WATCH: A new neighbour is sailing into Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf. An 80-tonne float home is moving into the marine community. And it’ll be one of the biggest in the water. Aaron Guillen went down to the wharf to find out more.
All eyes are on the new, seven-and-a-half metre tall float home, as it makes its way into Fisherman’s Wharf.
The builders of the home, a father and son duo, have been working on it in Sooke since September.
“Some of these homes are getting quite old and tired,” says David Leff, the float home builder and father.
“Instead of renovating, these clients decided they wanted to start from scratch.”
The pair have been renovating float homes for seven years now, but this is their first new build.
“Nobody is really doing float homework,” says Jason Leff, the architect and son.
“That’s what I really like about it. It’s really out there and different. Things are always moving around.”
On Wednesday, the two-storey building is squeezing into its corner of the marina.
But it took a bit of patience and a lot of maneuvering.
“It’s like threading a needle,” says David.
“We only have about five or six feet on either side, so it’s gonna be a tight fit, but they’ll do it.”
Finally, the journey was complete.
The float home was secured and all is well inside the building.
This is the first float home to sail into the marine residential community since a group of float homes arrived two decades ago.
With this new build coming in, it could spark a wave of new float home requests for the father-son duo.
“You never know… we’re open for business!” says David cheerily.
Until then, the Leff’s will continue doing what they know best, taking on any renovating or building opportunity that floats their boat.
Aaron Guillen
