A made-in-B次元官网网址 boat that never realized its builderB次元官网网址 dream of being a major tourist attraction has been dredged out of Shuswap Lake, where it sank four years ago.听
The 鈥楽pirit of B次元官网网址鈥, a 62-foot side-wheeler, was then hauled to a Sicamous marina and broken apart.听
The retrieval and disposal operation was conducted recently by local and federal officials who said the sunken boat had posed a safety and environmental hazard in the lake.听
It was an inglorious end for the vessel, constructed in B次元官网网址 at a cost of more than $500,000 over a five-year period by Doug Mayzes. By 2012, he was ready to launch the vessel in B次元官网网址 as a tourist attraction cruising Okanagan Lake, but it never received the necessary Transport Canada certification.听
Built upon the hull of an old U.S. Navy vessel, the 鈥楽pirit of B次元官网网址鈥 was certainly an eye-catching contraption, with a curved staircase, brass lanterns, and French doors.听
After failing to get the certification, Mayzes sold the boat in 2013. That was the first year it sank, offshore of Kalamoir Regional Park in West B次元官网网址. It was hauled out of the water and patched up.听
More recently, according to Transport Canada, the boat had been owned by Avery Shoaf, a Shuswap man who appeared regularly on the popular TV show Rust Valley Restorers.听
After the boat sank in Shuswap Lake in 2020, it was abandoned, Transport Canada and local officials say. Shoaf was given a $26,600 fine on Aug. 29 of this year for abandoning the vessel, Transport Canada says.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to protecting CanadaB次元官网网址 waters from the environmental and safety risks posed by abandoned vessels,鈥 federal Transport Minister Anita Anand said in a release issued this week by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.听
鈥淭hatB次元官网网址 why we鈥檙e using all the tools at our disposal to hold vessel owners accountable and keep our lakes and rivers clean,鈥 Anand said.听
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