A lifeboat from the B.C. Ferries fleet is .
Current owner Michael Rayne, who bought the 2004 lifeboat a couple of years ago, believes it previously did service on the Queen of Cumberland.
Rayne, who runs the Indigenous tourism business , has been using it to move people around the arm, including campers, cyclists and large groups.
“I used to take school groups out, families, community groups, things like that,” he says, noting he’s shut things down for the winter. “It’s been a bit of a floating classroom.”
Because it was only active during tests of the ferry’s systems, it’s barely been used, despite some faded paint, which Rayne kept because he liked it.
And it’s made to survive. It can hold 60 people and supplies for seven days, and its engine can run the entire time — while it’s not the fastest-moving vessel, it sips diesel. However, Rayne does note the vessel is a bit loud.
Everything is designed to make the lifeboat safe in case it’s needed for its original purpose — even the cloth roof helps catch rain for drinking water.
“It’s got the strongest hull — it’s unsinkable,” Rayne adds.
As it’s an unusual sight, Rayne says he is often stopped to talk about the boat, even having people float up while out on Indian Arm to ask questions.
“People are always asking questions about it — it’s a lineup at the dock,” he says. “You can’t go anywhere without it being recognized.”
While it’s uncommon, it’s not unique — three lifeboats were sold at the same time by B.C. Ferries. One couple in the Gulf Islands is converting one of the other lifeboats into a floating home.
Rayne, who has listed the boat for sale at $10,000, is reluctant to sell it, but between the dipping economy, his regular job as a longshoreman and having to do everything himself, he figures it’s a smart move.
“It’s painful to let her go,” he admits.
Rayne does say that if a business partner — he specifically mentions Seth Rogen — wanted to go in on it, he’d be interested.
“I’d like someone to partner up with me — that would be ideal,” he says.
For now, it remains docked at Lynnwood Marina in North 91原创, with plenty of tire-kickers coming by.
“Everybody has their ideas of what they would do [with it],” says Rayne.
