We had a call from a Mr. Ed Wood of Petersburg, Alaska, in the mid-1980's in which he said he had seen one of our boats and it was just what he needed. He had commercially fished all his life and had sold his much larger commercial boat and wanted to semi-retire. I told him what we had and he sent us the money and we put it on the barge for Petersburg. Anyhow he had rigged it for hand trolling and he called some months later and reported that 'little boat sure handles the slop nice'. We met him some years later and he said he had made up some shrimp gear and two tows were all he and his wife could eat in a year. He said he anchored quite a bit when hunting, clam digging, etc., and it was sure easy getting in and out of his skiff and he much appreciated knowing the boat would be there when he returned. He also commented that he sure enjoyed going by the fuel dock every day and waving at the owners as they had owned him for fifty years.
Owner comments
Juneau, Alaska - July:
"I always sleep with one eye open when anchored in Handtroller's Cove during a blow; mostly because of other boats dragging their anchors and running into us. I must say in the two and a half years we've owned the ALLWEATHER we've never dragged anchor even with two boats tied together. We operate the boat year round and have weathered some pretty nasty stuff.
"Early the next morning about 5:00 a.m. I got up just in time to fend a 28 foot flying bridge Bayliner. He was heading for shore so Denise and I tied them off to the ALLWEATHER. The wind was blowing so hard I couldn't wake them by shouting so we gave them a shot with the foghorn. They were very surprised to find themselves tied off to our boat but glad just the same. We had coffee together while the wind whipped us around but our Bruce anchor never slipped an inch. We meet a lot of people that way on the ALLWEATHER."
Art and Denise Chase
Juneau, Alaska - December:
"Butch and I were hunting when 50 to 60 knot winds kicked up. We decided to head back to the 'Irish-Lord' before the seas got too bad. When we hit the beach we noticed the 40' steel gillnetter that was anchored next to us was drifting about 4 or 5 miles away. We figured she dragged anchor while the crew was in the woods hunting. We called the Coast Guard and they requested we try to save her so we headed into 7' seas towing our 14' skiff hoping to reach the vessel before she ran aground or blew up on shore which was less than a mile away.
"When we finally reached her I carefully snuck in on the lee side and dropped Butch off between swells. He got the diesel started but for some reason could not raise the anchor because the hydraulics were not working right. At this point things were getting critical so I tossed Butch a line and the ALLWEATHER, skiff and 40' gillnetter headed back to Admiralty Island. The going was slow because of the sea conditions but the 20 horsepower Yanmar never strained at all. The gillnetter crew was happy to see us but I'm sure they kept that story to themselves."
Pat Taylor
Barren Island, Alaska:
"Even though it was blowing to what we considered 60 knots, we could still pull slack in the anchor line without too much sweat. We are really pleased by the way the ALLWEATHER anchors. And so it went for 4 days. Finally Wednesday night about 11 p.m. the wind changed toward the beach. We didn't think we would drag but not too good a position should the winds increase. Anyway we said 'What the hell', let's run downwind into the bay on a course good and wide of the shore. Believe me it was a workout getting the light rigged and anchor hauled while bouncing up and down six and eight feet. It was dark as hell and the waves were large as we got away from the island a couple miles to clear the reefs. We turned due North standing on a hatch cover outside for better visibility, motor turning no more than 12-1400 rpms. Surf down a wave, rpm picking up. At the bottom, no yawing. You could just about let the boat steer itself.
"Fished for bottom fish, very handy. We have a bucket of salt herring aboard and a big rod all rigged. Caught some green ling which are excellent. Anyhow, after a mess of bottom fish tasted good, I decided for more. We were anchored in 30-50' (depending on tide). Right off, a good bite and out goes the line. 'Get the gun I yell to Mary' and in ten to fifteen minutes I had the halibut up ready to be shot. It was 4'6" probably something less than 100 pounds.
Renn Tolman, Mary Griswold, Homer, Alaska
"Dear Homer,
The last time you heard from me we were shipping the boat to Valdez. The cradle you designed works real well to support the boat out of the water but we ended up running the boat from Sitka to Valdez. A fisherman agreed to be hired to run it across the Gulf. It took three days running all day and night, he hit some 10-15 foot seas but the boat did fine and he said he felt more safe in ours than in some boats twice its size he has been in. Considering the reputation of the Gulf of Alaska I thought you might want to use that in your advertisement."
Sharon Burban, Anchorage, Alaska
(That was #2 of the 31 boats we have built.)
November 8, 2006 e-mail from McCutcheon of Juneau, Alaska:
Homer,
I purchased the Allweather boat ( Ferndale 3 ) from B____ C____ in 1996 and have had many years of boating pleasure in Southeast Alaska. I spent over a year deciding what kind of boat to buy, listened to folks who boated for many years, took CG Auxiliary boating classes, and when I was ready to buy saw the Allweather for sale. It has been the best boating decision I could have made, and with fuel prices now over $ 3.00 per gallon, definitely a boat whose time has come.
Your brochure has always emphasized safety and that is the best comfort to leave the dock with. We have weathered all modes of wind and rough seas. On many occasions we have continued to troll in a 6 foot following sea which sends the other planing hulls boats for cover.
We have rented the same slip for 10 years, and the same very nice and well maintained 26 foot plane hull twin v8 gas bomb boat in the adjacent slip has sold four times, and the new buyers never seem to leave the dock more than a few times before the boat has a for sale sign in the window.
Anchoring has been as advertised, and in August this year we anchored in a blow where the ensigns were snapping and the guy lines were singing but the anchor never slipped. The hull is streamlined and the low superstructure really channels the wind and water past the vessel.
I have had little difficulty maintaining the vessel due to its simple design and easy access to the engine and drive components.