Afognak Strait, Alaskan Limit
Afognak is the name of an island, and a mountain in the northern part of the Kodiak Archipelago. It is also the name of a passage between little Whale Island and Afognak Island on the shores of which Kevin O’Leary has 143 wilderness acres and a cabin. So when it came to naming their new boat it is the passage, Afognak Straits, that Kevin O’Leary and his vessel partner, Walter Sargent, chose for their new longliner. Delivered by Fred Wahl Marine of Reedsport Oregon this past summer the Afognak Straits is currently, as of September 20, in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Designing to the Limit
Just as America’s Cup racers spent decades tuning the near perfect design formula of the 12-meter boats required by that event, so to have fishermen fine tuned the 58-ft Alaskan Limit seiner. The 58-ft limit was implemented in an early move to limit the size of vessels in the Alaskan salmon fishery. The boats are now used in many fisheries including halibut long lining and crab pot fisheries. The latest incarnation resulting from decades of evolution for this highly adaptable vessel underwent sea trials this month at Reedsport, Ore.
Rare New-Build for Pacific Coast
With fleet rationalization, reduced Alaskan crab quotas and dismal salmon markets, there has been a dearth of new construction in the fishing fleets along the Pacific coast of America in recent years. When there has been a new boat built, it was as likely as not that Fred Wahl would be doing the work. Fred Wahl Marine Constructors of Reedsport Oregon have steady work with repairs and haul outs of the crab and trawl fleet but interest around the yard of late is centered on a nifty 50-footer that Wahl is building for his own account.
