'Dadboni' Formanek is a smooth operator
Every hockey rink needs a Zamboni, but Jim Formanek's backyard rink has a "Dadboni."
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Coined by Formanek's two daughters, the "Dadboni" came with the purchase of the 25x85 foot skating rink that fills the Wadena resident's backyard.
The "Dadboni" connects to a garden hose and jets water out of its blue aluminum frame. A towel is placed behind the sprayers to smooth out the water before it freezes, creating a smooth skating surface.
Before the actual spraying Formanek shovels the ice shavings that are created from skating, then makes one pass with the sprayer and the end result looks as if a Zamboni drove over it.
Jim Formanek watched over his daughter, Josie, as she gathered a puck on their backyard skating rink in Wadena. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls » Purchase reprints of this photo.
While the process looks easy enough, Formanek has had a few mishaps.
Working the "Dadboni" involves running the garden hose through the laundry room window, turning the water on and then running back outside to spray the ice. The chore works best with two people. On one occasion, Jim decided to do it by himself for the first time.
After smoothing out the surface to the desired appearance, Formanek shut off the sprayer and started to pick up things around the rink. When he went back into the laundry room to shut the water off, water was spraying everywhere. The room was soaked.
Jim Formanek used a sprayer to smooth out the surface of the skating rink he built in his backyard in Wadena. The device works like a Zamboni. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls » Purchase reprints of this photo.
For more on Formanek's skating rink stories, visit his Web site at www.formanekpond.com.
If you have a skating rink at your house with some colorful stories to go along with it, let me know.
JEREMY MILLSOP can be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5856.