This year I stay at a dock, along with the fishing trawlers. Last year though, I was on a mooring buoy from August to February. Assuming the weather isn't absolutely quite atrocious, I try to get out for an overnighter or longer at least once a month. I actually manage quite a bit more sailing around in my tender (wooden sailing/rowing dinghy), particularly between Skidgate landing and Alliford Bay waterdrome

just staying warm is an adventure with all the rain and wind and occasional snow. It's not so bad below deck, but going topside or ashore can be unpleasant. That wind can really bite.

funny you should mention wind. We have had 100km/hr winds for almost a week now. That's not the norm though, at least for the year I have been up here. Mostly there is good sailing, when it is not foggy or rainy. One just has to be patient for a bit of clear weather. You're right though, quite a few trawlers up this way, but some sail boats, and Kayaking is popular with a lot of sheltered waterways.

Alright! Now if I could just get my boat up there. I'm not looking forward to paying to have her shipped over land, but I don't have the time or resources to sail around. Maybe I'll just have to sell it and buy a different boat. Have you seen many sailboats up there. Most ads I see seem to be for motor vessels. And what are the wind conditions like? I assume it's good for kayaking, but what about sailing in between islands, fjords, and glaciers?
Thanks for getting back to me.

I don't think Alaskan's are adverse to liveaboards, at least they were not a few years ago. Like I said earlier, living on the water there, as where I am, should not be too much of a burden as the Japan current keeps temperatures milder than inland.

Nice, cause I think I'm going to be working up in Juneau next summer. I wonder what they think about liveaboards up there. If I can't make the boat work then I guess I'll have to rent a cabin or something.

Not too bad really. There is a lot of cork sheeting, wood, and foam to help with insulation (the Máva was built for Icelandic waters=. Plus, where I am at least, the water doesn't freeze over--winter surface water temps run from about 4*C (39*F) to 8*C (46*F); summers the surface water temps are 12* to 15*C (54*F to 59*F). This is largely due to the warm Japan current. I would guess that conditions are much milder than what you would experience on the Great Lakes during winter.

How is it being up in Alaska in a steel boat? I've always wondered about the insulation in those.