Prince Rupert launching/parking

P

Pandion

New member
Revisiting a 14-year-old question from Dr. Bob (in another thread I've been unable to respond to, due to some kind of glitch):

thataway":22ki9ezp said:
Any good tips on good secure truck and trailer storage in Prince Rupert?
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I’m researching a possible trip to SE Alaska this summer, and it appears as though the fastest and most economical way to get my boat there from Seattle will be to trailer up to Prince Rupert.

Do any of you have any thoughts on the drive north, and on launching and secure long-term parking for truck and trailer in Prince Rupert?

Thanks for your help.
 
We researched long term parking in PR last year. Per Wagoners we contacted Coastal Propane. Initially they told us they no longer provided the service. After exhausting other possibilities I contacted them again to see if they could recommend any other other options. They then said they could accommodate our truck and trailer and made reservations. Upon arrival in PR they then told me they could not honor my reservations. (Although fenced, the place is a junkyard, quite full of dilapidated vehicles/junk). Wagoners needs to remove from their guide. The only option for parking I could find was the unsecured, short term city truck and trailer parking near the launch. It was for a maximum of 7 days with threat of fine and towing. I did launch and made a quick trip to Prince of Wales Is, returned to PR and drove to AK as a backup. Very disappointed in PR but thankful was able to salvage the spring with a month in Prince William Sound out of Valdez.
 
Andy, we’ve made many trips over the past 25 years either to or from Alaska & Yukon or Prince Rupert. As for as the road north nothing is worse by far then just getting through the general Seattle area. Once into Canada the roads are very good other than the narrow curves along the Fraser River with its heavy truck traffic & the last maybe 75 miles or so before Prince Rupert. Though that section before Prince Rupert may have been improved now as it’s been almost 20 years since we past the cut off from hwy 16 to hw 37, the Cassiar Highway cut off from Kitwanga, which it’s 450 miles connects hwy 16 to the Alaska Highway if headed instead to Skagway, Alaska.

Once at Prince Rupert, the only launch site is at Rushmore Marina & like many others,, our truck storage site was very near there at the propane place, but as per Kenn now, forget about it. One of the main reasons we have continued to return to Skagway instead of Prince Rupert is the difference between the two in storage, launch & other helpful services being so much better at Skagway. Matt, the harbor master & his crew have always been extremely helpful & the drive there, though remote, beautiful & in many ways beyond compare. Or as Ken did, continue on to Valdez, but as far as storage, launch, services, beautiful varied cruising & a medium road trip nothing will beat Skagway. I’ve also seen much of the Prince William Sound & prefer SE Alaska.

Jay
 
I would just launch out of Washington and go on the hull. It only adds 2 to three days if you just push thru. Doubt you are saving a lot money wise going to PR but that just depends on where you are coming from.
 
I agree with Tom. At this point for me if we still are able to continue making trips to SE Alaska it will be either be from Washington or another road trip to Skagway, Alaska. Though, I would only do one trip from Washington & that’s just to see the parts of British Columbia not seen yet, such as from Nanaimo to Prince Rupert. Other than that, I like the road trip to Skagway & prefer launching there with the closeness in my opinion of the best parts of SE Alaska close to it.

If I lived in Washington near or on the Pugent Sound, instead of Wyoming, most likely, I’d be heading to SE Alaska every year from there.

Jay
 
Andy, if you are able to figure out the parking in PR, it is an easy two day trailer there from WA, as it was for me from north ID. A good halfway point to overnight is the Discovery Centre parking lot in Williams Lake.

http://www.williamslake.ca/466/Tourism-Discovery-Centre

I did not mean to hammer PR. Beautiful place and nice drive. I think part of their problem was businesses were trying to recover from the pandemic and hard shutdowns. Hopefully some of that has occurred and they are better prepared this spring.

As Jay mentioned Skagway is very user friendly and on our future bucket list as a launch point for northern SE AK. If interested in Prince William Sound, Port of Valdez provides an awesome service. Even though we spent most of our time camped out on the Sound, we paid for a slip for the month. $240/ mo covered secure long term truck and trailer parking, slip with water/power, launch/recovery fees and wash down rack. All services within short walking distances.

I’m sure it is cost prohibitive, but the Alaska Ferry system has restarted service from PR to Ketchikan. Might be cheaper than long term parking in PR. 😉 Ken
 
Ken, that is sure a good deal for all combined, slip, power & truck trailer storage at Valdez. About twice that for a month at Yellowstone Lake. And double again if doing on a daily basis less than a month.

Jay
 
Jay, Yellowstone was so much fun last summer with grandsons, we have a slip and campsite reserved again this summer. Keep warm. Only single digits below zero here🙂
 
Thanks gentlemen! Lots of good ideas. I'll address them—out of order.

starcrafttom":2bsw99e0 said:
I would just launch out of Washington and go on the hull. It only adds 2 to three days if you just push thru. Doubt you are saving a lot money wise going to PR but that just depends on where you are coming from.
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Doing it all on my hull is certainly worthy of consideration, Tom. I've been to Prince Rupert on the water, twice (from Lake Washington and Anacortes). PR is roughly 650 miles, from Anacortes. Even assuming good weather and an easy crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait, I doubt I would average more than 12 knots. If I put in 12-hour days, that would be about 54 hours of travel, or 4.5 days, best case. I try to have my engines serviced every 100 hours, so by the time I reached PR I would already be more than halfway to that mark.

On the other hand, driving from Everett to Prince Rupert is about 1,000 miles, and by all accounts a do-able two-day trip—with zero miles on my outboards. (I have good relations with outboard shops in Ketchikan and Petersburg, and frankly, I'm intimidated by the idea of doing self-service on my engines with the boat in the water; but maybe it's not as difficult as I'm making it out to be.)

Hunkydory":2bsw99e0 said:
... One of the main reasons we have continued to return to Skagway instead of Prince Rupert is the difference between the two in storage, launch & other helpful services being so much better at Skagway.
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Thanks Jay. Everett to Skagway is about 1,600 miles—which would add another 1,200 miles (over PR) to my roundtrip highway travel. From Skagway, it's about 140 miles down to the entrance to Tracy and Endicott Arms, which is where I expect to do most of my boating. (Jay, it was your encouragement that led me to explore Ford's Terror in 2019, and I want to go back.) But if it works out that I've got time to visit Sitka and Glacier Bay, an approach from Skagway might make more sense.

As Ken and Jay have pointed out, finding long-term parking in Prince Rupert may be challenging. I have a call in to Bridgeview Marine (thanks, Ken, for the suggestion) to see if storage there is a possibility. If that doesn't work, I may take out an ad in the local paper to see if someone in PR can rent me room in their driveway. That failing, motoring up from Anacortes or driving to Skagway may become a lot more attractive.

Thanks again, guys. I appreciate the thoughtful advice.
 
It was actually Richards good idea to try Bridgview Marine. Please let us know what you learn about potential options in PR. Driving to and launching from PR is the best option for us from a time and cost perspective also. We have friends in Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Is that we could visit more often if only there was long term parking in PR.

Last spring we also talked with the PR Chamber of Commerce. They gave us a few leads with local business and individuals but nothing panned out. It seems that the community caters much more to sport fisherman than long term cruisers. Hope you are successful. Ken
 
kennharriet":2enohevs said:
It was actually Richards good idea to try Bridgview Marine.
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Oops, so it was. Thanks Richard, and sorry for the omission. I was a little bleary-eyed when I made that last post. I will let you all know how my PR parking quest progresses.
 
Already got answers back from both. Looks like both can provide storage.

The first one was from Ocean Trailer . com. They replied: "Our new yard should be completed in April and yes we will have lots of secure parking available. We would charge based on $400 per month, payable by credit card.

The second came from Cassiar Cannery: "Hi Colby:

We do store people’s trailers and sometimes trucks. It would be $200 a month plus tax for a truck and trailer. It would be stored behind a gate where we live. We have dogs. We haven’t had a problem before.

Best,

Justine


I just got another reply from Ocean Trailer that said: "We can fix any issues on your trailers too if needed."

So that looks like two locations in or near Prince Rupert. (I think one of them was in Port Edward.) Colby
 
NewMoon":145kzu4d said:
You might try Bridgeview Marine in Prince Rupert. Their website mentions boat storage.

https://bridgeviewmarine.com/boat-storage/
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Bingo! Thanks for the suggestion, Richard!

I just got off the phone with Miranda, office manager at Bridgeview Marine, who took my reservation for long-term parking this summer. Miranda sounded very reliable and assured me that they will be able to honor the reservation when I show up in PR, in late June or early July. I offered to put down a deposit; she said it wasn't necessary.

They will charge me $175 CAN a month ($131.59 USD as of this writing) to park my Ford Explorer and the trailer for my 22-foot C-Dory.

Miranda did say Bridgeview Marine has limited storage space, so if anyone wants to get on their reservation list for the coming summer, I would suggest getting in touch with her asap:

Bridgeview Marine
rupertsales@bridgeviewmarine.com
Office Manager Miranda
Prince Rupert: 250-624-5809

Just to be on the safe side, I intend to check in with her at least once a month, to be sure nothing has changed, and that my reservation is still in force.

Miranda also told me I'll be able to wash down my trailer at the facility after launching. Incidentally, Bridgeview Marine is a seven-minute drive from the Rushbrook Harbour boat ramp.

Thanks very much to everyone who has offered advice on this thread. Once again, C-Brats has come through for me. You guys are great.
 
An update on summer truck and trailer parking in the Prince Rupert area:

After rethinking the logistics of launching my boat in the Prince Rupert area this summer, and getting truck and trailer back to a storage area, I contacted Justine at the Cassiar Cannery, at Port Edward, B.C. (Thanks Colby for the earlier research you did on Cassiar Cannery and Ocean Trailer as possible storage sites.)

As Colby noted, Cassiar Cannery is offering storage for truck and trailer at $200 CAN a month; and Justine has kindly offered shuttle service to and from her location to the nearest boat launch, at the Port Edward Marina.

The biggest factors in my decision to launch at Port Edward are (1) Justine's enthusiasm for the project, and (2) the likelihood that the alternative—the Rushmore boat ramp in Prince Rupert—is likely to be a zoo at that time of year (just before Canada Day).

I'll keep you all posted on the wisdom of this choice.
 
The boat ramp in Port Edward is very steep and narrow. Definitely do not launch there at low tide as you can get your trailer stuck in a hole at the bottom of the ramp and then you won't get your trailer out. People have had their vehicles submerged at this ramp when they got stuck and the tide came in!
 
KevinDU":2x9zgnu3 said:
The boat ramp in Port Edward is very steep and narrow. Definitely do not launch there at low tide as you can get your trailer stuck in a hole at the bottom of the ramp and then you won't get your trailer out. People have had their vehicles submerged at this ramp when they got stuck and the tide came in!
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Invaluable information. Thanks Kevin, I’ll be sure to launch on a high tide.
 
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