Every year in mid-April I schedule a maintenance period in Wrangell for the Faraway.
Why go all the way up to Wrangell for maintenance you might ask?
Well, the answer is simple. The Wrangell Shipyard is by far and away a better haul-out facility than any Ketchikan has to offer.
Their yard is massive, and it is all concrete.
Every spot where they block a boat has access to shore power, just as if we were at a dock.
The Wrangell Shipyard itself does not do any work on vessels, other than to haul them out and block them. After that you have to secure the services of local workmen to do whatever tasks you have laid out for the maintenance period.
I have used a small business in Wrangell called the "Wrangell Boat Shop" for many years.
They do not do hard core diesel engine maintenance, but they can handle just about any and all other boat related tasks.
I come prepared with a laundry list of tasks that I would like them to perform, and they get right to it as soon as the boat is hauled and blocked.
Wrangell is about 82 miles north of Ketchikan by water.
In order to get there, I have to go about 30 miles in Clarence Strait, which is a large body of water that is exposed and can be extremely rough. So, I choose my travel day carefully, trying to find the best weather day just prior to my haul-out date so that I don't get beat up too badly in Clarence Strait.
I usually do the trip up there in one long day, but this year everything fell into place, and the weather cooperated, so I decided to make an overnight stop in a little community called Meyers Chuck, which is about 32 miles from Ketchikan.
I have been to Meyers Chuck many times over the years, but I think the last time was in 2017, so it has been a while. It is a neat little community to visit.
There is a dock in Meyers Chuck where I can tie up. It used to be owned by the State of Alaska, and it was free to tie up there. However, in recent years the Borough of Wrangell bought it and they started charging a small per foot fee to tie up there. I read in the news a year or so ago that the dock was deteriorating and that the Borough of Wrangell had decided to rebuild it. The existing dock is about 400' long and you can tie to both sides of it. The article I read said that the new dock was only going to be about 200' long.
Here are a few shots of the dock from different angles.
Those small boats on the inside of the dock belong to local residents.
There used to be a small kiosk of sorts on the dock where you left your payment for the moorage fees (honor system, of course.) But when I went looking for it I see it is now a "VIP Lounge" for the float planes.
After securing the boat I got my camera and took a walk through the community.
There is no "road," per se. Instead, there is a trail that weaves along the beach and through the woods. I don't think there is even room for a 4-wheeler to ride along the trail.
Meyers Chuck is a community with an attitude, as can be seen as one walks the well worn pathway.
Right up at the beach there is a bulletin board of sorts. There used to be a pay phone booth there, but that is now gone. There is a lock box to hold out-going mail, and a bulletin board for people to post notices. In the summers there are a lot of transient cruising boats that stop in here. There used to be a woman who posted her phone number on the board, and if you wanted fresh hot cinnamon rolls delivered right to your boat, you just gave her a call. I don't know if she still does that.
It looks like a lot of the local residents pull their boats out in the winter. They apparently just pull them out right from the beach onto this area. A few are on trailers, but the smaller boats appear to have just been dragged up on a high tide and tied off.
I wonder what kind of reception this old dish antenna provides?
There are some unique houses and other structures along the trail.
Most of the residents use wood for either their primary or secondary heat source, so firewood is a priority for them. When a good firewood log happens to drift up onto the beach, they will attach a line to it, so it won't drift away on the tide. Then later on they will come down with a chain saw and cut it up.
Many of the residents are somewhat artistic, and they use materials at hand to create unique pieces that are on display near their houses.
Someone has set up a lumber mill which uses drift logs to mill into boards which can be used for building. It has been here for decades, ever since I first started coming here.
There are a few "normal" looking houses in Meyers Chuck, but most places are a bit "rustic."
I think this place is for sale if you're interested. It's only $289,000.
When I first started coming to Meyers Chuck I was told this building had been used as a school, but that the State had eventually shut down the school. It is by far the largest building in the community and as far as I can tell it has been vacant for many years. The presence of an outhouse suggests that the building does not have indoor plumbing.
Continuing down the path you see more of that artistic talent that resides here. If you can't read this first one, I'll interpret. Go to the right for the "Hall Way," and to the left is the "Hi Way."
There is an art gallery which has many local creations for sale. There is a phone number as it is only open by appointment.
A few more sights along the pathway:
Old Glory flies at Meyers Chuck!
A few people have private docks. Some are in better shape than others.
Here's a short video taken from the dock that shows many of the houses that are along the waterfront. There are several others hidden back in the trees that can't be seen from the dock.
My time in Meyers Chuck was short as I left early the next morning, destination Wrangell, about 50 miles distant.
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