1928 · Yakutat, Alaska
F/V Crane
A yacht in spring. A working boat in summer. Ninety-nine years old, and loved. By the cabin, or the whole boat.
Inquire to hold a trip
Crane is ninety-nine years old. In spring she is a yacht, out of Yakutat. By the cabin, or the whole boat. Glacier, kayak, hike. Sleep aboard. She leaves the hook each day. In summer she is a working boat, tendering salmon around Juneau. Charters are spring only.
The boat
A cabin, or all of her.
Three staterooms. Book one for two. A surcharge if you come alone. Or take the whole boat.
In each cabin, a main bed and a single bunk. The crew lives in the foc’sle. Guests have the house and the deck.
- By the cabinTwo to a stateroom. Single surcharge.
- Whole boatThe better rate. If you want her to yourselves.
- Three stateroomsMain bed and a single bunk in each.
- Crew in the foc’sleYou have the house and the deck.
1928
A wooden tender, still at work.
Launched 19 April 1928. Port Blakely, Washington. J. C. Johnson Brothers. Coolidge & H. C. Hanson designed her.
Built for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries as USFS Crane. A fishery patrol vessel, laid out like a fish packer. A working boat from the start.
92 feet. 20-foot beam. 11.7-foot draft. Port Orford cedar frames. Fir planking. Ironbark sheathing. Heavy sawn construction.
Alaska first. Salmon patrol, stream inspection, halibut enforcement. Later Fish and Wildlife, then private. Crane again since 1978.
She still works fish in summer. In spring she is the yacht you live on, and a boat that goes somewhere each day. Ninety-nine years old. Loved for almost a century.
Crane in Gastineau Channel, Juneau. Early 1930s.
Spring · Yakutat
She leaves the hook.
You sleep on Crane. The boat is the hotel. It is also the trip.
Each day she leaves her anchorage. Hubbard Glacier: we hook nearby and launch the kayaks. Hikes: we anchor close and skiff to the trailhead. Harlequin Lake for a paddle.
Every meal is aboard. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. A professional chef. We take the food seriously.
Surf is an option, not the trip. If the Gulf puts it on, we can set you up with a local guide. Cannon Beach is a short hop by road from town. Spring surf is weaker than fall. We do not sell barrels.
This is not a fishing lodge.
Situk steelhead run in that season. A day on the river with a local guide is optional. Separate from the boat.
- Hubbard GlacierAnchor nearby. Kayaks off the boat.
- HikesSkiff from Crane to the trailhead.
- Harlequin LakeA paddle on the lake.
- Meals aboardEvery meal. A professional chef.
The place
Why Yakutat?
You fly in. There is no road. A small town on the Gulf, under the St. Elias ice.
You can spend a whole life in Alaska and barely scratch the surface. This is the best way to see it in a short stretch of days. One bay. Alaska distilled.
Hubbard Glacier sits at the head of the bay. Longest tidewater glacier in North America. Cruise ships steam up, look, and leave. Crane hooks nearby. You kayak off the boat.
Malaspina is the largest piedmont glacier on the continent. Bigger than Rhode Island. Ice folded into marble. We skiff to the shore and hike.
Harlequin Lake is still. Yakutat Glacier calves bergs into it. No swell. You paddle. Then back aboard for the next meal.
Summer
She tenders salmon around Juneau.
From about Father’s Day through early September, Crane is on the salmon. That is the working boat. The yacht is for spring. We do not nibble into tendering.
2027
Three, five, or seven days.
Spring 2027. Those windows. Whole boat is the better rate. A deposit holds it.
$40,000whole boat
- Cabin for two $16,000
- Single $12,000
$33,000whole boat
- Cabin for two $13,000
- Single $9,750
$23,000whole boat
- Cabin for two $9,000
- Single $6,750
Inquire
Write Casey.
Name, dates, how long, a cabin or the whole boat. A deposit holds it.
Or email casey@themightycrane.com directly.