all the waste ourselves. You lose that convenience that disconnects you from the way you live," Fitzpatrick explains. "It makes us think about what we recycle and how we can use things again so we get as much function about them."

"It's turning back the dial a bit, going back to a different generation where there's more process," says Sawatzky.

With no television, limited electricity and no constant hum of technology, they're enjoying the break.

"Entertainment is more intentional. We get to play a game of cards or craft or make an effort to watch a movie … you're more social," he says.

The actual walk and eventual boat ride to shore will only take a few minutes.

"If you lived in an apartment you might have to walk five minutes to your car," says Fitzpatrick, putting it in perspective.

"It matches who we are," she adds. "This is our version of living it up."

In case they ran into trouble, the houseboats' usual resident, Joel Maillet, left a list of tips for surviving on the lake.

The last one?

"Rock the boat."