History Afloat

Brooke Ratzat
Brooke Ratzat has been working or living on boats for most of her life. She grew up in the harbors of Southeast Alaska. Brooke and her husband, Charlie, have a deep love for boats. Especially old wooden fishing boats. They've owned and trolled them w... View Full Record
Legacy in Wood
Wooden vessels have been essential to life in Ketchikan. The rich Native cultures of Southeast Alaska were supported by the mobility afforded by their superbly-adapted wooden canoes. Likewise, in the road-less, water-bound world of the early non-Nati... View Full Record
John Vlaun, Owner and Captain of F/V West
John Vlaun is a teacher who fishes during his summer breaks. He is new to fishing and passionate about the lifestyle. The F/V West, his first boat, is a wooden troller built in 1920 by William Tyler. Some of the boat's early history is not kno... View Full Record
Steven W. Axelson, Sea Pilot and Owner of F/V Champion
The F/V Champion was built in 1935 by the Western Boat Company in Tacoma, Washington for $22,000. She was originally built for herring seining in Southeast Alaska. In the succeeding decades, the boat had several owners. Steven W. Axelson, a th... View Full Record
Timothy Currall, Owner and Captain of F/V Johnnie B
The F/V Johnnie B is a seiner built in 1929. The boat is unique because of its long and narrow size - 62 feet by 16 feet. Alaska limits the length of seine boats to 58 feet, with the exception of some vessels like the F/V Johnnie B tha... View Full Record
Otto Johansen, Owner and Builder of F/V Oddie
Eric Johansen, Captain of F/V Oddie
Otto Johansen grew up in Cordova, Alaska. After getting out of the Army he returned home and learned carpentry skills at a cannery. Eventually Otto moved to Ketchikan where he has lived for the past 70 years. Otto was superintendent at Northern Marin... View Full Record
David E. Hashagen, Owner and Captain of F/V Voyager
David E. Hashagen is a lifelong fisherman and trapper. The F/V Voyager is his fifth boat. The Wahls, a notable boat-building family in Prince Rupert, Canada built the boat in 1975. It was originally built as a troller and crabbed in Hecate Str... View Full Record
Robin Neilson, Owner and Captain of F/V Sultan
The F/V Sultan was built in 1926 in Seattle. The first owner kept the boat for several decades. At some point in its history, the boat sunk. Robin Neilson is from Meyers Chuck, a small community 40 miles northwest of Ketchikan. After 20 years... View Full Record
Travis A. K. Wilcox, Owner and Captain of F/V Puffin
The F/V Puffin was originally built in 1917 as a tug boat for the Puffin Bay Packing Company on Baranof Island. It was used to tow fish traps. In 1977, the boat sank and Charles Wills was able to acquire it for a cheap price. The boat seined f... View Full Record
Dillon Warren, Owner and Captain of F/V Sunrise
The F/V Sunrise was built as a sardine seiner in 1939 by a Tacoma, Washington shipwright. The boat was squid fishing out of California before Dillon Warren bought the boat in 2015. Dillon grew up trolling and tendering with his family. He star... View Full Record
Karen Hanson Pitcher, Former Owner and First Mate of F/V Nevada
Karen Hanson Pitcher and her late husband, Dave Pitcher, fished commercially for 28 years. They owned and fished the F/V Camano, F/V Nevada, and F/V Sugar. Wendell Pitcher, Dave's father, bought the F/V Nevada and fished i... View Full Record
John Peckham, Owner and Captain of F/V Alsek
Grandy Boat Works in Seattle built the F/V Alsek in 1946 to tender on the Alsek River near Yakutat, Alaska. It was built with an especially stout keel to navigate a sandbar on the river. Soon after being built, it changed ownership and began s... View Full Record
Kevin Murphy, Fisherman and Son of Francis "Sonner" Murphy, the Last Owner and Captain of F/V Rio Grande

Ben Hastings, Murphy Family Friend
The F/V Rio Grande is a retired seiner used by five generations of the Murphy family. Kevin Murphy was among the fourth generation to gain his sea legs on the boat. The F/V Rio Grande was originally built in 1931 by Barbee Marine Yards... View Full Record