For those planning an Alaskan trip.

A C-Dory would have made that wave look like a rock ripple in a Georgia pond on a lazy Sunday afternoon
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I've actually been in Lituya Bay in a commercial fishing boat. Most C-Dorys are unlikely to ever make it there due to its remote location between Glacier Bay and Yakutat in the Gulf of Alaska.
 
I know Ken has to be joking as Lituya Bay may as well be Mars - it redefines the middle of nowhere to a whole new level. With that said, if my boat could carry enough fuel to get there, and had the weather window, it's a beautiful spot I'd love to explore. With that said, I think I could get there, but wouldn't have enough gas to get back....
 
I think that a displacement speeds from SE AK, Lituya Bay would be "doable"--perhaps some extra fuel. But those bladder tanks are not for ethanol laced fuel...and take up most of the cockpit....
 
They do make bladder tanks that are rated for 10% ethanol. More expensive, and ethanol-free gas is getting pretty hard to find here in Washington, so you’d want to spring for the rated bladders.
 
The standard plan would be to drop some fuel with a landing craft or an airplane prior to your trip. You gotta trust that nobody poached them, and that a bear didn't go chew on it!
 
Kushtaka":1xxq3o0w said:
The standard plan would be to drop some fuel with a landing craft or an airplane prior to your trip. You gotta trust that nobody poached them, and that a bear didn't go chew on it!
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The above posters are missing the obvious.
 
Even a CD22 might be OK on fuel, maybe with an extra jug or two. Our tank was 58 gallons, and even with a two-stroke we got 3 nmpg. Round trip from nearest fuel at Elfin Cove looks to be about 130 nm.

I've thought about taking the Nordic Tug up to Lituya Bay from Cross Sound, and have spoken with folks in a similar-sized boat who have made the trip. It's quite a few miles of big water open to NW through SE, with no place to hide. Lots of beam seas possible. I'd want several days of a pretty good weather forecast and moderate swells.

Another major consideration is that the entrance is constricted, and has strong tidal currents, up to 5 knots or so. I'd be sure to time it to avoid a strong ebb opposed to a W wind or SW swell - could be pretty nasty.

So far, have not tried it.
 
NewMoon":28h4poie said:
Another major consideration is that the entrance is constricted, and has strong tidal currents, up to 5 knots or so. I'd be sure to time it to avoid a strong ebb opposed to a W wind or SW swell - could be pretty nasty.
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edited due to premature post!

This is a very important point! You would ideally plan this trip to enter and exit the bay during neap tides at a slack high tide. In a CD22 you should be able to enter the bay easily enough, as you would enter a bar entrance, using the boat's speed and maneuverability to stay between waves. Getting out is going the be a different story if the seas and tides are fighting. This is def a doable trip. It isn't that far, and if you have a life raft and an epirb, and are ready to spend 2-3x your scheduled cruise you can do this safely.

But why?

A CD22 isn't the boat I would pick for this trip. But I would pick a CD22 for a trip through Glacier Bay. You could spend a lifetime there and not explore the whole thing. You can anchor in one spot and see new things every day without moving. It's a very cool place, and worth spending some time. There are resources around, it's a much easier rescue if things to go wrong, and there is a lot more room to explore. I can't really think of a reason I'd take my CD22 past Glacier Bay for a trip to a small inlet through the Gulf of Alaska.
 
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