We have done 2 full seasons of cruising SE Alaska in this boat at 68' OA. The only time I ever remember not getting a space was in Ketchikan when all the fish boats were between seasons. Even then, we got into the harbor the following night.
I never found dock space availability to be an issue. You might sometimes not get your first choice of marina, but there is almost always an alternative marina or an anchorage available. Being prepared to anchor out is pretty necessary and takes the pressure off when dock space might be tight.
Our the anchorage depths some what reasonable or do they offer mooring buoys ?
We have done 2 full seasons of cruising SE Alaska in this boat at 68' OA. The only time I ever remember not getting a space was in Ketchikan when all the fish boats were between seasons. Even then, we got into the harbor the following night.
I never found dock space availability to be an issue. You might sometimes not get your first choice of marina, but there is almost always an alternative marina or an anchorage available. Being prepared to anchor out is pretty necessary and takes the pressure off when dock space might be tight.
Our the anchorage depths some what reasonable or do they offer mooring buoys ?
I just skimmed through our log book and our anchoring depths ranged from 25’ to 110’. I would say 65’ or so was pretty common for us, and we were only over 100’ a few times. This is where some route planning pays off, and I would always try to have one or more sheltered anchorages in mind as part of our planning.
There are sheltered anchorages at reasonable depths almost all the way through BC and SE AK. They aren’t always close together so sometimes you plan your route around that and make your travel day shorter or longer to accommodate.
Others take a different approach with lower priority on being in good anchorages. They are more likely than us to be anchoring in extreme depths and depending on stern ties to make some spots work (recognizing that there are other good reasons to stern tie). We haven’t found either extreme depths or stern ties to be necessary and enjoy swinging on anchor in a quiet anchorage whenever possible.
We don’t use mooring balls and I hardly remember seeing any that were available for use.
What length of chain would you recommend to cruise the area ?
We have traveled BC and SE Alaska in our 37' Nordic Tug 4-5 months every summer (less in the COVID year) since May 2016. Anchoring 100 nights or so each year, with 250 feet of 5/16 chain, in many many different coves. Most often 40-60 feet, max depth 80 feet. Similarly for the previous 18 years in a 26-footer. Never once felt we needed more than 250 feet.What length of chain would you recommend to cruise the area ?