P.E.I. dad turns lawnmower into homemade Zamboni

ALBERTON, P.E.I. - A backyard rink builder in Alberton, P.E.I., has used his ingenuity and some duct tape to get a head start on grooming his homemade ice.

"I made the rink this year, and I wanted a way to keep it smoother without the hose," said Leonard Fraser, who lives in the small town about 50 kilometres west of Summerside.

"Me and my neighbour came up with the idea of making a Zamboni."

Fraser retrofitted a John Deere ride-on lawnmower to turn it into an ice-grooming machine, more than a few steps down from the $60,000 trademarked kind the pros use at indoor rinks.

"I took it, put a nozzle on it, a garden hose with holes so water falls over [the ice], a level that just makes the flap go up and down, and a towel on back to smooth the water," he said.

A little duct tape compensates for the odd engineering defect, and a cinder block out front balances the load on the back.

"Duct tape is good," Fraser proclaimed when asked whether he was inspired by the would-be fix-it men on The Red Green Show.

The California-based Zamboni Company sells a backyard model of its regular machine, for about $10,000.

Fraser didn't spend nearly that much, though, and his son Thomas is just as happy with the results.