❖ Bristol Bay Boat NO WAKE ❖

In 1957, the Alaska Packers Association of Blaine, WA., donated six Bristol Bay fishing boats to Camp Orkila [Orcas Island.] Three were power conversions and three were the original sailors with all the original sails. Walt Jones (waterfront manager) and Corkey North were able to get two engines running well after a couple of days and began the eight-hour tow back to camp. This involved a lot of pumping and hoping; they arrived after dark with the sailors half sunk.

The power boats were the first ones approved by the US Coast Guard for use by the YMCA camp. After considerable work on the Bristol Bay boats, they were able to replace the tin lifeboats previously used at camp.

The sailors were never very popular with the campers because of the slow speed and cumbersome rig; they had little appeal to the young campers.

In time, my dad Chet North retired from his boat building because of a heart condition. He traded a faster 16-ft outboard for hull # WN84P and had the power company move it to the part of the lot where he could work on remodeling the hull on his two-hour-per-day work schedule. He removed the centerboard and installed a used Gray 4-52 engine in the proper location. Just before he passed away in 1986 at age 80, he passed the boat on to his son, Corkey.

The engine was replaced by a rebuilt Gray-Alaska Lugger, which was an upgrade of the 4-52.
The hull was built in Astoria, OR, by Dyer Boats in 1929.

L. W. "Corkey" North
Deer Harbor, WA.

NO WAKE with skipper Corkey North
leaving San Juan Archipelago, with friends escorting.
Harney Channel heading for her new home
in Skagit County, summer 2013.