Four Vancouver men are hoping to cross the Strait of Georgia in comfort and possibly set a world record in the process.
“It’s just a giant floating hot tub that we can take out when we’re going sailing,” said Edward Estabrook.
The idea for their hot tub boat was born a few years ago.
“Our friend out here has got a sailboat so we’ve been cold many, many times in the winter and we thought wouldn’t it be fun to get a hot tub boat,” said Marco Bieri.
“It turned into a joke and then we started building it. It was a lot of fun, like a big community project.”
They had the manpower, but what they needed next was a hot tub.
“I went on Craigslist and it turns out that it costs a lot of money to get rid of a hot tub that you don’t want,” Estabrook said. “So we basically found a hot tub that was free if we drove out and picked it up.”
It took 18 months to make the hot tub boat seaworthy, equipping her with a motor and propane water heater and a few luxuries like a pig roaster mounted on a dinghy that allows them to barbecue while on the water.
A floating hot tub may sound fun, but is it safe?
Vancouver police wondered the same thing when the hot tub boat set sail ahead of the 2013 Celebration of Light.
“They basically said they were concerned…so we went out without the hot tub and then had the party on the dock after,” Estabrook said.
Since then they’ve registered their hot tub boat so she’s on the up and up and ready for her biggest challenge yet.
“We are looking to cross the Georgia Strait and set a distance record for a hot tub boat crossing,” said Estabrook.
They’ve already tried a couple of times but the weather got too rough and the tiny tub was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the hot hub would be lost.
According to hot tub boat crew member Artem Bylinskii, they are now waiting for just the right moment to make their way into the Guinness Book of World Records.
“So we’re going to pick the day when it’s perfectly calm, flat water, nice and sunny and we’re going to have sailboat support with us so if anything does go wrong, we will have that security,” he said.
-With files from Linda Aylesworth
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