V Popeye
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I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam.”
At 24 feet, M/V Popeye lives up to its
namesake’s motto and character: the boat is
stout, muscular, and afraid of nothing. It makes no
apologies and proves you don’t have to be big to cruise
the same waters as the big boats. Popeye is a tough little
tug with brawn and brass.
It is what it is.
And it is what Ron and Sue Lange of Roseburg,
Oregon, fell head over heels for in 2004 when they
were moored an extra night on their Catalina sailboat
in Friday Harbor, Washington, because of bad weather.
The Langes had decided to wander the docks after
supper to view the boats in the area. They spotted the
feisty little tug, which was then named Rosebud, and,
they say, it was “love at first sight.” The Langes wrote
down a phone number posted in the tug’s window
with the intention of asking the owner about the boat
and where it had been purchased. They probably never
guessed they would leave Friday Harbor with the
Alaskan Trader Tug in tow the next month.
The owner was a San Diego resident who flew to Washington several times a year to jump in the boat
for a quick cruise around the San Juan Islands. When
the Langes called him, they asked lots of questions and
did some research of their own, finding there was
another Alaskan Trader Tug for sale in Wisconsin.
Rosebud’s owner said he was not planning on selling
the boat but that he would be in Friday Harbor the
following month. He invited the Langes to meet him
there to see if a tug like his would meet their needs. The Langes jumped at the opportunity to inspect an
Alaskan Trader Tug without traveling to Wisconsin.
One thing led to another, and, after two days of
visiting and negotiating, Ron and Sue went home with
the boat.
Sue sensed the feisty, individualistic spirit of the
vessel and came up with the name Popeye. She and
Ron agree that the comic character’s name suits the
rugged little tug.
Last June, the Langes trailered Popeye to South Puget
Sound, where they launched the boat and made the
five-hour voyage to Poulsbo to participate in
PassageMaker’s Trawler Fest. “We were the smallest
trawler at the event,” Ron recalls.
Yes, Popeye is petite, but the boat has provided the
Langes with plenty of cruising fun. Since buying the
boat, they’ve spent one month each summer cruising
the waters of the Inside Passage.
GOING MOBILE
The Langes typically trailer the boat to two preferred
launch locations, depending on what part of the cruising
grounds they wish to cover. If they are cruising the San
Juans, Gulf Island, the Sunshine Coast, Desolation
Sound, and the Discovery Islands, they launch from Des
Moines Marina in the south Puget Sound area. If they
want to go farther north into MacKenzie Sound, located
in the farthest northwest reaches of the Broughton
Archipelago, they trailer Popeye up Interstate 5 into
Canada and take the BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay up
the mainland coast and launch in Westview, just outside
of Powell River. In 2006, they launched in Powell River
and left their truck and trailer with friends there.
Sue and Ron love that they can easily trailer Popeye, just picking up and going at a moment’s notice. They
trailered their 25-foot Catalina for many years, a practice
that led to a new friendship.
Several years ago, on a trip with their sailboat, the
Langes stopped in at the police station in Powell River
to inquire about whether there were any secure places to
park their vehicle and trailer while they were away. The
woman they spoke to said that they would be welcome
to park at her house. Now, the Langes take Popeye to
Powell Lake, leave their truck and trailer with their good
friends, Linda and Dave, and travel an hour on the big
lake to visit the couple at their summer float home.
Another plus is that Popeye is much easier to launch
than the Catalina. With the sailboat, it took hours to step
the mast and rig the boat. Because Popeye is only 24 feet
long, it trailers anywhere the roads will take them, and it
loads and unloads from the boat launch in 20 minutes.
With Popeye, the Langes are much more mobile.
Popeye is hardy and stout, but many describe the
boat as “cute.” Sue says she and her husband are often
greeted at an anchorage or marina by the flash of
cameras, as folks sitting on their decks or on the dock
snap photos of the little tug motoring in.
The boat makes for a great conversation starter, the
Langes say. They frequently hold an “open house” on
their boat, as people are anxious to be invited aboard
and have a look at the interior. Some people apologize
for calling the tug cute, but Ron and Sue agree with
the assessment of their “little Popeye.” They enjoy
meeting new friends, and they welcome visitors and
their comments.
Popeye was built in 1996 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, near
the Mississippi River, by the Murphy Boat Company,
and Ron and Sue are the boat’s third owners. Murphy
Boat Company went out of business shortly after Popeye
was built. The Langes say they have not seen another
boat like it during their travels; to their knowledge, only
10 Alaskan Trader Tugs were built. Sue recalls reading
in one of the Murphy Boat Company newsletters that
the owner of the company, F. J. Murphy, had always
wanted to build a tug like this because he dreamed of
cruising the Inside Passage (hence the name, Alaskan
Trader Tug).
A HERO’S HEART
Sue and Ron are passionate about their little tug. They
have customized the exterior and interior to suit their
needs and lifestyle, as well as to reflect Ron’s 22 years of
firefighting with Douglas County Fire District no. 2 in
Roseburg. Ron, now retired, has detailed the exterior
to look like a fireboat, and he painted “343” on the port
and starboard sides of the bow to commemorate the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the 9/11 rescues
in New York. Together, Ron and Sue have painted,
stripped, sewn, sawed, and varnished the little tug to
make it the unique vessel that it is today.
The boat has all the features of a pilothouse layout and
a very “shippy” appearance. Sue, who has been a real
estate broker in the Roseburg area for almost 30 years,
has added her touches to the quaint comfort of the
interior with brass fixtures and lanterns, lace window
coverings, striped wallpaper, and comfortable upholstery.
Ron improved the cabinetry and refinished the fine
woodwork on the walls, window trim, and walnut inlaid
flooring. They made a canvas bimini (which is easily
collapsed when the boat leaves the water for trailering)
to shade the stern cockpit. The upper bridge has an area
for Ron and Sue to stretch out and stargaze or sunbathe
on comfortable, cushioned lounge seats.
Popeye may be cute, but the boat travels the same
speed as many trawlers twice its size. It has a
turbocharged, inner-cooled, four-cylinder Yanmar 75hp
engine with a cruising speed of 7 knots. Ron installed a
bow thruster after purchasing the boat. For a small
vessel, the boat has quite a bit of windage. With an inline
shaft drive and a small rudder, the bow thruster makes
maneuvering much less stressful.
The boat carries 25 gallons of water, and the Langes
have never run dry. The routes they take for their month
away always include anchorages where water is readily
available. They have never encountered a water supply
problem. They take along bottled drinking water and
have several nooks and crannies to store the precious
commodity.
Ron and Sue paint hash marks on the port side of the
boat, keeping a running tally of how many trips they’ve made up the Inside Passage. To date, they have traveled
Inside Passage waters 17 times, the last two years with
Popeye. In 2006, after they launched Popeye into the sea
at Westview, they cruised through Desolation Sound,
the Discovery Islands, and on into the Broughton
Archipelago via the back roads of Johnstone Strait.
During the Langes’ most recent one-month cruise,
Popeye traveled to 22 different anchorages and marinas.
The waters surrounding the islands in Desolation
Sound are known for their warm temperatures, which
makes swimming an enjoyable option. Fishing for salmon and cod is another popular pastime, as is
prawning. The Discovery Islands offer beachcombing
opportunities, with lovely long, sandy beaches where
you can walk for miles at low tide. There are also
hiking trails on many of the islands in the Broughton
Archipelago that were once used in logging operations.
These areas provide an excellent opportunity to get off
the boat and stretch your legs while exploring logging
camp ruins, deserted homesteads and orchards, warm
freshwater lakes, and rock cliffs with gorgeous views of
the surrounding waterways.
Many boaters with larger trawlers than Popeye are
apprehensive about the straits and narrows that have
to be negotiated to get to the areas that Popeye easily
and confidently transits. The narrows have to be timed
just right for passage so that the tidal currents are
flowing in a direction and speed that is safe and
economical for your boat. The route that Popeye took
to get to the Broughtons had the Langes traveling the
dreaded Johnstone Strait for only 14 nautical miles.
Throughout their journey, only one day was a bit
rough for them as they were making their way homeward, headed south down the Johnstone Strait
and into Sunderland Channel. They were in the Strait
for a little over two hours, with a 4-foot following sea
sending them along.
Small, tight anchorages and docks with only an
unoccupied corner provide ideal opportunities for
Popeye to settle down and relax for the night. With a
draft of 30 inches, shallow depths that keep larger
boats away are no problem. With half the horsepower
of most trawlers, Popeye can make the same journeys,
see the same sunsets, and explore the same remote
inlets on the north coast of the Inside Passage for a
fraction of the price.
Not only can this little vessel go where the big boats
go, Popeye can go where the big boats can’t.
Popeye truly is the little trawler that could.
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2007 © Dominion Enterprises (888.487.2953) www.passagemaker.com
You are reading the text-only copy of this article. To access the article as it appeared in PassageMaker Magazine, please log in to purchase and download the PDF version of this article.