Back to Home Kit Components Kit Pricing Book Sales Materials & Supplies Skiff Construction Photos Miscellaneous Tolman Skiff Photo's
Back to Home Kit Components
Kit
Pricing Book Sales
Materials & Supplies
Skiff Construction Photos
Miscellaneous Tolman
Skiff Photo's
Tolman Skiff Travels
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
Dick Bird is a former
professional airline pilot and former member of the Aspen Ski Patrol, he lives
near Aspen, Colorado. When he isn't spending his winters sliding down
mountains, he's in Alaska visiting Renn, catching fish and traveling all over South
Central Alaska in his 21 foot Wide Body Tolman Skiff. He kindly provided
the following narrative and photographs of three trips undertaken in his
boat on all kinds of Alaskan waters. The map of Alaska shows the general areas of the trips, more detailed maps are shown below. Summer of 1995 |
|
| |||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renn Tolman had been building his skiffs for quite some time and they had seen service all over the South coast of Alaska. However I don't think anyone had taken an extended trip such as I had. I left Homer on the 6th of June, 1995, and crossed Cook Inlet to Iliamna Bay. I was met there by Ray Williams who took my boat across by road to Lake Iliamna. I proceeded down the lake to the Kvichak River and into Bristol Bay. From there I cruised the North side of the Alaskan Peninsula to False Pass stopping along the way in every bay and river I could get into. The weather in Bristol Bay and further south in the Bering Sea was changeable to say the least. Several times I was weathered in for days at a time. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Passing through Isanotski Strait I was now in the Pacific Ocean and
began working my way up the South east side of the Alaskan Peninsula
Stopping in such places as Cold Bay, King Cove, Sand Point, and Chignik.
Leaving Chignik I had a fifty gallon drum of fuel added to my supply
bringing the total fuel on board to 160 gallons. There was no noticeable
change in the way the boat handled with that additional weight. North of
Chignik the only fuel I might buy would have to come from a chance meeting
with a tender. Baring that my next fuel stop would be Larson Bay on Kodiak
Island some five hundred miles down the road. As chance would have it I
did find a tender along the way which enabled me to stick to my original
plan. I wanted to go as far north as Kukak or Hallo Bay before crossing over to Kodiak Island. |
|
|
Crossing Shelikof Strait was an adventure in itself, here I met the biggest seas I had encountered so far. I thought I had seen some rough weather in the Bering Sea but nothing matched what I went through in Shelikof. I left Kukak Bay early in the morning, a little fog and a flat calm sea in the hopes of crossing the forty miles in four hours or so. Half way across I was in fifteen foot seas, winds that had to be blowing 30 kts, and huge swells coming from the South with breaking waves. My hoped for four hours turned into eight hours. One huge wave that I estimated to be about thirty feet broke over my stern and filled the cockpit with water up to my knees. Through it all the skiff bobbed like a cork, and engine keep running, and the self bailing deck did it's job. I pulled into Vicoda Bay completely worn out but safe and sound. That whole day I did not see another boat until I was well inside Vicoda Bay. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leaving Vicoda I went up the West side of Kodiak, through Kopreanof Strait and over to Kodiak City. I did treat myself to a hamburger, only the second meal I didn't cook myself. From there down the East side of Kodiak stopping in such places as Old Harbor and Three Saints Bay. Three Saints has two possible anchorage's. Due to the winds I chose the one on the South side. Rounding the spit there sat Renn and Mary's' boat, the Penny Whistle. After coming all this way and running into them was some surprise. I passed the Southern tip of Kodiak and spent some time in Alitak Bay, Deadman, and Lazy Bay before heading up the West side of the island. Here I was in Shelikof Strait again and was subject to it's weather, never good. I spent several days in Halibut and Karlik Bays due to high winds and big seas. |
|
|
Working my way up the West side of the island I passed through Kopreanof Strait once again and proceeded up the East side of Afognak, around its northern end and through Shuyak Strait into Big Bay on Shuyak Island. I ran into Renn and Mary again here on Shuyak. They were doing their usual deer hunting and salmon smoking trip that they do every year. Crossing from Shuyak to the tip of the Kenai Peninsula is always a thrill. The tides around the Barron Islands create some ferocious rip tides and it makes for an interesting trip. Once again I left early on a flat sea and by the time I got to the Barron Islands the seas were running six to eight feet and I was caught in some nasty rip tides passing the islands. I had hoped to make Port Graham but ended up east of Elizabeth Island. The next day I made it around the tip of the Kenai Peninsula and into Port Graham. Another day found me back in Homer. The Date was September 6th, exactly three months since I had left Homer. |
|
|
Point to point the trip measured about 2000 nm. However with all the rivers and bays I explored I figured the total miles at about 3000 nm based on time on the engine and an average speed of 10 mph. Summer of 1996 |
|
| |||
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This year I took the Skiff to Prince William Sound. Time was somewhat limited so I made the best time I could to Seward where I refueled, was weathered in again for five days before I could get around Resurrection Point and head for Port Bainbridge. Once into the Sound weather was a minor problem and I enjoyed a month cruising from island to island. Great fun among the icebergs off the Columbia Glacier and in Icy Bay. I had lunch on the spot where the Exxon Valdez went aground. I stopped in such places as Valdez, Cordova, Whittier, and Chenega and was surprised at how few boats I saw. I got as far east at the east side of Hitchinbrook Island but opted for the west side of Montague Island because of southeast winds that were blowing quite hard. |
|
|
Returning to Homer I was weathered in again for a few days in Seward due to rain and winds. Chugach Straight always poses a problem for small boats due to the big tides and prevailing west winds. The two passages I made on this trip were no exception. Picnic Harbor in Rocky Bay was a welcome stop both ways as an overnight rest stop and a secure anchorage. |
|
|
On this trip I had the utmost confidence in my Tolman Skiff born from the experiences I had on the Alaskan Peninsula the previous year. It handled well in the rough seas and rip tides I encountered. I never felt that I was in any danger from a skiff related failure. |
|
|
Summers of 1997 & 1999 Both of these years I spent several months on the south side of the Kenai Peninsula cruising all the bays from Port Graham eastward to Seward. Some of these bays such as Port Dick are miles deep and have several arms that are huge. It is easy to spend several days in some of these places and still not see it all. |
|
|
I have well over six hundred hours on my outboard, many of them operating in the open ocean. I can attest for the seaworthiness of the Tolman Skiff. I've seen everything from flat calm to the giant seas I encountered in Shelikof Straight. The boat operates in a foot of water allowing one to investigate many rivers, creeks, and bays that would be inaccessible to a larger boat. I have spent many days with the skiff high and dry on the beach. With the shallow dead-rise at the stern the skiff sits fairly level while dry allowing one to sit out the most severe weather. The small cabin on my skiff along with the tent cover I had on my boat made it very comfortable while sitting out weather days. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
2341 Cinnabar Loop Anchorage, Alaska 99507-3150
907 344-6677 Fax 907 344-3772
Email: info@skiffkits.com
sales@skiffkits.com