Ninety-Two Hours to Ketchikan
It was perfect.
The wind was at our back for the first 24 hours. We timed the tides to get the greatest benefit. The wind calmed down to nothing for the exposed ocean crossing sections. (It was a little lumpy but doable.) But, by far, the biggest victory of the trip north, ninety-two hours straight through to Ketchikan was that the main engine ran perfectly.
Several months ago, you might remember seeing the pictures and the videos, the engine was still in pieces. Over the winter we rebuilt the reverse gear, adjusted the main bearings, poured new bearings for the connecting rods, tightened the wrist pin bearings, machined the crankshaft and installed a new flange on it, built a new air plumbing system, and a million other small fixes to make everything run. To see it in action, running that smoothly was amazing.
We made a lot of other small changes this winter too, like a new step in the skiff, fans to help dry wet foul weather gear, a rebuild of the inside of the oven box (rusted through from years of use in a salt water environment, not from Christine baking muffins.) We did a lot of good work.
When we began this life with the David B twenty-one years ago, transits to Ketchikan were not like this. In the early years, we made multiple stops along the way, going to towns to buy stuff to fix things when necessary, and patching things back together. Over the years it’s gotten easier, and we’ve gotten better at knowing what to do in the winter months to make the transit and the season smooth, but despite all that, I still spend a lot of spring worrying.
To see it all come together, and to have a perfect transit north, makes me excited for the season ahead. I made the transition to summer over ninety-two hours to Ketchikan.
Fair Winds,
Jeffrey
Captain of the David B
P. S. If you are inspired to join us, just contact Sarah. You can see our current 2026, 2027, and 2028 schedules here: https://northwestnavigation.com/schedule-and-rates
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