New boat owner, here to learn as much as I can.

Not really a trawler, but we bought our first boat sight unseen over the winter in Port Orchard, WA. It's a 1991 10m Cooper Prowler Sundeck that we hope to bring to Alaska this spring via the Inside Passage and across the top of the Gulf of Alaska to her new homeport of Seward if Canada allows it. Otherwise, we might have to barge it up.

Right now I'm planning on spending all of April in WA. getting her ready for the trip. Lots of work to do to make her Alaska ready--a much bigger windlass and anchor plus a lot of chain and rode.

The biggest challenge is going to be figuring out how to add fuel capacity. She's got twin 350 gas Volvo-Pentas and 175 gallons on board. That's not going to be enough to safely make the run from Yakutat to Cordova, so I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I'm here to learn as many tips and tricks as I can about the trip, in particular fuel stops, anchoring spots, etc. on the way up. Also any suggestions for marine services in the Port Orchard area would be greatly appreciated.

Chuck Berray
Anchorage, AK.

Welcome to TF. Looks a nice vessel. It's as close to a trawler as anyone else's to be honest. I'm sure others will advise re the tankage question. Might be good to place a specific request for advice like that in the relevant area of the forum so as to get more views. Eg, 'Power Systems'.

Welcome!

You may find this recent thread relevant to your Gulf of Alaska crossing:

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54832

Welcome. There are some TF'ers here that have crossed the Gulf of Alaska to Seward and Prince William Sound. This is a serious undertaking, especially in a gas boat with limited tankage. Hopefully Kevin Sanders, Alaska Doug, Alaska Prof and possibly others will chime in. There was a recent thread on this that you may be able to find in the archives. Good luck in your travels.

The problem with your boat is it has the oomph to go fast and once you start doing that it's hard to plug along at 8 knots like a trawler. But if you do plug along at 8 knots of course you'll significantly lengthen your range. The reason the trawlers get such great range is of course they are cruising a displacement speeds. Your boat needs the horse power to get up on plane and maintain it.

I have a single gasser, 350 hp new Merc. I have 160 gallon capacity and I recently went through 106 gallons going about 140 miles averaging 22 knots. What's your longest jump?

Welcome aboard. Congrats on your new boat.

Considering that you are going all the way to Cordova, I would exhaust the barge option before I ran her up on her own bottom. Not saying it can’t be done. Just, I think it might be cheaper to barge. Would not be surprised if Insurance required you to use a delivery captain. Add that cost to fuel and you might find the barge cheaper.

As to adding fuel, there are many bladder options. Bladders are between $1,000 and $2,000.

Thanks. I've been following it closely.

It looks like around 260 miles from Yakutat to Cordova would be the longest run between fuel stops. Not gonna make that on 175 gallons.

+1 on the barge idea from Tiltrider. That's what I would do in your position.