Boat trip from Seward to Anchorage (Nikiski: maintenance, design, oil)

[starlite9]

After getting the company's new boat up and running after about a weeks worth of work, got it underway Thursday from Seward at about three AM to catch the outgoing tide.

Had a pretty good trip, saw some whales breaching completely out of the water, but when we got closer, they hardly poked their heads up and I only got one "Sorta Good" photo of them from about a mile away.

Went in though some of the passes behind some of the islands to stay out of the rougher water, but the clouds were pretty low and made seeing the landmarks only visible up to about two hundred feet, but was still fun. Haven't done that for a few years.

Stopped off in Trading Bay to drop off some parts to some of our other boats and got a photo of the Volcano steaming, but not a good shot because the clouds were covering about three quarters of it.

Water was pretty rough going up the Inlet, bridge got water over it a couple of times, but still rode pretty well verses a mono hulled boat over the Catamaran design.

Got to Anchorage and pulled the boat out to finish going though it over the next few weeks before it is put to work.

Pod of whales about a mile away...


Going though MacArthur Pass, it is about a few hundred feet wide.


Coming out of the fog about twenty miles from entering Cook Inlet


Looking at Mt. Redoubt Volcano from Trading Bay.


Chevron Oil facility at Trading Bay


Pulling the new boat out of the water in Anchorage after the trip from Seward... About three hundred miles or so going out around the Coast.

[Grannysroost]

Dum ? maybe...but after being in the water...why do you have to pull it out?

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by Grannysroost

Dum ? maybe...but after being in the water...why do you have to pull it out?

We will be doing modifications to it for our job related duties. Right now it is rigged up for being a fishing charter boat, which is great, but not very practical for our line of work.

Also the previous owner didn't do the same type of maintenance that we do and we have to do some repairs to bring the boat back up to a level of dependability that we need.

Not to mention that Anchorage has tides that go some 30+- odd feet twice a day... pretty hard to dock a boat like that when there is no small boat harbor and the water current matches that of some fast rivers at six to eight miles per hour, which changes directions four times daily.

Where you see the picture of the boat being lifted out, the water is about twenty feet deep at that time, but in six hours, it is mud flats....

[Grannysroost]

Originally Posted by starlite9

We will be doing modifications to it for our job related duties. Right now it is rigged up for being a fishing charter boat, which is great, but not very practical for our line of work.

Also the previous owner didn't do the same type of maintenance that we do and we have to do some repairs to bring the boat back up to a level of dependability that we need.

Not to mention that Anchorage has tides that go some 30+- odd feet twice a day... pretty hard to dock a boat like that when there is no small boat harbor and the water current matches that of some fast rivers at six to eight miles per hour, which changes directions four times daily.

Where you see the picture of the boat being lifted out, the water is about twenty feet deep at that time, but in six hours, it is mud flats....

Tide is an amazing thing...like giant bathtub either letting in the water or draining....Thanks for the explanation, is this the same boat you had in Nikiski?

[ASpilot2be]

Great pics

I love those boats

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by Grannysroost

Tide is an amazing thing...like giant bathtub either letting in the water or draining....Thanks for the explanation, is this the same boat you had in Nikiski?

No the boat in Nikiski was a dive support ship, this Catamaran boat does about thirty five knots, the dive boat does about six knots.

[blueflames50]

sweet look'n boat Starlite9!!! who gets to captain this baby on a daily basis...you????

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by blueflames50

sweet look'n boat Starlite9!!! who gets to captain this baby on a daily basis...you????

When we are on the job, we have regular captains that do the driving, but I run them a lot for test runs and "fishing" diaognastics. Some times I have to go fishing a couple of times checking the lures/bait out to get it right.

Normally I get to fix the boats if they have any issues, but by the time they go out on a job, they are in pretty good shape and I just get to go for the ride.

[rotorhead]

Sounds like a pretty cool job. I assume that you either have the proverbial cast-iron stomach or keep the meclazine handy when you take the little boats out on the big water. Thirty-ish knots probably makes for a pretty sporty ride, even with a cat.

[Glitch]

I really like catamarans. They are more stable and faster than single hull vessels.