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Our 26-footer's electronics (Garmin, Icom, Furuno, Simrad) have stayed in the boat with the smart charger hooked up for 19 winters with no issues. Often in the teens, occasionally -10.

We anchored our CD22 many times in WA, BC, and SE Alaska without a windlass. 11 lb Bruce, 16? feet of 1/4" chain, and 7/16" double-braid rope. Did not seem difficult at all, but I was younger then.

I pulled some population numbers from a Southeast Alaska website a few years ago. Juneau was around 32,000. Ketchikan 14K. Sitka 9-10K. Total for SE AK only about 65-70K. Midway up Vancouver Island, Campbell River is about 35K. Prince Rupert is 12-15K. All the rest between CR and the top of...

Another fog technique we used in our CD22 (without radar, unfortunately): We had a VHF radio with a hailer function. In hailer mode, when the transmit button was not pressed, it was a listener. It was very good at picking up noises out ahead - such as the quiet lapping of a boat headed toward us.

Crossing the Dixon Entrance between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan We leave as soon as it's light enough to see wood on the water, and go slow at least until it's fully light. We go through Venn Passage coming out of PR - saves a lot of time, but we do need to follow the safe route carefully...

Hi Colby, We are on our way across the Dixon Entrance, from Ketchikan to PR right now. This is our 30th crossing, counting both directions. 83 nm by the shortest route. Wait for the right weather and it's no big deal. Consider wind vs tidal current when you analyze the situation. Running down...

Used our kicker to get to safety at least 6-7 times in 45k nm cruising our small boats over 25 years. Several times due to kelp blocking water intakes, with onshore wind and rocky shore, or strong currents creating a hazard. Also thanks to belt tensioner and other mechanical failures on our...

Our first AK trip in 96, we towed our CD22 to Prince Rupert and spent two months on the water. We did not know what our fuel range was, but found out by running it nearly out, then watching how many gallons it took to get to each mark on the gauge. I'd suggest this would be worth doing...

FWIW, Deka (Duracell labeled) g31 AGM's are $180 USD at Sam's Club. I've had great luck with them. My first Deka g31 AGM house bank lasted 11 summers. I might skip the extra weight of the second starting batt. With the right switches and wiring, even somewhat lighter wiring from the house...

Not Gel - Gel's make great house banks for those with sophisticated charging systems, but they require lower charging voltages that an outboard will not deliver.

Hi Harvey, I'm having a hard time imagining what the logic of putting hard bottom paint on a C-Dory would be. It builds up with each additional application, unless you do a considerable amount of sanding etc to remove. No benefit for all that additional work that I can see, on a planing hull...

In my experience, radial trailer tires run smoother, wear more evenly, and last much longer. Don't forget to have them balanced.

Hi Harvey, Thanks for the kind words! I did not produce a version specific to Kindle, Apple, or Android. But I have the PDF on my Kindle, and that works. Have not tried it, but I'm pretty sure the PDF would be readable on my Android phone. Sorry I don't speak Apple.

Hi Dave, We started out with a C-Dory 22 Cruiser. After building our skills on big lakes, the San Juan and Gulf Islands, and further north inside Vancouver Island, she took us for two months cruising SE Alaska. Two adults, with an occasional third as guest. Lots of fishing and crabbing too...

FWIW, On our first SE Alaska cruise, our CD22 had a decent radio and chartplotter (though "selective availability" still made our position accurate only to within a few hundred feet). No radar. We did OK. We didn't learn how far we could travel on a tank of fuel until we were forced to...

Update on Anan: after July 1 (if I remember correctly) a permit is required, as of the last 2 years at least. Not sure how tough it is to get one. In 2015 spoke with the Forest Service rangers out of Wrangell who manage Anan, and they said there would be few bears to see much earlier, as the...

A few notes on various ways to wander around SE Alaska: In our trailer cruisers, we like to start by launching in Prince Rupert, head through Venn Passage and then NW past Green Island to the NE corner of Dundas Island. If weather is deteriorating, we might stop for the night in Brundige...

Hi Colby, If you send me your email address, I could send you our list of SE AK anchorages we've developed over 15 trips. With charts and the Douglass cruising guide, could keep you busy reading for a while. We've stayed in most, but not all, of these anchorages, and all the towns/marinas...

I've seen hundreds of aluminum boats on the Inside Passage designed primarily for day-trip fishing. Most of the charter fishing boats in SE Alaska are aluminum. Seems like the simplest approach for a day-after-day hard-working low-maintenance reliable boat. The higher quality ones, and ones...

I found a small bottle of MDR transducer paint at West Marine, which worked very well on New Moon's transom-mount ducer.