People might be surprised while looking out at the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
An 80 tonne float home named Asgaard is being towed from a marine facility in Sooke to its new home at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Asgaard is a custom-designed, two-storey building and will be the first float home to sail into Fisherman’s Wharf since a group of floating homes arrived from Westbay Marine Village in Esquimalt two decades ago.
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“Float homes aren’t boats, they’re meant to stay in one spot so a trip of 20 nautical miles on open water is definitely a rare event,” said David Leff, the Fisherman’s Wharf resident who designed and constructed Asgaard with his son, Jason Leff.
Once the float home arrives at its new destination it has to be carefully moved into place on Dock A, Leff said. The home will need to be guided between two rows of float homes and positioned alongside the dock.
“It’s a pretty sizable structure, so everyone involved in this will be holding their breath until it’s securely moored,” Leff said.
The move, which requires very calm conditions, is expected to take six to eight hours and is subject to precise guidelines.
Depending on the winds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Asgaard is expected to arrive on Wednesday morning after an overnight journey.
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The float home is named Asgaard after the heavenly home of Norse gods. It is 33 feet long, 24 feet wide and 24.5 feet high.
The vessel’s concrete, foam-filled base was designed and cast by Surefloat in Duncan. The base was built in two pieces, trucked to a marine facility in Sooke, placed into the water by the largest mobile crane on Vancouver Island, and joined together with 24-foot-long steel rods.
The second-floor living space is 16 feet high with curved laminated beams built in Penticton.
shalu.mehta@goldstreamgazette.com
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