From Los Angeles to Seattle by boat?

Hubby and I are considering buying a (used)* trawler in Southern California, though we want to keep it near Seattle. We are trying to figure out the best way to get the boat to Seattle. * We have heard horror stories about traveling up the coast, since wind and current are in the "wrong" direction.* In trying to research this, I have read about* the Davidson current, which flows North for severall months from late September on, and a concurrent wind shift.* Is it possible that this trip is not so difficult in the Fall?

I am looking for words of wisdom from people who have actually done the trip. or know people who have done it.* Or chose not to do it!* Any advice on the subject will be appreciated. (Put it on a truck?* Hire someone else to do it?* Go for it?)

We will be making the switch from sailors to trawlers with this purchase. We are shopping in the 45 foot range.

We bought our GB36 in Alameda, CA and had it trucked to Tacoma, WA. This was in 1998 and the cost was a bit shy of $4,000. The cost to hire a delivery skipper and run it up on its own bottom would have been about the same back then and the insurance folks were a LOT happier with it on a truck than out at sea.

According to the marine trucking service we used, a GB36 is about the largest boat of this type that can be trucked on the west coast without removing the flying bridge. They use a trailer that drops the forefoot of the boat almost to the pavement and this allowed the flying bridge to stay on although everything else--- venturi panels, antennas, mast, etc.-- had to come off of course. It took two days to get it from San Francisco Bay to Tacoma.

The company recommended Tacoma as a destination because they said there are some iffy bridge clearances north of that city. So we went to Tacoma, had some work done on the boat at a yard there, and then took it to Bellingham on its own hull.

The broker who found us our boat has just bought a GB46 for him and his partner to live on. It, too, was from Alameda. It was brought it up on its own hull by a very experienced coastal crew and the journey took about a month what with waiting for weather along the way and then dealing with extremely nasty sea conditions on the last leg. Fortunately this boat has active stabilizers which they said was the only thing that made the trip doable.* It finally arrived about a week ago.

There are also (very expensive) yacht transport companies that use semi-submersible transport ships to deliver boats all over the world. Some of them make regular west coast runs, I think to Vancouver, BC.

-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 24th of August 2010 12:22:11 PM

My 38' OA came up from the bay area on a truck as well. Given the choice, all things (costs) being equal, I'd sure opt for the trucking. Less wear and tear, engine hours, etc.

Thank you both for you responses. It sounds like trucking is a very good suggestion. Do either of you (or anyone else) have a company you can recommend?

A month to get the boat North??? Was that unusually bad luck with weather, or a combination of weather and not wanting to hurry? Why did your broker opt for sending the boat by water? Did those extra 10 feet make trucking a problem? I gather that special permits are required after a certain size, but do not yet know how much those add to the cost.

I am still curious about the Davidson current.... Any experiences with that?

Hubby looked into putting the boat on a boat, and was given the estimate of $30,000.00. No, I did NOT make a mistake with those zeros.

A friend of mine shipped his 45' Bayliner from San Diego to Seattle about 8 years ago and it cost him $6500. I have no idea what the cost is today or the best carrier but one hell of a lot of people are doing it.

BaltimoreBlonde wrote:

Thank you both for you responses. It sounds like trucking is a very good suggestion. Do either of you (or anyone else) have a company you can recommend?

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Associated Boat Transport http://www.associatedboat.com in Marysville, WA has a very good reputation among the Grand Banks crowd up here.* Bob Lowe, the former owner of Oak Harbor Boatworks, a company that specializes in the restoration, maintenance, and repair of wood and glass GBs (as well as most other kinds of boats)* highly recommends Associated.

Another well-known company is Dudley Boat Transportation in Fife, Wa http://www.dudleyboats.com .* Bob says he has had better experiences with Associated but Dudley does a lot of hauling work so must have something going for them.

Unfortunately we cannot remember which company hauled our boat north.

Our friend's GB46 was being brought up the coast by a delivery crew and they had to put into a harbor in northern California because of bad weather.* The seas were so bad the USCG hauled in a crabber that had literally turned over.* The weather and water was predicted to be bad for the next week or more (this was in July) so our friend told the crew to fly on home to Washington.* What with weather and people's schedules a one week delay became a three week delay and it wasn't until the other week that our friend and a crew could go back down and finish the journey, the last part of which he said would have been almost impossible without the boat's stabilizers.* But by then they were committed with nowhere to run to.

Trucking a GB46 requires the whole top of the boat to be removed which means you then have to put it back.* Every time you remove and replace a flying bridge and other components like handrails and whatnot you run the risk of creating leaks and other problems.* Given the size and power of a GB46, running them up or down the coast in the context of a sale is pretty common.* If conditions cooperate (they rarely do I understand but it can happen) it's only a three or four day run if not less.

The reason the old GB36 we have came on the market in 1998 was the then-current owner had just purchased a GB46 in Vancouver, BC and he didn't want to own two boats.* The selling broker had not yet advertised his GB36 but had called the GB dealer in Bellingham/Seattle asking if they knew anyone who might be interested in the boat.* An hour after the data fax about the boat came in my wife and I walked into the office in Seattle to inquire about the possibility of buying a GB36.* Our offer (which was the same as the seller's price) was sent to the owner on his new boat as he was taking it from BC to Alameda along the coast.

Yes, the semi-submersible transport ship companies like Dockwise are not cheap.* The quote you got is in line with everything I've heard about them.* But when you consider the cost of running a big yacht across the Atlantic or Pacific with the associated potential risks, putting them on a large, ocean-going ship can be a bargain even at tens of thousands of dollars. So it makes a lot of sense for the folks shipping 100 to 200 foot yachts.* For "little" boats like ours, not so much unless money is not a consideration.

*


-- Edited by Marin on Wednesday 25th of August 2010 12:31:47 PM

BaltimoreBlonde wrote:
Do either of you (or anyone else) have a company you can recommend?

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Just my two cents worth. *

Marin brought up Associated Boat Transport. *I have first hand knowledge about Associated as I had my 34' trucked from Tacoma, WA to Brookings, Oregon, about three years ago.


My rationale was that the price of hiring a knowledgeable skipper, coupled with the price of fuel, made the price about the same as trucking. *The biggest selling factor for me was that the boat was (to me) untested in ocean conditions and I didn't want to take the risk of running into a problem. *The sea trials were in the Sound, which is much different than coastal conditions.

Food for thought. *Upon delivery of the boat from Associated, the bill was actually a couple hundred dollars LESS than the agreed price. *Seems they overestimated a couple tolls along the way with the initial price and they deducted the amount.


Good, honest company.




Mike
Brookings, Oregon *

*

I haven't had to truck a boat but I found rave reviews online for this company

Piazza & Sons Trucking
530-644-8367
Website: yacht-transport.com
Specializing in large boats in the western US

I emailed them for a quote a few weeks ago*when I was considering a boat in So Cal that I would have needed brought here (SF Bay area) somehow.* "Betty" called back shortly thereafter and very nice and helpful.* I did not have all the info needed for a quote (like the height of the vessel)*and I did not follow through on it aswe are*going with a local boat.*

We helped a friend buy a sailboat in San Diego and he hired a delivery skipper we are all friends with to*bring it up the coast.* I believe it was October.* The weather was ok but there were several mechanical issues with the boat that the surveyor missed which led to some harrowing moments (bobbing in the Long Beach channel in the middle of the night with no lights, no electronics, no motor) and made for a longer trip than he expected.**The*only two people*I know who have taken a boat all the way from Southern California to Seatlle by sea were on large (55 ft+) very well*equipped boats (including stabilizers, as mentioned before).* I will probably see the delivery skipper this weekend and I can ask him about the Davidson currents, unless you have already decided shipping is the better option?

Best of Luck to you!

We are actually still negotiating to buy the boat, and we definitely have not decided on how we will get it where we want it.
I have written to Associated Boats to see if I can get an idea of what they would charge, and of course, they need the height of the boat as well. So my next task is to get that piece of information.
I would love to hear what your delivery skipper has to say about the Davidson current, and would be most grateful to you for asking.

Keep this in mind, get an estimate for the transport up the coast maybe you can find a boat you can afford or want to buy already in or near Seattle. You will have X number of dollars, saved on freight, more to spend up there on a boat. Save lots of worrying and be boating sooner too.
I am not familiar with the boat market in Seattle area but there seem to be a lot of trawler owners up there.
Good luck
Steve W

Based on my observations the two most popular types of cruising power boats in this area (PNW) are the so-called "trawlers" (GB, Island Gypsy, Krogen, Fleming, De Fever, the various Taiwan makes, etc.); and the so-called "go fast" cruisers like Bayliner, Tollycraft, SeaRay, Meridian, Selene, etc.

Runner-up for a spot in the top two are the so-called "tugs," primarily Nordic Tug and American Tug with a few of the high-end Victory Tugs thrown in for good measure.

I suppose you could question whether boats like the Selene are properly classed as "go fast" but most of the operators drive them along at a pretty good, giant-wake-making clip so that's where I put them.

All three categories have a lot of examples for sale all the time, in every age, condition, and price you can imagine.

But...... in 1998 boats like Grand Banks commanded much higher used prices in the PNW than anywhere else because these boats are so well suited for cruising the inside waters between Olympia, WA and Glacier Bay, AK. Our old '73 boat cost a bunch of thousands of dollars less in Alameda, CA than the same boat would have cost here in the Puget Sound area simply because of the very high demand for these boats up here at that time. In fact the cost difference more than covered the trucking cost from California with enough money left over to do a lot of equipment upgrades.

I'm guessing the situation might still be somewhat the same despite the economy--- the broker who helped us find our boat just bought a 1990s GB46 in beautiful condition with all sorts of extras including active stabilizers for WAY less than the same boat would have cost up here.

There are major marinas in Tacoma, Des Moines, Seattle (inluding two big ones on the Sound and several big ones on Lake Union and the Ship Canal), Edmonds, Everett (the largest marina on the west coast), Anacortes, Bellingham, and Blaine. In between all these are a bunch of smaller marinas in the San Juan Islands and out in places like Port Orchard, Bremerton, Poulsbo, La Conner, Olympia, Port Townsend, etc. All these marinas have tons of boats for sale and there are lots of local brokers plus FSBO boats.

If you add in the greater Vancouver, BC area I daresay you can find any kind of boat you want from a clapped out Bayliner runabout to a 200-plus-foot yacht.

The boat we are considering is a Nordhavn. Anyone have any thoughts about them?

great boats... which model?
HOLLYWOOD

our friend who is the delivery skipper was not at the yacht club this weekend*but he is supposed to be at our club cruise out*Labor Day*weekend so I will ask him about the currents and the trip up the coast!

(fixed my weekend references in two tries).
-- Edited by Pineapple Girl on Sunday 29th of August 2010 06:14:10 PM

-- Edited by Pineapple Girl on Sunday 29th of August 2010 06:15:10 PM

We are looking at a 2003 46, no flybridge.

Thank you, Jennifer. I look forward to hearing what your friend has to say.

Hello --

I have made the trip both ways.* We lived aboard sailboats (A 37 ft Rafiki and a 34 ft Colombia for 12 years before buying our powerboat) and were on vacation in CAtalina when it started raining.* I saw a 55 foot American Marine Alaskan for sale on Lake Union in Seattle.*We flew up to see the boat and boat it. We spent a month prepping her, on weekends, and then brought her down the coast with 5 people on board.* August of 1994.* Non stop...* Five and a half days. Straight to Ventura... My wife would tell you it was the trip of a lifetime.* We went 50 miles out and stayed out till we got to Point Conception...* I came within 6 miles of that as we rounded the corner...

In 2002 we retired and brought the boat back up to Seattle. Although at a much slower pace.* We left on October 1st, spent a month in Catalina.* Left Catalina and went to Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Coho, San Luis, Morro Bay, San Simeon, Monterey, Pillar Point, and then under the Gate and in to San Francisco for several days around Thanksgiving.* We wintered on the guest dock at Oxbox Marina in Isleton, up in the Delta.* My wife's parent's live nearby.

On May 1st, 2003;*we left and harbor hopped all the way up to Pleasant Harbor on the Hood Canal.* We took our time because we weren't delivering the boat but instead enjoying every minute of the trip...* It got a little rough in some places ( North of Bodega Bay, Cape Mendocino, and off the Colombia River) but we were never in any danger.* And we met many people along the way that were doing the coast either going north or going south for Mexico.

You need to be confident with your navigation and you shouldn't be on a tight time schedule....** We chose to delay leaving from Newport, OR to Tillamook, OR one Saturday because of rough weather.* Later that afternoon 10 people were killed as the F/V Tacky Too was swamped leaving Tillamook. Use good judgement...

We live in Washington now..* I sold the 55 but i'm looking for another wood GB...* I even like the 32.* And I'm going to go down to San Diego to look at two of them.* And my wife and I are both looking forward to another "trip of a lifetime".

Also, for whatever it is worth, the people that bought our Alaskan hired a captain and took her to Alameda as a liveaboard.*

If you have the time and the knowledge I say take it on it's own bottom.* If you don't then do something different.

Would you trust yourself to circumnavigate Vancouver Island?* If your answer is no then throw it on a truck...

I'm happy to share anything else you may want to know anout the trip.

Good luck,

Neal

BB,The 46 Nordhavn is the only NH I like but I'm quite opinionated. It looks like the designer of the 46 was trying to design the best possible passagemaker while all the rest of the NHs are/were trying to be most vouge and pretentious. The lines aren't graceful on all the other NH boats and visual mass seems to be displaced in the wrong places. The stern of the 46 isn't perfect but the rest of it is enough perfect to put it at the head of the class as a coastal cruiser and high up there as a passagemaker. The 46 is a full displacement boat, not a bit over powered and about the perfect size for serious cruising. Sometimes I pic up my Voyaging Under Power book just to look at the wonderful picture of the NH 46 on the cover. Of course I'm envious your'e even in a position to be looking for such a beautiful/wonderful boat. There are those that are critical of the 46 and may have good points to make but the NH 46 is WAAAAY up there on my list. Please keep us posted.

I spoke to my delivery skipper freind briefly on Saturday and he said that yes there are currents that go north at certain times of year but they are not on the surface so they don't do*you any*good.* So don't plan your trip based on that.** Sorry I could not think of any other intelligent things to ask him which might have helped you, I'd had some wine by then and was in party mode.

Neal has some good advice as far as not trying to stick to a timeline and watching your weather windows.*

Later Saturday we were talking to friends that raced their 42' sailboat from San Francicsco*to Santa Barbara in June.* They brought it back*from Santa Barbara to Morro Bay, left it for a bit due to crew work schedules, left it awhile longer due to weather, then saw a window where weather looked good and people were available and got it from Morro Bay to Half Moon Bay.* Our friend said that was the highest fuel burn per hour he ever had as they were hammering hard to get back before the weather took a turn.**

I think we are all anxious to hear what you decide to do!

nomadwilly wrote:"There are those that are critical of the 46 and may have good points to make but the NH 46 is WAAAAY up there on my list."

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An old friend of mine had a NH46 and cruised it all over Mexico and Central America. Although the interior* (room) was somewhat limited (for a 46 footer) both he and his wife loved the boat and felt very safe. I have always admired its lines and it would be way up on my list too.


*

SeaHorse II wrote:An old friend of mine had a NH46 and cruised it all over Mexico and Central America. Although the interior* (room) was somewhat limited....

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Years ago my wife and I and a couple of friends attended the Seattle Boats Afloat show on Lake Union.* One of the boats on display was a then-new*Nordhavn model (I don't remember which one).* When somebody remarrked at the relatively small size of the spaces in the boat, we were told that Nordhavn did/does this deliberately.*

The theory, it was explained to us, is that if you are making an ocean passage and the weather turns nasty, you don't want to be trying to make your way around in a boat with big open spaces in it.* Better to be in smaller spaces where it's easier to brace*yourself against a bulkhead or the side of a companionway or have a grabrail handy to catch yourself rather than risk taking a major tumble*across a big, open*salon or whatever.

How much of this is true or not I have*no way of knowing, but if it actually*is a design consideration of Nordhavn I can see the sense in it.*

Marin wrote:


SeaHorse II wrote:An old friend of mine had a NH46 and cruised it all over Mexico and Central America. Although the interior* (room) was somewhat limited....

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Years ago my wife and I and a couple of friends attended the Seattle Boats Afloat show on Lake Union.* One of the boats on display was a then-new*Nordhavn model (I don't remember which one).* When somebody remarrked at the relatively small size of the spaces in the boat, we were told that Nordhavn did/does this deliberately.*

The theory, it was explained to us, is that if you are making an ocean passage and the weather turns nasty, you don't want to be trying to make your way around in a boat with big open spaces in it.* Better to be in smaller spaces where it's easier to brace*yourself against a bulkhead or the side of a companionway or have a grabrail handy to catch yourself rather than risk taking a major tumble*across a big, open*salon or whatever.

How much of this is true or not I have*no way of knowing, but if it actually*is a design consideration of Nordhavn I can see the sense in it.*
Pacific Seacraft sail boats, designed by Bill Crealock are all that way for the same reasons you mentioned.

*

SeaHorse II wrote:

*
nomadwilly wrote:"There are those that are critical of the 46 and may have good points to make but the NH 46 is WAAAAY up there on my list."

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I couldn't agree more... the NH46 has proven itself time and time again as a proven passage maker, the boat is designed to take on weather, many of the current mainstream " passage makers " need a lot more work to them to really be considered a blue water boat.... offshore two key items a proper passage maker needs are stability and wave protection for the glass... both items don't help sell boats though. No offense to the Selene owners but I would be way more comfortable on a older NH46 for a blue water passage than a new Selene.... but for just cruising the Northwest the Selene would be really nice. Every boat is a compromise...

Thanks for the explanation of why the current is not mentioned more frequently. I knew there had to be a good reason!

I am delighted to read all the comments about the 46. We are hoping to eventually take it to the South Pacific, so we were looking for a real passagemaker. These boats are designed for that, and one does give up a bit of space in exchange.
It is true, everything is a compromise. I must say that when I look at photos of really huge yachts, with more floor space in the salon than we have in the living room at home, I have always wondered how the owners would manage to cross the space in a storm...not to mention wondering why they want that much space. I am concerned that we might have more than we need on the 46.

The continuing saga of the boat: Our offer has been accepted, and Ron is going to California next week for the survey and sea trial. Assuming that everything is good, I will go out the first weekend of October for the closing. We will probably keep it in California until next Spring, with frequent trips* to California over the winter for play dates for him and the boat. I am still working, so my trips will not be so frequent. We think we will take it North next Spring, so I am really enjoying the comments about trips you all have taken. Please continue with your comments, advice,* and stories!

BB,On page 4 of Voyagers and other Boaters *... I posted a rather long thread (for this forum) on a trip up the coast from Puget Sound to SE Alaska. I'd be flattered if you were to read it.

An off comments!* Make sure the boat is PNWcold/rainy winter ready.* Many California boats are not as they* lack enough heat and leak in the 9 months of rain.* Out boat was from California, no heat with several leaks.* The Webasto Diesel boiler heat cost 15 grand and I did 90% of the work.*


*
So what are you planning on doing with the boat?* Most PNW boaters do not need a capable boat like the Nord!* There are plenty of trawler for sale up here in the Puget Sound? ***
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*

Phil Fill wrote:


Make sure the boat is PNWcold/rainy winter ready.* Many California boats are not as they* lack enough heat and leak in the 9 months of rain.

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Good advice, other than it actually rains 12 months, not 9.

Our boat spent its whole life in California before we bought it.* As such, it never had any heat installed on it at all.* It still doesn't.* We plan to someday but today we make do in the winter with a portable propane heater that does a reasonably good job but has a number of drawbacks.

If one plans to boat year round up here, on-board heat is pretty much a necessity.* However I would think a Nordhavn would have this from the outset.

Phil is also correct in his assessment of boat requirements in the PNW.* Unless you intend to go offshore into the Pacific a lot, a Nordhavn is sort of overkill, although if one likes the boat and can afford it it doesn't really matter.* I know a fellow who communtes to work in 30mph traffic jams in an Aston Martin Vantage.* It works for him.....

Nordhavns are relatively few and far between up here.* Most common*production*power boats*are Bayliners, Tollycrafts, Nordic Tugs, Grand Banks, CHBs, Island Gypsies, Ocean Alexanders, deFevers,*and so on.* We are seeing more Selenes up here now, too.



-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 9th of September 2010 06:57:42 PM

Heavens!* Methinks thou doth protest too much! Could it be that you want to keep all that beautiful cruising water to yourself?* I was there in July and it was gorgeous, sunny, and hot!* I "sailed"* in the San Juans for 2 weeks some years ago when there was no wind, and we never saw a raindrop.* So I know it can be nice, in spite of what you say!* I share your love of rain and fog, actually. I grew up in upstate New York and wanted to live in Norway. Wound up in Hawaii instead, and the first year I lived there I got depressed from all the sunshine. Twenty-five years of Florida got me used to the sun, but not the heat.*

We want to keep the boat* in the PNW for a* few years while I am still working. Once I can free myself, Ron wants to head to New Zealand. We'll see how long we want to play there, and decide where to head next when we decide to head somewhere. At least that is the plan for the moment.

BaltimoreBlonde wrote:

I was there in July and it was gorgeous, sunny, and hot!* I "sailed"* in the San Juans for 2 weeks some years ago when there was no wind, and we never saw a raindrop.

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I grew up in Hawaii.* Moved there in 1955, left in 1979, and didn't like it all the years in between.* (I liked what I was doing all those years, I just didn't like the place.)

I've lived here now*for 31 years and the weather today is nothing like it was when I moved here.* It rains far more--- not so much*in volume but in terms of time--- than it used to.* And the winds are far higher than they used to be.* For example in Bellingham where we keep our boat, fall winter and spring storms march in almost continuously with perhaps a day or two of boatable weather between them.* And the storm winds these days average 40-50 mph with frequent gusts to 70. (The highest wind gust*recorded last winter in Bellingham marina was 86.)

When I moved here my co-workers, many of whom were raised here, complained bitterly about the hot summers that started July 5 and generally ran though Labor Day.* Today the common complaint among everyone, even the TV weather people, is that "This year we didn't even HAVE a summer."

Seriously, though,*the main thing I've noticed, both in boating and in flying, is that this whole region has gotten way more windy.* The typical wind forecast some ten, twelve years ago was 5 to 15.* Today the typical wind forecast is 15 to 25 and we have a lot of days when it's up to 30 and 35.* That's in the nice months.* Just this past weekend two boats were caught in viscious winds that came up apparently unforcast.* The wind went from 5 to what, 45, 50? in minutes.* The seas (according to the blurb in the paper) went from rippled to eight foot waves almost instantly.* One boat, a vintage wood sailboat, was abandonned when the crew elected to be rescued by USCG helicopter rather than risk what might happen to the sailboat in the waves.** The boat subsequently ended up on the rocks.* The other boat, a powerboat, ran out of fuel from fighting the waves and had to be towed in.* The Vessel Assist skipper who came out said he'd rarely seen conditions so bad in the past.

I don't know why the wind has become a so much greater factor the past few years.* While we use our boat as much as we ever have in the 12 years we've owned it--- which is to say almost every weekend year round even if it's just going up and*staying on it---- we have noticed that more and more often over the last few years*our plans to go out for a weekend*are disrupted by higher and higher winds.

If your boat has stabilizers I guess it won't make much difference what the wind is doing. But if it doesn't, be prepared for some rough rides, particularly on the more open bodies of water.

*


-- Edited by Marin on Friday 10th of September 2010 03:54:18 PM

THe boat does have stabilizers, but even so....I* hope we do not have to contend with wind like that too often!* Maybe the weather patterns will change again, and weather will be more agreeable.* I am sorry to hear about the vintage sail boat.

We seem to have more days that are not good days to go out, too. I keep reading about the wonderful sailing in this area, and wonder when the last time the writer actually tried to do any sailing. Or maybe I am just pickier (wiser?) than I used to be.

Since we do not have to keep the boat in any particular place, if choice A turns out not to be ideal, we can try choice B.

IIRC Nordhavns are not particularly fast boats. So if you do decide to keep it in the PNW for awhile you might think about keeping it up north rather than down south in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett area. By keeping our 8-knot boat in Belligham the whole of the San Juans are within easy reach even for a two-day weekend trip. If we kept the boat in the Seattle area, we'd be visiting the San Juans (or farther north) maybe once or twice a year on vacations. A weekend will barely let an 8-knot boat get in sight of the islands and then you have to turn around and go home.

We chose Belligham because we'd chartered out of there and so had some sense of the town. Plus it's a university town (Western Washington University) so it has the vibrancy that only comes with the presence of a college.

But Anacortes is also a good location, down at the south end of the San Juans.

For the first two years we had our boat while we were on the waiting list for a slip (which around here these days can be a three to five year wait) we sublet a slip from a fellow who took his boat every winter over to a marina near Sidney on Vancouver Island. By taking his boat out of the state for six months of the year he avoided paying the state's mandatory annual registration fee (and there may have been some tax benefits, too).

I don't know if you would be living up here too or simply keeping the boat here. If you're just going to keep the boat here it might be worthwhile to keep it in Canada, like over on Vancouver Island. I have no idea of the costs or what sort of regulations there are on non-Canadians keeping a boat full time in Canada. But over there you're even closer to better cruising waters. And it's no more of a hassle to fly into YVR as SEA. Actually in my experience YVR is a lot less hassle.

Having flown pretty much every inch of waterway between Seattle and Juneau, I can tell you that the farther north you go the better it all gets. Eric Henning on this forum can attest to that. My wife and I have left Petersburg in SE Alaska in the morning after a couple weeks camping and fishing to fly back to Lake Washington in one long day (a Beaver is a very slow plane). On a couple of very rare occasions it was nice and clear the entire 800 miles or whatever it is. But after a couple of weeks in SE Alaska and up the Stikine River deep into the Coast Range in that clear air and stunning scenery, by the time we got to the Gulf Islands in lower BC, the San Juans up ahead looked pathetic. Little flat things half-hidden in a haze of pollution. Yet if we had never gone north, we would have thought the same day out in the San Juans was absolutley gorgeous.

So in my opinon, the farther north you can keep a boat and still have it convenient to get to the better, particularly if it's a relatively slow boat.


-- Edited by Marin on Saturday 11th of September 2010 10:14:49 AM