A gang of good old boys from Estey’s Bridge, N.B., who were looking for a faster and easier way to clear off the community’s outdoor skating rink came up with an idea so ingenious people say they should have a patent.
It is what you call good old-fashioned Canadian country boy ingenuity, said James Dorcas.
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Dorcas said he was frustrated with trying to manually flood the outdoor community rink until he had an “aha” moment.
“I looked at my wife one night and said, ‘Do you mind if I take the lawnmower and make a Zamboni out of it?’ Of course, a lot of my friends thought I was crazy and stuff,” said Dorcas.
“When he first told me about it, I laughed a bit,” said Even Brewer, Dorcas’ friend, who was quickly convinced to help.
Dorcas was soon joined by his friends Evan Brewer and Tyler Currie as they hauled an old 1990s mower down to the rink.
“He got his mini excavator down and dragged it through the snow and started tearing it apart,” said Currie.
They gathered up some scrap wood and metal from an old bed frame.
“We took the mower deck off of it and added some water tanks and a blade for scraping the ice,” said Dorcas.
He said they even managed to find a drag cloth off an old Zamboni, fashioned on some headlights — a blue light for safety of course, and voila, the brain child of “a bunch of rednecks.”
Even though they have to fill the tanks with buckets, Dorcas said their creation is far more productive than a hose and a shovel and a whole lot more fun
“I have had a few people call me and tell me to make sure I get a patent on that — they figure I will be getting lots of orders for these,” said Brewer.
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Before they even think of mass producing the miniature Zamboni, the boys are planning to make a few upgrades.
“We are hoping to get somebody on board to give it an airbrush paint job,” said Dorcas.
“Just seeing the community use the rink and seeing everybody get a laugh over the Zamboni — that is the best part”