Inside Passage Seminar by Fine Edge

Special Program for Inside Passage and Alaska Bound Cruisers
SEMINAR FULL: March 20 (optional), 21, 22, 23 • Anacortes
NEW, SECOND SESSION: April 25, 26, 27 • Anacortes

 

Join us for a comprehensive cruising seminar program designed for those planning to cruise to British Columbia and up the Inside Passage to Southeast Alaska. Cruising experts will present strategies and practical tips for preparing to go, preparing your boat, planning for weather and suggested itineraries. The sessions will discuss the best places to go as well as where to find shrimp, crab, salmon, halibut - and the best restaurants and shopping. Our experts have current information and local knowledge from cruising last season. Slips are available through the Cap Sante Marina harbor office (360-293-0694). For those driving, we have several recommended hotels in Anacortes with discount rates.

Call 360-299-8500, or email seminar@FineEdge.com today to reserve your seats for this event.

 

Call 360-299-8500 to Register

Program Cost: $395 per couple, $225 for individuals

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Schedule

Thursday, March 20, 2014 (optional, March only)

• Diesel engine troubleshooting
• Common diesel engine problems
• Keeping your diesel healthy

Friday, March 21, 2014 | Friday, April 25, 2014

• Registration and Introductions
• Preparing to Cruise North through Southern British Columbia to Johnstone Strait with an understanding of the weather and tidal current gateways and rapids
• Using iPads, tablets and new technology for navigation and weather planning
• Lunch Break
• Johnstone Strait through the Broughton Islands, crossing Queen Charlotte Sound including weather strategies and the best routes.

Saturday, March 22, 2014 | Saturday, April 26, 2014

• Cruising Northern British Columbia - Shearwater to crossing Dixon Entrance
• Entering SE Alaska and on to Ketchikan including Customs information
• Strategies for selecting the best routes for your trip through SE Alaska
• Lunch Break
• Preparing Your boat and crew to cruise the Inside Passage and SE Alaska
• Cruising to Red Bluff Bay, Baranof Warm Springs, Tenakee, Hoonah, and up to Glacier Bay National Park, includes the permitting process and cruising tips for Glacier Bay
• First You Have to Catch It: Fishing, Crabbing & Shrimping along the Inside Passage and in SE Alaska

Sunday, March 23, 2014 | Sunday, April 27, 2014

• More SE Alaska cruising with stops along the west side including: Sitka, Elfin Cove, Pelican Harbor, Hoonah, and outside Chichagof and Baranof Islands
• Alaska passage making south and along the east side including Skagway, Juneau, Sawyer Glacier, Fords Terror, Dawes Glacier and Pybus Cove
• More Cruising in SE Alaska - Southbound through Keku Strait, Petersburg, Wrangell, Anan Bear Observatory, and Misty Fiords
• Lunch Break
• A special guest presentation
• Provisioning Tips for Inside Passage Cruising
• Keys to coming home - Optional Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlottes and return routing and strategies

Call 360-299-8500, or email seminar@FineEdge.com today to reserve your seats for this event.

Sold Boat: 2007 American Tug 34

2007 American Tug 34   Ashika   now Sold!



Equipped with the most popular factory options including: Flag blue hull with a tasteful Champagne Ultrasuede interior. Cummins 380HP electronic common rail engine w/ Cummins spares kit, Espar diesel furnace, 6kw Northern Lights genset w/ spares kit, full height windows in pilothouse doors, bow & stern thruster, dual Racor filters, Magnum Energy power inverter w/ extra battery, split chain locker w/ second roller & spare anchor.



She has an Avon RIB-310 dinghy with an Honda 9.9 4-stroke outboard, hanging on an American Tug factory stainless stern davit.



Her Raymarine navigation suite includes: Raymarine E-120 multifunction display, Ray 125 GPS, 4kw radar, DSM fish finder module w/ high-power transducer, Raymarine ST-8000 series autopilot w/ gyro corepack, ST-60 Tridata & ST-60 Wind instruments. She has an Icom M602 VHF radio. That is a nice set of instruments!

Click here for full details and over 60 photos!

Ashika has been well kept and properly maintained. Call Steve Scruggs, CPYB anytime at 206-321-2164 to see her. Another great boat from Expedition Yacht Sales!

Seattle Boats Afloat - Jan 24 thru Feb 1st

January 24-February 1st on Lake Union at Chandlers Cove

Please come to the boat show and look for our display.  We are very proud to have a pair of brand new American Tugs to show, both launched this winter.





See the new Cookie Too, an American Tug 435 and the new Scarlett, a gorgeous American Tug 395.  We will also be bringing one of our very nice brokerage offerings, a 1990 Grand Banks 42, Pinnacle.

Please note that the Seattle Show has been shortened by one day so we can all watch the Super Bowl and cheer for the Seahawks!

Summer Expedition 2014 to the Broughton's

Explore the Broughton Islands: June 28th through July 14th, 2014

Cruise with friends in the Broughton Island Archipelago.  A loose itinerary allowing lay days, time to explore alone or as a group, to fish, relax and enjoy your tug.

Port Harvey Marine Resort was new on the scenes a few years ago.  George & Gail Cambridge are now known for a friendly reception, pizza at the Red Shoe Restaurant and fresh cinnamon rolls in the morning.  This will be our first stop and meeting point on June 28th, located just off Johnstone Strait.

Sullivan  Bay, BC in the Broughton Islands for Canada Day and/or the 4th of July.  Watch the parade and hit the driving range.  July 1-5, 2014.  This is a fun place to hang out amongst gorgeous scenery and new friends.

Turnbull Cove is an ideal spot for building a “star raft” or “wagonwheel” on July 7th.  A large protected moorage just outside the entrance to Kenneth Passage, one of the prettiest places I have ever been!

 

Nimmo Bay Resort in Mackenzie Sound has extended an invitation to our tug owners for a private fully inclusive dinner on July 8th.  They will send their boat over to Turnbull Cove to pick up those guests that wish a fantastic dining experience in a pristine wilderness.



Let’s visit Jennis Bay Marina and  Drury Inlet on July 10th.  Drury offers wonderful crabbing and kayaking on protected waters.  Jennis Bay Marina is a fun stop with a pot luck led by your host Kim.  A good walk to Huaskin Lake is always a fun adventure.



A trip to the Broughton’s would not be complete without meeting Pierre!  Pierre’s at Echo Bay has invited our group for July 13-14th, with a private Prime Rib dinner on July 14th for our expedition finale and wrap up.



The American Tug Summer Expedition is open to any and all of those in the American Tug family, come and join us.  Call Steve Scruggs at the American Tug factory to sign up.  Join the fun by calling 360-466-2961 or email steve@americantugs.com.

New Publication: The 2014 Waggoner Guide

Fine Edge is now accepting orders for 2014 Waggoner Guide

Last summer Mark Bunzel and Sam Landsman cruised to Alaska and around Vancouver Island to update the Waggoner Guide. Now, after countless hours of work, they are about to send the files off to the printer.

 

 

In addition to the multitude of changes to report on, they've improved the guide in several ways:

• Improved marina diagrams, including additional information on dock numbering/lettering
• Additional area diagrams clarifying where specific marinas are in certain harbors
• Basic distance tables included on many area diagrams
• Several new marinas, anchorages, and attractions are now covered
• More weather tips are included to make cruising safer and more comfortable

The 2014 Waggoner Cruising Guide is available for pre-order now. They will be be shipping by mid-December. Your credit card will not be charged until your order ships

Fine Edge & Waggoner give all my American Tug clients a nice discount on all their fine publications.  Go to: http://www.fineedge.com/americantug/

Thanks Mark!

American Tug Spotters Guide

 Download the American Tug Spotters Guide as a handy reference for your boats pilothouse, identify these great boats at a distance while cruising.  Great boats build in La Conner, WA.

Sold Boat: 2008 American Tug 34

2008 American Tug 34  #119     Calumet        Now SOLD!


This is a very pretty boat!  Flag blue hull with a neutral "papyrus" colored interior.  Powered with the Cummins electronic QSB-380 engine she is a capable semi-displacement hull that is perfect for cruising the northwest waters and Inside Passage to Alaska.

Calumet has all the best factory options including the Buell double trumpet air horns, bow & stern thrusters, full-height glass doors, entertainment package, Magnum Energy 2kw inverter & charger, stainless line and fender racks, line shaft cutter, wood paneling at helm, washer-dryer, and a bunch more.

Fitted with the very nice Steelhead Marine WD-600 hydraulic crane, she carries her Apex A-9 rigid hull inflatable and Tohatsu outboard on the boat deck.

Full details and over 60-photos are here.

Extremely clean and well maintained, she shows a pride of ownership.  Call Steve at 206-930-6139 and arrange a private showing of Calumet.  Located on Trawler Row in La Conner, she is listed with American Tugs & Trawlers, the factory dealership.   steve@americantugs.com

Changes to the Buoys on the Swinomish Channel

The American Tugs are built in the small town of La Conner, Washington.  A rural farming and fishing community located along the banks of the Swinomish Channel. The Channel is a navigable waterway that links Puget Sound to the San Juan Islands area north of The Strait of Juan De Fuca. 

The significance of the Channel is that it is navigable year round, and in all weather.  When the Straits are really rough, the Channel is a safe alternative.

When heading towards port we all remember to use the "Red Right Returning" which means we keep the red buoys on your right hand side when returning to port... well the Swinomish has always had a bit of weirdness.  The Town of La Conner would be the Port, but there are harbor entrances to both the north and south.  The point of convergence (where the buoys changed from red on the right to green on the right) was actually a couple of miles north of town and not at the Port itself.

American Tug 41 - Intermezzo next to one of the culprit marks

The Coast Guard is now changing the convergence to the Town of La Conner.  I am very happy to see this change.  The old point of convergence was literally in my back yard as I live on the Channel, boaters would stop, circle around, try to pass between a green buoy and the very close shoreline.  It was very confusing to many boaters (those not using a chart...) as the color of buoys changed for no logical reason.

The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing changes to the buoyage in Swinomish Channel. The following excerpt and graphic are from the Local Notice to Mariners 35/13:

The USCG is proposing to move the point at which the ATON in the Swinomish Channel change the general direction of marine traffic. In channels such as Swinomish, where vessels can enter the channel from two different directions, there must be a point where the colors and numbers on the ATON switch to conform to the rule of red ATON on the starboard side when returning from sea. 

The current ATON configuration changes direction at Swinomish Channel South Entrance Buoy 26 (LLNR 18875), approximately two miles north of La Conner. Multiple mariners have stated that this point of change is arbitrary and confusing. For this reason, the proposed new point for the change in direction is in the vicinity of the city of La Conner, the logical destination for vessels returning from sea. The following aids to navigation will remain in the same position, but will change their color and number: 

Swinomish Channel South Entrance Buoy 22 (LLNR 18860) to Swinomish Channel North Entrance Buoy 33; Swinomish Channel South Entrance Buoy 23 (LLNR 18865) to Swinomish Channel North Entrance Buoy 34; Swinomish Channel South Entrance Light 25 (LLNR 18870) to Swinomish Channel North Entrance Light 32; Swinomish Channel South Entrance Buoy 26 (LLNR 18875) to Swinomish Channel North Entrance Buoy 31.

Thanks to Mark Bunzel and the Waggoner Cruising Guide for bringing this to my attention.

The perfect boat hose

The Ames Reeleasy Hose Cassette         About $50



The Ames Reeleasy Hose Cassette


I have used this product for nearly ten-years and have been totally happy with it.  I think the Ames Reeleasy is the perfect hose for most boaters to keep aboard.

The Ames Reeleasy Hose Cassette comes with 60-feet of 1/2-inch hose.  The hose can be partially or fully extended when in use, is quick and easy to roll up, and best of all...mine has never kinked.

The hose has not left any marks on the gunwale when dragging the hose around the boat.  It has not left a taste in the water system.  Is easy to store in the lazarette.  The reel is all plastic and will not rust or corrode.   This is a product that I have thoroughly field tested!

They sell for about $50.  I bought mine at Home Depot.  Available from Amazon.

Sold Boat: 2007 American Tug 41

2007 American Tug 41       Christmas Rose       Now Sold!

Fabulous Furuno navigation package, watermaker, hydronic heat, cockpit enclosure.

Carefully built for an experienced American Tug owner. She is well equipped and very meticulously maintained.  Powered by a Volvo 500hp common rail engine with dual controls & twin alternators, bow and stern thrusters, Tanner mast, factory custom cabinetry in teak,  Stidd helm chair, Village Marine 800-gpd watermaker, 12-foot Novurania inflatable with console and Honda 25 engine, Steelhead marine crane, Hurricane 2 hydronic heat system & Surecal water heater,  Sig Marine stainless diesel fireplace, custom maple burl tables, Buell triple air horns, and a fantastic Furuno navigation package including dual 17-inch panels and the super accurate Furuno GPS compass.  She even has a factory custom bath tub & shower.

Recent factory upgrades include a revised more open aft cockpit arrangement with teak sole, custom sunbrella & Lexan cockpit enclosure, and corner table.  Factory serviced since new, she is a very special boat.

Christmas Rose is ready for your family's next Expedition; to the Broughton's, Alaska or Mexico!

I have know Christmas Rose since first commissioned.  Her owners are experienced yachtsman and have always kept her with pride of ownership. This is a fantastic yacht.

Now moored on Trawler Row at the American Tug factory in La Conner, WA.

Represented by American Tugs & Trawlers, the factory direct dealership.  I have sold over 70 American Tugs new and used and know these boats best.   Steve@americantugs.com or anytime at 360-466-2961.  Visit:  www.americantugsandtrawlers.com