We spent about a week in Auke Bay,
Statter Harbor, a marina NW of Juneau. We can't get into the marina downtown because of the height of the bridge, and the height of our mast, the two won't play nice.
The waiting list for a permanent slip here is quite long, and so about half of the docks are what they call "transient". It seems like everyone who owns a boat in Juneau, uses the transient dock. The signs say you have to move in 10 days, but locals say it's not enforced, it's good in case of a derelict that needs to be evicted.
All of those U shaped areas are available, it's kind of like, "I fits, I sits".
Bill in his usual competent style, found an opening and sidled right in. I thought we were going to take out the cute little sailboat with our bowsprit, but, as Bill backed Denali Rose into place, it sailed right over her aft end. Captains have to learn how to drive competently here, one small alumaweld boat almost drove his bow up on our dock finger trying to fit in.
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| Aft end of Denali Rose's clearance |
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| Forward end of Denali Rose clearance. |
Here are some examples of "transients".
That's actually a charter boat in the middle, "Alaska Luxury Charters", they have two of those sleek looking boats.
That's a trimaran that someone is building a canopy over the top.
This I think, IS actually a transient, a yacht named "Pioneer".
This sailboat has a vinyl wrapped hull, I've never seen one before, and it's pretty cool. This one is made to look like wood, complete with the plugs.
Coast Guard, of course, not a transient, this is actually their permanent space.
I only included this one, because our friends had a boat named Dawn Treader V, could this be their next boat. ("Surely you jest", I hear them say to me.)
All different kinds of sizes, shapes, and brands lined up together, there are lots of Bayliners, and cute Sea Sports.
Commercial fishing boats.
Even the many whale watching tour boats are tied up in transient.
When you can't find a space to finesse your boat into, there is usually room on the outer float. We don't recommend this until a last resort. The wake within the marina is a constant, and I can only imagine how bad it would be out there.
They only have so many power poles, not enough for all boats to plug in. The power runs from 50amp to 30amp to 20amp, you have to watch carefully, and when someone unplugs, be ready to grab it.
We've found that as a transient, it was best to get to the marina between 11:00a-2:00pm, that's when the whale tours, the commercial fishermen, and the personal day boats were out enjoying themselves, and it's easier to find openings. After 4:00pm, you take your chances, we watched the late-comer parade every evening circle around, and around trying to find that one little spot, or raft up to someone they knew.
The view on the way into Statter Harbor. That extra large yacht anchored to the right, wouldn't fit anywhere inside.
The view of Mendenhall Glacier from our back deck, tied up on the D-4 dock, and we did score a 20amp service plug on the second day.
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Gus fits, and sits on top of the dodger, his favorite spot, to enjoy the last of the evening sun.
