As the Prop Turns | Cruising from Washington to Alaska

Guest host Bob Whale details his 2021 cruise from Washington to Alaska in this episode of As the Prop Turns. The first half of the talk covers the North-bound leg of his trip, in which Bob was able to journey from Birch Bay Washington to Alaska in 3 days in his Ranger Tugs R-27. During his journey back to Washington, Bob was able to stop at several glacial highlights and unique anchorages.
Chapters:
0:33 - Introduction
3:09 - North-bound Leg
55:16 - Question & Answer
1:02:55 - South-bound Leg
1:41:01 - Concluding Thoughts
1:45:22 - Final Question & Answer
The presentation slides and Q&A log are available for download here: www.dropbox.co...

[@greathornedowl3644]

Thank you for a great presentation. Cruising the Alaskan shores is a dream of many.

[@TheTravisvaughan79]

Took my new R29 from the factory in Seattle to Sitka this passed September. Boat performance was excellent, RT factory support was fantastic, trip itself was one of the best experience of my life and I live up here.

[@kanoa53]

Great presentation - inspirational, informative, and well organized. Thank you!

[@eschlede]

Please do more of these. Really enjoyed.

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Thanks Edward, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@boborca]

HI Edward, glad you enjoyed it.

[@roryconiglione9486]

Thanks Bob, sounds like a wonderful trip.

[@railroad9000]

I had registeted to watch but had to take my wife to the dentist. So I'll watdh it here. Love these presentations!

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Hi Bill, glad you're enjoying As the Prop Turns! Bob is an excellent host and we hope this presentation is a useful resource for those looking to go on a similar cruise.

[@ronsheppard5364]

Thank you so much for making more videos.

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Absolutely, thank you for watching!

[@dude999642]

Excellent.

[@lonnieberg662]

Great information and story. I am looking at a R-27 now. Very curious how they handle the big water. Thanks again!!

[@boborca]

I think they do pretty well. I've found that in big waves I get a lot of water over the bow and on the windshield, maybe due to the vertical plumb shape of the bow. Rain-X on the windshield keeps my vision forward clear though.

[@lutherprince9304]

Awesome video!!

[@billzweig8381]

What would be the minimum range you'd need for tis trip? I've heard you can get gas every 100 miles, max.

[@boborca]

The longest interval between reliable fuel stops is between Shearwater Resort and Prince Rupert, 205 miles, however on that leg, fuel is usually available at Hartley Bay and Klemtu but hours and availability might not be as consistent so one should double check those locations before taking on this section. Port McNeill to Shearwater is about 135 miles. Also, if you go around the west side of Admiralty island (to visit Warm Springs, Hidden Falls, etc. the distance from Petersburg to Tenakee Springs is about 145 miles. Or lets say you wanted to go from Petersburg to Juneau and in between visit the tidewater glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm, that would be about 200 miles. Or even if you went from Juneau to the glaciers and back to Juneau, that's 160 miles.

[@charliehareford2565]

Incredible presentation!

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Thanks Charlie!

[@boborca]

Thanks Charlie

[@charlessoutherland3467]

AWESOME Presentation! Could you give us an idea, what was the approximate cost per gallon during your cruises? Overall fuel costs for the adventure?

[@boborca]

IN 2021 it was fairly inexpensive, less than $4 per gallon, in 2022, the cost was much higher, averaging around $6 per gallon, in 2022 the total miles were around 3200 (round trip) and average about 1.7 mpg

[@2centsworth766]

My dream trip.

[@PatrickThreewit]

Did you have any problems going through Seymour Narrows? Or going through Dodd Narrows where the water falls over itself 3 feet. Big tugs go through there but our trip was a bit scary. I was in a boat Friday Harbor, Washington to Alaska.

[@boborca]

With the speed that this boat has it is a bit easier to transit the rapids outside of dead slack, however I usually try to time my transits within a half hour or less of the published slack tide times. I also check the current predictions and am more cautious when peak currents on either side of slack are predicted to be high. Seymour Narrows is fairly wide and plenty of room for several boats at a time but Dodd Narrows is really narrow and has limited visibility as well so Securite calls are recommended.

[@PatrickThreewit]

@@boborca I was one of two people on our boat, MV "Pat". We did a maximum of 8 knots. One year, coming south, we went through Seymour Narrows at night in the fog. Radar was new and we thought we would be getting help from another boat, similar size also going south, with new radar. While my much older brother, the skipper, was piloting the boat, I was on the bow on my knees looking for shore or rocks or a ship. We would sometime hear over the radio, "Dick, there's a big steamer coming right at you." And the skipper would shout into the radio, "Which side, Carl, which side." No reply. That was a very exciting night for me because I could hear horns a lot. What is especially scary is that, though there is a lot of weight in the hold, the way the boat was built, our seiner had a heavy skif, with a v-8 engine in it on the stern hanging out. The net with corks, web, and lead line was in the hold Going through Dodd Narrows, as exciting for me, but the skipper was never concerned. He had spent several years fishing of the Fairweather Grounds in the Gulf. I even spent two weeks on that boat trolling, just for an adventure, when the wind blew around 60--70 knots and even with the poles down and stabilizers out and a lot of heavy ice in the hold, it was quite a night until we got into Lituya Bay. But the worst water was near Nanaimo when a strong wind blew against the tide and it was so bad that it took some real piloting for us to turn around and return to port. That was when I saw a large tug with two barges ahead of us go completely out of sight in the swells. I'll never forget those 7 parts of summers in Southeast and Prince William Sound and many times I felt to be my last. I began at the age of 17, and retired to married life and college at the age of 23. Seven years. But I lived on an island so for the next 3--4 summers I would work as a deckhand on two fish-buying boats in Puget Sound.

[@boborca]

Interesting life you must have had, I'm sure these are just a small sampling of the stories you could tell. Thanks for sharing I assume you were a purse seiner given the skiff on board? @@PatrickThreewit

[@BreakingWavesSailing]

Nice job’

[@dandersonjr]

Aww crap. I thought we were going to get in a boat and cruise to Alaska.

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Bob takes us there virtually!

[@lauramurray6690]

Was just curious if you folks enjoyed making long trips like that why you would go with a gas outboard instead of a diesel. Your trip said less than 2 miles per gallon I realize that diesel would slow you down but I didn't think people bought boats like that for speed

[@boborca]

There are good points for both, a faster boat allows one to take advantage of good weather windows. Also, each of my passengers had other commitments for their time in the summer (grandchildren and other trips) and the flexibility of being able to do this trip in 10-12 days instead of 3 weeks was a big factor in making it happen. On the other hand the diesel boats have good fuel economy and of course if you have the time then slowing down to make it a more relaxed trip is great.

[@danielsalazar8835]

@Bob Whale Bob, Dan Salazar here. Your Utube Presentation is as good as it gets I wanted to introduce myself and 2nd mate Ann Johnson ( girlfriend life mate of 10 years)) I plan on doing substantially the exact same you completed this coming summer Why change something that works well My itinerary is to have my boat commercially shipped from Newport Beach to Bellingham the last week of May We have family in the greater Seattle area and plan to spend a week to 10 days in San Juans and Southern part of Vancouver island (provided it's open) After that we would head to points North with the plan being flying home and taking a break mid cruise Two questions if you have time My boat is very similar in size and power to your Ranger 27 with a slight difference being my Yamaha is the 250 SHO and requires 89 octane gas I've used octane booster in the past but would prefer to buy 89 or 91 at the fuel dock What was your experience on this matter? How did you handle laundry needs? Thanks in advance for you help Dan Salazar 714 423 4666 [e-mail]

[@joehiker5573]

A POWERHOUSE OF AN EPISODE THANK YOU FOR POSTING! I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE AVERAGE PRICE OF A GALLON OF FUEL?? MERRY CHRISTMAS HO HO HO =)

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Thanks Joe! I'm not sure if Bob has the records from July, but at the moment fuel is right around $4.30-4.50. Thanks for tuning in and Merry Christmas to you & yours!

[@boborca]

I don't have the exact value but less than $4 per gallon

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Thanks for following up Bob!

[@lauramurray6690]

You're paying less than $4 a gallon for rec gas? Isn't pump gas higher than that. Most gas at the Marine is is over $4 on the East Coast and pump gas is almost at 3

[@boborca]

@@lauramurray6690 That was about the average at that time, of course it's gone up since then.

[@anthonyrstrawbridge]

✌️♥️👍

[@volt4224]

Would you have run into problems with having enough fuel if you did this trip in an R-23, considering that the 23 only holds 78 gallons?

[@RangerTugsFactory]

Hi Jeff, as always it's important to plan your stops based on the constraints of each boat. The R-23 could do the majority of this trip though this comes down to the planning. This post has some great information about various fuel locations along the inside passage: www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f15/gasoline-availability-inside-passage-98145.html

[@volt4224]

@@RangerTugsFactory Thanks

[@boborca]

I don't have the performance figures for the R23 but I think I remember something like 3 MPG at 23 mph. So with 10% reserve you would get a range of 210 miles. The longest leg I had was between Shearwater and Prince Rupert at 209 miles so that's right at your limit. There are two other fuel stops between Shearwater and PR, Klemtu and Hartley Bay which in normal times would allow you a much more comfortable fuel reserve, it's just that during the pandemic they were serving fuel to locals only.

[@volt4224]

@@boborca Thanks Bob

[@boborca]

Hi Jeff, I just downloaded the performance data for the R23 and noticed the high cruise was more like 2.6 mpg vs the 3.0 MPG I thought. Also, you might not get that if you're loaded down with gear and heavy.

[@randyscott3386]

As the prop turns ? I'm a good ways into it and still wondering which one of em is going to do something dramatic like you would on any other soap opera where are all the wives and stuff ? their just talking about boats and stuff this it looking pretty funky like ? Bye .

[@tammy2388]

If that boat that little no thanks need something bigger

[@Broletariatt96]

32ft?

[@floridaoutdooradventures8981]

Too much talking, no action -:( THIS IS BORING!!!

[@boborca]

Sorry you didn't like it

[@boborca]

This was meant as a informative video for folks wanting to take their boats up to Alaska to help with planning and logistics. Hopefully not too boring for them. On this years trip I'll try to take video footage and give the next video a more lively feel.

[@beaniril8870]

All I see in this supposedly VIDEO are still pictures and lots of human moving heads but no VIDEO OF BOATS at all.