Old Fishing Boats and the End of an Era

Old wooden fishing boats are a nostalgic piece of Alaska heritage that will forever be loved by coastal Alaskans. All over bays, coves, and back lagoons are boat graveyards with beached boats that are past a point of salvation, and were eventually beached. 

In the late 40's the US Navy beached one of their ships in the back lagoon of Port Alexander, which essentially paved the way for others to follow suit in the ship abandonment practices. I love old boat graveyards, the styles of these wooden vessels, the rigging that still exists, the old names, and ports of home all create stories to dream up as you're weaving your way through. That same Navy Ship even took the care to stamp every nail head with the Navy emblem!

These boat graveyards are now slowly being cleaned up. A few years ago legislation was passed to ensure that every beached and abandoned boat must now be properly disassembled and cleaned up for environmental concerns. So now, the State will do everything they can to track you down if you beach your POS in a hidden cove. No matter how bad the leaks are, or how intense your story is as to why you had to up and leave it, they will find you and make you pay for its removal! A wake up call, and also the end of an era!

Pictured here is an old boat, with a center stand! Made for being able to be beached on almost any sandy bottom without consequence. This was first time I had ever seen such a slide, but it appears to be a really good idea! Especially for old wooden boats that may need to dry out haha.

Best,

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