If you could get an A+ for your SeaBus model, William Fong got it for his model of the Burrard Pacific Breeze SeaBus — built entirely using Lego.

After learning about his one-of-a-kind creation, we invited William to the SeaBus headquarters, near Lonsdale Quay, to show our staff and tell him a few details he could apply to his model.

Turns out he didn’t need it.

While there, his SeaBus model caused a buzz as everyone was eager to rave about the attention to detail.

The only thing that Saeid Zabihi-Rad, who is the manager of SeaBus engineering, could give William “slack” for was the chain for the anchor was touching the roof of the SeaBus.

And as Saeid circled the model a few more times, all he was noticing was even more details that William executed to perfection.

One of the things that caught Saeid’s attention was the inclusion of the “locks” on the hull of the vessel that hold the SeaBus in place when loading and unloading customers.

It’s a little-known feature as it’s under water and still relatively new safety requirement mandated by Transport Canada, the national regulator for marine transportation.

So, how did William nail the details? What’s the secret? He says it’s all in plain view when you ride the SeaBus.

“There’s a couple of planned drawings that are on the passenger deck of the SeaBus,” he explains. “I took a picture of those and loaded them onto a Lego scaling website, so I was able to measure out everything.”

The website told how many Lego studs by length, depth and height.

William also took the SeaBus with his son, riding the Burrard Pacific Breeze specifically, a few times to capture reference photos.

In total, it took him about three months and about 4,000 Lego pieces to build his model — realizing something he had started as a kid.

William recalls first building the SeaBus digitally on a computer, but the file got so large that it “bricked the computer.”

Now that he has adult money and time, it has allowed him to pursue this interest and hobby using Lego.

He chose to build the Burrard Pacific Breeze because it ties in nicely with the story of public transit in Metro Vancouver.

The Burrard Pacific Breeze was the first of the “new” SeaBus vessels to be built after the original two, the Burrard Otter and Burrard Beaver. Both were original to the launch of the SeaBus in 1976.

The Burrard Pacific Breeze, which was built in Victoria, allowed SeaBus to operate 10-minute service for the first time during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Today, the SeaBus operates every 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

For William, the work continues for his model even though it may look finished to the untrained eye.

“The railings and ladders aren’t done,” he explains. “The bridge [which is where the vessel is operated from], even though it appears finished, it’s not.

“I want to take the time to to really smooth out everything and get all the lines seamless.”

He adds he’s excited to be able to bring his creation to places to spark that conversation about transit, especially among children, just like he did with us at SeaBus headquarters.

“I am a transit guy first, Lego guy second,” says William, explaining the latter is a medium for expressing his interest and passion for transit.

“Just being able to get the next generation of people interested in transit in Vancouver.”