Going to AK 2025

K

kurtwitte

Unfinished Business
Joined
Jul 2, 2024
Messages
43
Location
Lyons Colorado
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Vessel Name
Unfinished Business
Hello, I'm new to Tugnuts. I am in the process of buying a 2021 R27 NW. I want to take it to Alaska summer of 2025. Yep, I'm a planner and am putting this out there to precipitate the voyage. After I acquire my boat I will have numerous questions on the boat but that will come later. For now, I'm putting out feelers for directions/suggestions on getting to Alaska, namely PWS. Level of seamanship would be about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 Any help, suggestions, and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
kurtwitte said:
Hello, I'm new to Tugnuts. I am in the process of buying a 2021 R27 NW. I want to take it to Alaska summer of 2025. Yep, I'm a planner and am putting this out there to precipitate the voyage. After I acquire my boat I will have numerous questions on the boat but that will come later. For now, I'm putting out feelers for directions/suggestions on getting to Alaska, namely PWS. Level of seamanship would be about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 Any help, suggestions, and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi Kurt, Good to start early with your planning, I always find that part of the fun. Lorraine and I just got back from our third Alaska trip. One of the best resources is the Slowboat website, which has a number of videos on taking your boat to Alaska. You can also check out the video we made on the Ranger Tug Webinar regarding taking our R27NW edition to SEAK. It's a great boat for this journey.


I'll be happy to share our experiences with you and planning documents. If you have questions feel free to email me.

Bob
 
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Maggie Anne said:
Hi Kurt, Good to start early with your planning, I always find that part of the fun. Lorraine and I just got back from our third Alaska trip. One of the best resources is the Slowboat website, which has a number of videos on taking your boat to Alaska. You can also check out the video we made on the Ranger Tug Webinar regarding taking our R27NW edition to SEAK. It's a great boat for this journey.


I'll be happy to share our experiences with you and planning documents. If you have questions feel free to email me.

Bob
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Thank you. I'm hoping to find, or start, a flotilla.
 
kurtwitte said:
Hello, I'm new to Tugnuts. I am in the process of buying a 2021 R27 NW. I want to take it to Alaska summer of 2025. Yep, I'm a planner and am putting this out there to precipitate the voyage. After I acquire my boat I will have numerous questions on the boat but that will come later. For now, I'm putting out feelers for directions/suggestions on getting to Alaska, namely PWS. Level of seamanship would be about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 Any help, suggestions, and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I don't think the R27 has the range to cross the 400 miles of open ocean from SE Alaska to PWS. With the seamanship level you indicated probably not a good idea anyway. I'd suggest the ALCAN highway and launch in Valdez, AK.
 
NorthernFocus said:
I don't think the R27 has the range to cross the 400 miles of open ocean from SE Alaska to PWS. With the seamanship level you indicated probably not a good idea anyway. I'd suggest the ALCAN highway and launch in Valdez, AK.
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I'm 3 yrs into summers in AK from Colorado vial the ALCAN. Toad and RV stay in Anchorage over the winters with currently owned 18' Hewes Sea Runner wintering in Soldotna. Have had the Sea Runner in 6' waves in Katchemak bay several times. My calculations say 326 NM from Yakutat to Cordova(fuel stops). I might B wrong but A R27 cruising [Quote from tugnuts]"1) a slow cruise (8.6 mph, 3.1 GPH and 416 miles in 48.37 hrs on a full tank) with a decent fuel efficiency... " So, again I might B wrong but this fuel capacity along with a 5 gal. can of fuel should make it to the fuel stops???
 
kurtwitte said:
I'm 3 yrs into summers in AK from Colorado vial the ALCAN. Toad and RV stay in Anchorage over the winters with currently owned 18' Hewes Sea Runner wintering in Soldotna. Have had the Sea Runner in 6' waves in Katchemak bay several times. My calculations say 326 NM from Yakutat to Cordova(fuel stops). I might B wrong but A R27 cruising [Quote from tugnuts]"1) a slow cruise (8.6 mph, 3.1 GPH and 416 miles in 48.37 hrs on a full tank) with a decent fuel efficiency... " So, again I might B wrong but this fuel capacity along with a 5 gal. can of fuel should make it to the fuel stops???
Click to expand...
 
kurtwitte said:
I'm 3 yrs into summers in AK from Colorado vial the ALCAN. Toad and RV stay in Anchorage over the winters with currently owned 18' Hewes Sea Runner wintering in Soldotna. Have had the Sea Runner in 6' waves in Katchemak bay several times. My calculations say 326 NM from Yakutat to Cordova(fuel stops). I might B wrong but A R27 cruising [Quote from tugnuts]"1) a slow cruise (8.6 mph, 3.1 GPH and 416 miles in 48.37 hrs on a full tank) with a decent fuel efficiency... " So, again I might B wrong but this fuel capacity along with a 5 gal. can of fuel should make it to the fuel stops???
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Sounds like you've got it figured out already. Should be fun.
 
NorthernFocus said:
Sounds like you've got it figured out already. Should be fun.
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Hey Dan, Thanks for your thoughts and input. All things considered, I always err on the side of caution and my back up plan would B to trailer it from Haines to Valdez if I'm not comfortable with doing the last long leg.
 
Maggie Anne said:
Hi Kurt, Good to start early with your planning, I always find that part of the fun. Lorraine and I just got back from our third Alaska trip. One of the best resources is the Slowboat website, which has a number of videos on taking your boat to Alaska. You can also check out the video we made on the Ranger Tug Webinar regarding taking our R27NW edition to SEAK. It's a great boat for this journey.


I'll be happy to share our experiences with you and planning documents. If you have questions feel free to email me.

Will do. As I get closer to next summer i"m sure I will have many more questions.
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Thank You
 
kurtwitte said:
Hey Dan, Thanks for your thoughts and input. All things considered, I always err on the side of caution and my back up plan would B to trailer it from Haines to Valdez if I'm not comfortable with doing the last long leg.
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Based on your mileage numbers it sounds like you're planning on going directly in to Cordova from the gulf. That may warrant a bit of research.
 
kurtwitte said:
Hello, I'm new to Tugnuts. I am in the process of buying a 2021 R27 NW. I want to take it to Alaska summer of 2025. Yep, I'm a planner and am putting this out there to precipitate the voyage.
Click to expand...
I am also interested in making this trip in summer 2025. I have a 2019 Ranger Tug R-29 CB. I’m just finishing up a Great Loop trip now. I was advised by a friend who made this trip in an R-29 last year to try to do it as part of a group, so if you’re interested in buddy boating or doing some sort of flotilla, please keep me in the loop.
 
kurtwitte said:
Level of seamanship would be about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 Any help, suggestions, and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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Also, some advice: get yourself some solid training on your boat, including all of the systems. Make sure you spend the time between now and then building your skills and knowledge and getting a real feel for how your boat will handle just about any condition. No matter how much you learn, you will learn more along the way, but don’t expect to learn it ALL along the way. That’s a recipe for trouble.
 
I am probably overly cautious but I’d do a pre-trip. Sydney BC to Campbell River about 115 nm. Then Port Hardy about 104 nm with significant tide and current. Ferries, commercial traffic, weather. Verify fuel consumption and gain experience with boat.
 
mlanger said:
Also, some advice: get yourself some solid training on your boat, including all of the systems. Make sure you spend the time between now and then building your skills and knowledge and getting a real feel for how your boat will handle just about any condition. No matter how much you learn, you will learn more along the way, but don’t expect to learn it ALL along the way. That’s a recipe for trouble.
Click to expand...
Hi and thanks for the response. Are you planning on going all the way to PWS or ending at Glacier Bay?
 
Taking an R27-OB to Glacier Bay is doable. We spent last season in SE Alaska on our boat. I looked at going to PWS via Gulf of Alaska. By water, it's the wrong boat for that waterway. However, it is trailerable.... which is what I'd do to get to PWS.

This presentation has a lot of discussion around what's involved with making such a trip to SE Alaska from Washington state.

 
Submariner said:
Taking an R27-OB to Glacier Bay is doable. We spent last season in SE Alaska on our boat. I looked at going to PWS via Gulf of Alaska. By water, it's the wrong boat for that waterway. However, it is trailerable.... which is what I'd do to get to PWS.

This presentation has a lot of discussion around what's involved with making such a trip to SE Alaska from Washington state.

Click to expand...
Thanks for the input. I have watched your very informative video. Lots of good information which I will use to navigate with. Seems many are wary of taking the R27 from Yukatat to Cordova. So at this point I will research the possibility of motoring to Haines and trailering from there. Will need to purchase a trailer. Any advice available would be appreciated.
Thank You
 
mlanger said:
Right now, I’d be happy to make it to Ketchikan and then decide when I get there.
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Taking the good advice of people in the know on this site, as my final moorage will be somewhere in Alaska, I will most likely be trailering my boat from Haines to Valdez, Whittier or Seward, AK.
 
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