A Good Ketch

By Glenn Jorgenson
I am a commercial fisherman in Alitak Bay on Kodiak island. I have salmon set net sites in the mouth of Lazy Bay. This winter I was looking for a liveaboard to use when we fish in other areas. I Iive in Mill Creek, Washington, and I found lots of boats here, but I knew I would have to get it to Kodiak. I was looking for a good sea boat due to the extreme weather in Kodiak. My friend who lives in Kodiak purchased the Ketch from a gentleman from Port Lions who was moving. I knew this boat was what I was looking for but my friend did not want to sell it. Before he purchased the Ketch, it sat for five years. It needed extensive cleaning and maintenance. Due to his busy schedule it turned out he didn’t have the time to bring it back, so he offered me the project to finish. I flew up to Kodiak to take take a look. The boat was built in 1978 and need some love but most of it was cosmetic. With the okay from my wife, we purchased it. I spent 10 days working day and night making it ready for the trip to its new home Alitak. It turned out to be a pretty good boat. It had a good deep hull,a sound Perkins diesel and good genset. It had all the comforts of home. On June 1st at 4am along with traveling partner the f/v Patricia sue we headed out of Kodiak. Once we got into the Gulf I was surprised what a good sea boat it was. Sixteen hours later we were in Alitak without one problem. For the next four months, my son and I sanded woodwork and repaired what needed to be done. We mainly cruised around the south end making stops in Dead Mans Bay and Olga Bay. On the Ketch we enjoyed sport fishing halibut, salmon and whale and bear watching. This fall along with the help from the dock crew in Alitak, we built a cradle and rolled it on piling to dry land where it will winter. I thought of taking it south but almost all of her life has been in Alaska. I am the fifth owner of the Ketch. Most of her life was spent in Ketchican hence the name Good Ketch.
The Good Ketch
1978 Davis boat works Seattle
42ft long, 14ft wide, 5ft draft
Perkins main
Onan gen set
Wesmar bow thruster
Cruise speed 10 knots, top speed 14 knots
Owners Glenn and Lisa Jorgensen of Mill Creek, Washington

Ed. note: Thanks for the great story and spectacular photos, Glenn. Have a boat with a story? Send it our way and we’ll get it online and maybe in the magazine as well.