Wrangell narrows? - Forums Archive

Robot

2014-03-12 04:33:34

Hello I'm Rob and I live in Ketchikan. Most people here call me Aussie Rob. I've just bought my first commercial fishing boat, a 30 ft double ended wooden troller(this is also my first post). It used to fish in Elfin Cove and is in Juneau at the moment. I'm planning on bringing it to Ketchikan in April when I finish my current job and am considering bringing it through Wrangell narrows. The boat is 28ft at the waterline with a 4.5 ft draft, an 80hp Perkins diesel with 3:1 reduction gear. Cruising speed around 5.5-6 knots. Can it be done or should I go around? Are there any eddies to hide in to wait for the next tide? Any information would be very much appreciated.

Cheers, Rob.

akfish1

2014-03-20 16:26:01

Hey Rob. I think the Narrows is by far your best option. First is just safety of having the option of getting in to Petersburg if you need to for whatever unexpected reason. Going down Chatham and having issues wouldnt be good. You wont have any problems getting through the Narrows just pick the right tide. I draft 6' and never felt like I would have a problem. I cant remember I want to say about 3 hours or so give or take. Good Luck!

Robot

2014-03-22 03:22:48

Thanks akfish. My concern was the time it would take me as well as the speed of the current. Being that I'll be in such a slow boat. (But a beauty none the less) what would be the best tide? I'm thinking of going in an hour or so before slack and wanting to go into the current for the duration. At least I'll have steerage and my stern won't over take me. Or am I thinking about it to much? I've been through there before but that was delivering a 45 ft jet boat to Valdez. Thanks again.

akfish1

2014-03-22 03:27:38

I cruise at 7.5knts and started an hour before the flood and pushed through with now problems. Pick a small tide swing also that makes a huge difference! What boat did you get out of Juneau?

Robot

2014-03-22 04:23:51

Small tide swing was in the mind. Sounds tough going through with a 20 ft swing! But time constraints reduce some of that luxury. The boat is the F/V Fools gold. A little green and blue Wooden double ender.

akfish1

2014-03-22 04:43:27

OK yeah I think I just saw that a couple months ago on CL. Good luck down there this summer.

curmudgeon

2014-03-22 17:54:13

I remember Fool's Gold from around Cross Sound last year. He'd done a lot of fixing-up on it and it looked good. We tied up across from each other at the Shoreline Barge a couple times and I chatted with him.

Dave's correct about the Narrows. We just went thru a bit over a week ago traveling from Auke Bay to Wrangell for shipyard work. We had neap-tides and timed the transit to leave Petersburg about an hour before high slack. We were cruising along at 6 knots the whole way and it was easy. Had my niece doing all hand-steering and navigating, and she did great. (only tried to go around the wrong side of Two Tree island an hour out of Wrangell) The only time you may want to pull over and hide are when the ferry or a tug/tow comes by!

80 horse should push you right up to hull speed if you need it. (a 26-foot waterline should give you a hull speed of 7-knots). I know from fuel consumption/RPM that it only takes about 55-horse for us to do 7.2 to 7.5. You're looking for a cruise speed that only uses about half the full-power rating of the engine as a rule of thumb for long life and fuel economy (Tom Pope's words of wisdom to me some years ago). Hopefully the power curves for that Perkins are included in the manual you have. You can see here, for instance, that the prop absorbs half power at about 1800-RPM: http://www.perkins.com/cda/files/4073840/7/M92B%201104%20issue%204%20new%20look%20&%20feel.pdf

The red curve being engine available power, and the blue curve being power that the prop can use.

ironpaso

2014-03-23 05:35:10

I remember seeing that boat as well. Looked like a nice economical vessel. I wished the timing was right, but I am still in Wisconsin.

gumpucky

2014-03-23 15:23:35

Might want to get a coast pilot for S.E Alaska. Will give you all the info you need on the narrows and more. Been at this awhile and still use it for info on new anchorages etc. Mine is in about 5 segments held together with duct tape. I think there is a version available to download for free.

Robot

2014-03-24 02:53:37

The quantity and quality of the response here has been magic! So thank you all. Very reassuring for someone venturing into the trolling industry alone. I only hope I can do the boat justice as the previous owners have. A coast pilot was something I had not even considered(admittedly, skipped my mind) and curmudgeon, thanks for the technical info. Another reason I asked here for help. Thanks again.

JKD

2014-03-24 18:29:27

Robot - I just took my boat south from Juneau to Wrangell's Boat Shop and went through Wrangell Narrows for the first time since '97. I had the Coast Pilot open for reference, but already knew that the place where the tides "meet" in the Narrows is right in the vicinity of Green Point (just south of Mountain Pt). My running partner and I hit that area right at about High slack and rode the ebb out the south end. A couple of sport boats were fishing in the lower Narrows and one lost a King just before I passed him and the other boat had 2 (he held a nice one up for me to see). Have a good trip.

kjwelder

2014-03-27 18:55:29

Running partners are always a good idea. That said, I ran my boat from bellingham to sitka in February when I got it 6 years ago. No running partner on that one. But, running partners are always a good idea.