sea otter sailboat

Boats for Sale

19' nowak and williams sea otter center consoles.

Stock #310183 - ***SALE PENDING*** Beautiful and very rare 1974 Nowak and Williams Sea Otter 18! Ready to hit the water! Here is one of the original 7 Herreshoff Sea Otters built in Bristol RI by the Nowak/Williams boys, according to Halsey Chase Herreshoff many years ago who is the president of the Herreshoff Marine Museum. She has beautiful curves. Lapstrake double hull fiberglass. Gorgeous Teak Clapboard, Teak Gunnels Teak Console. Stainless Wheel. Morse Shifter. Power steering, trim, tilt . This vessel has been re-powered and restored through the years. This is a unique double-ender hybrid that is perfect for sunset tours, water taxi or fast cruising . This is probably the fastest launch ever built. A true beauty that turns heads everywhere it sails !!! We are looking for people all over the country who share our love for boats. If you have a passion for our product and like the idea of working from home, please visit Careeers [dot] PopSells [dot] com to learn more. Please submit any and ALL offers - your offer may be accepted! Submit your offer today! Reason for selling is not using. At Pop Yachts, we will always provide you with a TRUE representation of every vessel we market. We encourage all buyers to schedule a survey for an independent analysis. Any offer to purchase is ALWAYS subject to satisfactory survey results. Contact us for a free BoatHistoryReport report on this vessel. We pay upfront for a report on every vessel possible, and we provide this peace of mind to our buyers at no charge and with no commitment. All you have to do is ask! You have questions? We have answers. Call us at (941) 538-7803 to discuss this boat. Selling your boat has never been easier. At Pop Yachts, we literally sell thousands of units every year all over the country. Call (855) 218-2805 and we'll get started selling your boat today. Take a look at ALL ***54 PICTURES*** of this vessel on our main website at POPYACHTS DOT COM. We appreciate that you took your time to look at our advertisement and we look forward to speaking with you!

• Specifications
• Description

Condition This vessel appears to be in great shape. The seller has numerous records & receipts for 1000's of dollars on maintenance and repowering of the entire drivetrain. If you would like to see this vessel please do not hesitate to make an appointment to see her today. Navigational Equipment - Compass - GPS / Fishfinder - Navigation Lights - VHF - VHF Antenna Mechanical - Bilge Blower - Bilge Pump - Carbureted - Engine Alarms - Throttle/shift: Mech Electrical Systems - 12 V DC Outlets - Battery Switch - Courtesy Lights - Fuel Gauge - Fuse Panel - Horn - Speedometer - Tachometer - Volt Meter Construction - Bottom Paint Antifouling Deck Gear - Anchor - Anchor Rode - Built-in Cooler - Cleats - Fixed - Non-skid Deck - Rub Rails - Sea Cocks - Self Bailing Cockpit - Steering Wheel

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Sea Otter Owners Club

Welcome, Sea Otter boat owners and friends! This website is exclusively for you, regardless of whether you own a narrow, wide, Dutch barge, or center cockpit boat. Here, you can easily access your membership details, stay updated on upcoming events, and connect with fellow enthusiasts.

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Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest

Join an award-winning cruise that offers the opportunity to observe sea otters, whales, sea lions, porpoise, harbor seals, brown bears, deer, bald eagles and more!  The tour operator guarantees you will observe sea otters, a whale or a bear.  If not, you’ll receive a $100 cash refund as you disembark the tour vessel.

FULL DESCRIPTION

Join a cruise that guarantees wildlife viewing and offers the opportunity to observe sea otters, whales, sea lions, porpoise, harbor seals, brown bears, blacktail deer, bald eagles and a variety of marine birds.  An onboard naturalist will explain the workings of this remarkable ecosystem.  You’ll also learn about the sea otters’ recovery, following their near-extinction at the hands of Russian fur hunters in the early 1800s.

Your waterjet-driven tour vessel has been designed to navigate Southeast Alaska’s narrow island passages, allowing for wildlife viewing at close range.  The vessel features a warm cabin with comfortable seating, large windows, galley and restrooms.  There is an expansive topside observation deck for unparalleled photo opportunities and to fully experience your quest with all your senses.

This tour guarantees you will view sea otters, a whale or a bear.  If not, you’ll receive a $100 cash refund as you disembark the vessel.  You will have a generous amount of free time to explore beautiful Sitka on your own, before or after the cruise.

Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest Gallery

• Open Gallery
• Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest
• Port: Sitka
• Duration: Approximately 3 hours
• Provided: Cathedral ticket; snacks; coffee, tea, cocoa
• Accessibility: Select departures can accommodate persons using a collapsible/manual wheelchair. Please consult your cruise line shore excursion department before booking for details. The vessel is not accessible by electric scooter.
• This tour guarantees you’ll view sea otters, a whale or a bear! – If not, you’ll receive a $100 cash refund as you disembark the tour vessel. Tour operator has over 45-years of experience.
• Sitka Sound is home to the greatest variety of wildlife in Southeast Alaska – sea otters, whales, sea lions, porpoise, harbor seals, brown bears, puffins, bald eagles and more!
• Multi-year winner of “Shore Excursion of the Year” in Sitka! (As awarded by cruiseship passengers participating in the C.R.U.I.S.E. program to recognize excellent performance.)

Special Notes

Dress warmly and bring a rainproof jacket to wear on the observation deck. You will have a generous amount of free time to explore beautiful Sitka on your own, before or after the tour.

Availability

Allen Marine is committed to the long-standing relationships we have cultivated with our cruise line partners. Booking through your cruise line’s website is the most expedient and effortless way to book a trip, and includes several built-in benefits and guarantees. Because you are booking directly through your ship, your tickets will be ready ahead of time, and often hand-delivered to your stateroom. You are also guaranteed to make it back to your ship before it departs – the ship will stay in port if your shore excursion runs late. If there are any changes to your ship’s schedule, your shore excursions team will ensure that we are contacted on your behalf, and any necessary changes in itinerary will be made. Finally, you will have the added bonus of a dedicated shore excursions team who will be available to help answer questions and make arrangements should your tour be canceled or changed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. The value you receive by booking through your cruise line is truly outstanding.

Sitka, Alaska Tours

• About Sitka, Alaska
• Sea Otters, Raptors & Bears … Oh My!
• Wildlife Quest & Fin Island Lodge
• Alaska Up-Close Exclusive Cruise Adventure

Other Ports

• Juneau, Alaska Tours
• Ketchikan, Alaska Tours
• A Contract Creates Which Right

Alaska Sea Otter-Safe Boating: Guidance for Vessel Operators

The Marine Mammal Protection Act  prohibits take (harassing,  hunting, capturing, or killing) of sea otters in Alaska, with limited exceptions * . Anyone operating a vessel or conducting other activities in sea otter habitat should understand how to avoid unlawfully taking sea otters. 

Sea otters are found in nearshore waters up to 91 meters deep (300 feet, 50 fathoms) throughout their range, which includes nearly all of coastal Southeast, Southcentral, and Southwest Alaska. Vessels operating in sea otter habitat run the risk of disturbing sea otters, which is considered harassment. Vessels also can injure or kill sea otters by striking them with the boat propeller or hull. Boat collisions are a common cause of death for sea otters, especially in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

Sea otters in many parts of Alaska are used to human activities and may not show a clear reaction to an approaching vessel. However, close encounters with humans can still cause stress to otters in addition to posing a risk of collision. Female otters with pups are especially sensitive to disturbance, which can interrupt patterns of feeding, resting, and grooming that are critical to the health of pups and their mothers. Sea otters in locations with limited human activity may also be highly sensitive to disturbance.

You can minimize your chances of accidentally harming sea otters in Alaska waters by following the guidelines below.

* Exceptions to the prohibition of take includes harvest of sea otters by coastal-dwelling Alaska Native people for the purposes of creating and selling authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing, which is lawful under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Guidance for Vessel Operations

• Look ahead.  While operating vessels in sea otter habitat, scan the water surface ahead of the boat vigilantly for otters. Sea otters are difficult to spot in choppy water conditions and areas with kelp. If you are boating with another person, have them help search for otters from the bow or other clear vantage point. You may spot individual otters,  mother-pup pairs, or rafts with many animals.

Slow down. Travel at reduced speeds in areas with high densities of sea otters to avoid potential disturbance and collision. Slow down when you see an otter or group of otters, and do not assume that otters will dive and get out of the way of your boat. It is difficult for an otter to judge a boat’s speed and direction, and sea otters sleep very deeply and may not hear or see an approaching boat. Sick sea otters and otter pups less than three months old may not be able to dive or move out of the way.  Even if a sea otter is alert, capable, and does dive or swim away when your vessel approaches, the action of knowingly maintaining speed and staying your course would be considered harassment.

Steer clear. Give all otters a wide berth when passing by them, and take extra precaution to avoid approaching and disturbing rafts of otters and mother-pup pairs. If a sea otter reacts to your presence by abruptly diving, swimming away, or looking at your boat in a startled or agitated manner, you have gotten too close to the otter. The Service recommends staying 100 meters away from individual otters, 200 meters away from mother-pup pairs, and 500 meters away from rafts of otters when possible. 

• Respect groups. If you encounter a group of sea otters, do not pass between individuals. Go around the entire group with a wide buffer.

Never pursue.  Do not operate a vessel at any rate of speed heading directly at one or more sea otters. It is illegal to pursue or chase sea otters. Do not single out or surround sea otters.

Note conditions.  When visibility is poor due to weather or darkness, travel at slower speeds to reduce the likelihood of injury to sea otters. Be aware that during poor weather conditions, sea otters are more likely to form large rafts to rest in protected bays and coves. Avoid these rafts and take extra caution to avoid disturbing them, especially if visibility is reduced. 

Consider non-swimmers.  Sea otters may haul out and rest along the shoreline, on docks, and on ice. Avoid approaching otters on shore or another platform to prevent disturbance that may interrupt behavior and cause the otter(s) to enter the water. Stay 100 meters away from otters on shore or other platforms when possible.

Thank you for being a sea otter-safe boater!

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• 31' Narrowboat

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Sea Otter sailboats 31' Narrowboat for sale in Pyrford United Kingdom

Pyrford United Kingdom

Pipistrelle

Make & Model

Sea Otter sailboats 31' Narrowboat

MEASUREMENTS

Description.

SOLD! Similar Boats Required on Brokerage!

'Pipistrelle' - A Sea Otter 31' Narrowboat

Sea Otter Narrowboats are the Rolls-Royce of the inland waterways. Like all Sea Otter boats, they are constructed from Marine grade BS5083 aluminium alloy. It is a material commonly used where strength and longevity are required. Aluminium alloy is a material favoured by the majority of small commercial craft builders.

Designed in a reverse layout, this vessel offers a toilet/head compartment aft, a galley to port, a single dinette is found opposite which converts into a single berth or bunk beds, the saloon which features port and starboard three seater settees which can be converted to form a full width double berth when required.

Powered by a Nanni 21hp diesel engine (854 recorded hours)this Narrowboat offers economical cruising. Central heating is provided by an air blown Trumatic system with air ducts throughout the cabin. Hot water is supplied by the engine calorifier or immersion on shore power. 240V & 12V electrics on board.

Blacked in August 2021, Engine serviced in October 2021, Boat safety certificate valid to August 2023, Hull survey carried December 2019.

Commissioned in 2006 and launched in 2007 this Narrowboat is ready to view at Pyrford Marina. To arrange a viewing please call Rachel on.

'Pipistrelles' interior is constructed of Ash marine ply and hardwood trims giving a light an airy feel. Accommodation for 4 crew.

Cruiser stern with a curved bench seats at the helms position. Two 100W solar panels. Houdini hatch to allow additional ventilation and natural light in the cabin. Navigation lights and Tunnel light. 2 x sprung toe steps. Port and starboard easy grab pipe handrails. At 31ft this aluminium Narrowboat is also trailer-able with the right vehicle, allowing easy relocation to explore the whole inland waterway networks.

A good size galley positioned to port and features; a four burner gas hob, grill and oven. Moulded sink with drainer and a single stainless steel hot and cold mixer tap. 12V fridge with icebox.

Head / Bathroom

The wet room style bathroom contains a cassette chemical toilet, shower, vanity basin unit and mirror.

Positioned to starboard features a single pullman’s style dinette with forward and aft facing seats. This can be converted to form a single berth or bunk beds, accommodating two extra berths.

The saloon consists of three seater settees located to port and starboard which can be converted to form a king-size berth.

Heating / Hot Water System

A Trumatic air blown central heating system is supplied on board with 3 air ducts to cabin and head/bathroom; providing plenty of heat, perfect for all year round cruising. The calorifier is connected to the engine circuit providing heat for hot water when running and also a 240V immersion for use when connected by shoreline.

The 12V system comprises 1 x 95Ah starter battery (new June 2021) and 2 x 100Ah domestic batteries charged by 2 x 100W solar panels via a Victron Smart solar charge controller (new Aug 2020). LED lighting is fitted throughout the interior. There is also a 4 x speaker FM/CD player with a DAB receiver. 

The 240V system on board simply plugs in to the shoreline providing power to the sockets throughout the boat. A 240V 40A battery charger provides additional battery charging capability.

Specification

Vessel type – Narrowboat

Builder – Sea Otter

Model – 31’ Narrowboat

Year constructed – 2007

Number of engines - 1

Engine model - Nanni

Fuel type - Diesel

Drive type - Shaft drive

Length overall - 31ft (9.44 m)

Beam - 6ft 10in (2.08 m)

Average Draft - 2ft (0.6 m)

Hull material – Aluminium

Hull type – Displacement

Central Heating - Trumatic air blown system

Contact Information

For more information or to arrange a viewing please contact Rachel onor alternatively email - [email protected]

Engine Count

Engine Horse Power

Engine Hours

Propeller Type

3 Blade, Bronze

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Hull Material

Double Berths

Single Berths

Displacement(kgs)

5000 kilograms

Drive Transmission Description

0.46 meters

Engine Year

Engine Type

No of Heads

ABOUT SEA OTTER SAILBOATS 31' NARROWBOAT

The Sea Otter sailboats 31' Narrowboat is 31 feet long and has a 6.8 feet beam and a draft of 0.46 meters. This 2007 diesel Sea Otter sailboats 31' Narrowboat powered by Nanni 21 with 21.0 horsepower. The Sea Otter sailboats 31' Narrowboat is made of aluminum.

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Sea Otter Narrowboats

By Neil2 July 25, 2016 in General Boating

Featured Posts

It's always puzzled me why this company had such trouble staying in business when aluminium seems to be the perfect building material for inland boats.

Personally I always lusted after one of these when I couldn't possibly afford one, now I can, I'm looking for the disadvantages...

- One thing I picked up from the salty water brigade is that ally boats are perceived to be noisy, compared to grp or steel boats.

- Sea Otters draw quite a bit less than most steel narrowboats and are much lighter so can get blown about more. Even the 32 footers have bow thrusters.

- Most of them have Nannidiesels which wouldn't figure on my list of ideal narrowboat engines.

- They are still considerably more expensive than a steel boat of comparable size.

I doubt there are many members with first hand experience of these boats but any comments would be appreciated.

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They dent really easily. Most of them tend to belong to the 'shiny boat brigade' but I have seen a few that have been worked hard and they looked a mess. If I had one it would have imploded by now!

It's always puzzled me why this company had such trouble staying in business when aluminium seems to be the perfect building material for inland boats.   Personally I always lusted after one of these when I couldn't possibly afford one, now I can, I'm looking for the disadvantages...   - One thing I picked up from the salty water brigade is that ally boats are perceived to be noisy, compared to grp or steel boats.   - Sea Otters draw quite a bit less than most steel narrowboats and are much lighter so can get blown about more. Even the 32 footers have bow thrusters.   - Most of them have Nannidiesels which wouldn't figure on my list of ideal narrowboat engines.   - They are still considerably more expensive than a steel boat of comparable size.     I doubt there are many members with first hand experience of these boats but any comments would be appreciated.

If I'm not completely wrong, Nanni engines are based on Kubota engines, which are very good and reliable engines.

Laurence Hogg

If you want a "go anywhere" narrow boat then they are ideal. You can explore a lot of disconnected and unreachable waters with one. They are the boat for the adventurers amongst us! We had a Sea Otter accompany us (NB Progress) going through the Menai Straits to Caernarfon some years ago, it handled very well.

I believe that the longer Sea Otters often have a bow thruster to offset the effect of the slight V-shaped hull. Not only do they dent more easily than a steel boat, the paint falls off more readily too when there is an impact. The rubber fendering looks impressive but is often not where the boat is going to touch something, also you have to be careful to avoid it sitting on the lock edge when descending. Some Sea Otters can, with the fendering, be slightly over-width. I use mine all year round and get a lot of condensation. I think they are mainly designed for 'sunny days on the river'.

The water ballast makes them quite tender so crew must be careful moving around. In general, I struggle to prevent the boat listing to one side. Conversely, it handles very well and, with a full water tank plus someone standing up front, the boat will continue in a straight line if you take your hand off the tiller. You can also make it spin on the spot. Overall the handling of my small Sea Otter compares very favourably with a steel 25 footer that I owned previously which tended to go round in circles when the forward power was removed. You can moor anywhere, turn anywhere and scarcely have to slow down for moored boats.

The reasons for the failure of the first company are well documented. Otherwise, I suspect there simply is not a big enough market for this type of boat. Perhaps the recession didn't help. They are really rather expensive.

The OP should consider joining the Sea Otter Owners' Club if he is serious about buying one.

I don't agree that they dent really easily. The aluminium is about half an inch thick and will withstand bumps as well as a steel boat. In the early days Sea Otter didn't "bond" the paint very well and it did tend to come off quite easily but loss of paint on a Sea Otter is nor a problem as the hull doesn't rust. We had our Sea Otter repainted in 2002 and she still looks good. Don't think you can say that about many steel boats. They seem to hold their value quite well.

I was only describing my own experience and my Sea Otter certainly has a couple of dents from minor impacts. My paint job is now ten years old and pretty faded.

The ali's not as much as half an inch thick. 6 or 8mm . Still doesn't dent that easily though. The only dent we put in Gamebird was from hitting a solid underwater obstruction at fairly high speed. That impact would have dented a steel boat.

I think the problem with selling them was the high price. Marine grade aluminium is more expensive than steel, and the welding is more expensive. Also, the hull design, with "V" bottom, plus a flat floor to form the ballast tank has to be costlier than a flat baseplate.

I agree that the handling feels a bit tender, but I think that's more the effect of the "V" bottom than the water ballast, which ends up as a full tank with no free surface (well, about 3 square inches, due to the vent!). The ultimate handling is surprisingly good.

Like most businesses Sea Otter had to survive on cash flow. A fairly large proportion of the output was standard layout boats for their dealer on the Thames. Basically only the colour varied. When the dealer cancelled all the orders in 2008 they quickly ran out of money.

In my opinion Sea Otter also spread their wings too far by going into centre cockpit, wide beam, up to 60 feet, sea-going sedan style etc. They would have been better sticking to one niche product the trailable narrowboat.

Grebe was built in 1999 the metal spec was 6/6/6/5 (two 6s for two bottoms). The main side panels had strengthening stringers attached. We lived locally so have a picture showing them. Our paint problem was RED, it stuck on fine but the roof faded badly and the side panels were going the same way. We had a repaint in 2008 and changed the roof colour to grey.

Much more lively than a steel boat,they are best treated as a dinghy. Step in to the middle when getting on, or when getting off stand on gunnel - wait for boat to rise and then step off.

We've loved her for 17 years.

Just to clarify, I'm not interested in the so called "trailable" Otters, ie 30 foot and under, though I suspect most of the comments apply across the range.

I'm surprised that some folk consider they dent easily. Apart from anything else, the lower inertia of a lighter boat would surely make it less susceptible to impact damage?

But the comment about condensation is interesting, Someone else remarked that the inside space cools down very quickly and of course aluminium conducts heat much better than steel so that has to be a factor, I always assumed Sea Otter beefed up the insulation to compensate but it doesn't sound like it.. Also, as I understand it, the top of the water ballast "tank" is just below the cabin floor, which must make the floor really cold especially in winter. I noticed a huge difference in the floor temperature of our present boat, which has a very deep bilge, compared to the last one which was very shallow.

So I wonder about the suitability of these boats for all year round use, without modifications.

My experience of steel v aluminium push bikes is that steel is heavier but aluminium will crack after a few years as it becomes increasingly brittle following knocks. With a narrowboat, being light is no advantage but the risk of a hull cracking after 20+ years is enough to put me off.

I don't agree that they dent really easily. The aluminium is about half an inch thick and will withstand bumps as well as a steel boat.

I shared a lock with one once and parts of it literally looked like a crashed car. And it was covered in extra hanging fenders. It seemed apparent to me as we worked through the lock why it was so dented. The driver was 'heavy handed'. But as we rattled through the lock together, me in my steel boat, I formed the opinion that if he had steel boat it wouldn't be showing any damage.

So I guess it is a matter of how you 'boat' - if you are very careful and precise with your steering, and happily take extra time to position your boat then an aluminium boat will work fine for you - as evidenced by the vast majority of Se Otters which are largely dent free. It all depends on the kind of boater you are.

ditchcrawler

  They dent really easily. Most of them tend to belong to the 'shiny boat brigade' but I have seen a few that have been worked hard and they looked a mess. If I had one it would have imploded by now!

Well you have got two shiny boats

Not sure about the perfect material for an inland waterways boat, I would have thought stainless steel if money is no object.

We never had a great problem with condensation and we cruised all year round. The usual tactic of good ventilation always helped - top hoppers always open and heat up. The rear hatch and runners being single skin/plain metal items could form condensation. I think most factory spec boats had a Houdini Hatch - a recipe for condensation in my and other's book. We didn't have a Houdini fitted.

The floor was 19mm board with lino and then carpet on top. Insulation on Grebe was foam (polstyrene?) panels. All wiring was inconduit.

All of the Sea Otters that came on brokerage when I was in boat sales seemed to have a very flimsy fit out, sort of caravanie.

We have often cruised with a 56 foot sea otter . She is out March to October for the last 12 years . No falling paint, no dents ( the rubber bumper works well ) . When under way she can travel faster then us creating very little drag or wash . Performed well on the tidal Trent ,Ribble link , Severn crossing and our recent Mersey crossing. The beech fitout looks as good as new . Engine not as quiet as it used to be and they are having trouble trying to find a pulley at the moment . They have had their water waste and fuel tanks enlarged as they had to fill with water every two day , pump out every week and fuel every week . They wouldn't change her and she is still.a nice looking boat .Bunny

leolady too

We know some folk with a sea otter. It needs repainting (it was red and is now dull pink). They told us that most boat painters won't touch aluminium boats. I don't know how true that is but that's what they said.

I can't think there are many boat painters in the uk who could refinish an aluminium boat by stripping back to bare metal, but I don't see why you couldn't just paint over the existing finish. Surely that would be relatively easy as you would only need one or two coats.

But it does make you wonder if this is a factor that will affect resale values as these boats start to look more and more tired.

From what I see sea otters are holding their value very well, especially the older short ones. When we had ours repainted in 2002 she was stripped back to bare metal and was undercoated with etch primer.

From what I see sea otters are holding their value very well, especially the older short ones. When we had ours repainted in 2002 she was stripped back to bare metal and was undercoated with etch primer. Haggis

That's reassuring. The stripping and etch priming is what I thought would put the job beyond most narrowboat painters, I guess you can't attack an aluminium boat with the scrabbler so some form of chemical stripping is necessary? Where was your boat done?

I agree the shorter boats seem disproportionately expensive compared to the longer types but I guess this is the (apparent) appeal of a "go anywhere" trailable boat.

We are in Scotland and there were no boat painters so we put her on her trailer and took her to a small company who did car painting etc

I think he sanded her down before applying etch primer

  If I'm not completely wrong, Nanni engines are based on Kubota engines, which are very good and reliable engines.   Peter.

...and they're a common choice for continental hire boats. The pénichettes which we've hired in France over the past couple of years have had them; the ones we encountered have been reliable and have had ample "poke".

    In my opinion Sea Otter also spread their wings too far by going into centre cockpit, wide beam, up to 60 feet, sea-going sedan style etc.      

I never knew that they built centre-cockpit models until I encountered one a few weeks ago at Cropredy.. The owner (perhaps still the same David Fincham who had written to one of the boatimags about them some years ago) was delighted with it and reckoned that it was one of only a few made, seven I think he said. I thought it a very neat job apart from the silly little steering wheel.

BruceinSanity

<snip>   I agree the shorter boats seem disproportionately expensive compared to the longer types but I guess this is the (apparent) appeal of a "go anywhere" trailable boat.

And of course all shorter boats are more expensive, foot for foot, as they still contain all or most of the pricey kit like engines and galley fittings, just less comparatively empty lengths.

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50th Anniversary Collectors Issue - September/October Issue No. 300 Preview Now

Oar / Paddle

Sea Otter was designed for an adult night school class I was teaching in boat building, in which nine boats were built at one time. Actually the principles of construction used in Sea Otter are the same as used in many of our larger designs. Experienced gained in building her will be put to good use in building a mother ship, and then you will already have a good dinghy ready for her.I have chosen to stay under 8 feet because I feel this is the most desirable length due to space requirements on most boats, and because of the standard length of plywood. Sea Otter has proven to row very well and carry three adults with ease, while not exhibiting any bad habits when lightly loaded with one person. The hull is essentially our New Epoxy Wood System (N.E.W.S.) which has been so successful but I have left out fiberglass entirely for the sake of simplification. Because of epoxy's excellent gap-bridging properties it is not necessary to have perfectly tight seams to produce a strong hull, but nevertheless a close fit should be attempted on all joints. Her construction is simplicity itself and the materials specified are stock sizes. A sailing version is available using leeboards, tied in place. In this way they are easily detached for rowing or motoring and there is no centerboard case to get in the way. The mast is a freestanding fiberglass pipe in two sections, which slot together. This keeps their length short enough that they can be kept in the boat along with the boom. The sail is loose footed and sleeves over the mast. Only a small outboard should be used as this is not a planing hull, and an undue amount of power will only damage the structure while not producing any faster speeds.Many Sea Otters have already given years of happy use and it is considered easier to build than the Sabot, a similar type of dinghy. A combination of the traditional clinker style utilizing modern materials and using high-tech glues makes this an extremely simple, quick dinghy to build. Great as a family project there is something for everyone in this superb little boat.Full kits are available with everything pre-cut along with detailed assembly instructions.Finished vessels now available for $4,200.00 CAD (approx. $3,000.00 US)

Design Specifications

contact: Pat Bray email : [email protected] phone: 1 604 531 8569 address: P.O. Box 31015 RPO Luckakuck, Chilliwack, B.C., Canada V2R 0C4

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14' 5" Biscayne Bay Daysailer

Strike 18 sailing trimaran

From the community, register of wooden boats.

Wianno Senior sail # 168 finisahed 1975

Buzzards Bay 19

Built by Landing Boat School. Brand new sails. Call for more pictures. $7,500.

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Sea Otter 21ft – Review

Jenny Bennett and Peter Chesworth travel to Lancashire to sail a new design twenty-one footer canoe yawl. Published courtesy of The Boatman.

Once in a while, just when you think that the line of traditional boatbuilders who have learned their techniques in yards must surely be coming to an end, you meet someone who puts your mind at rest. David Moss is one of those. The new Sea Otter has not been quick in its build and it has to be said that, if you want a boat tomorrow, David Moss is not the man to ask. But if you want an original created with unquestionable craftsmanship and quality materials and if you are buying a boat to keep for many years to come and are therefore prepared to wait for the best, then this quietly spoken, highly-skilled man from Skippool Creek in Lancashire is worth a visit.

During the course of construction, Sea Otter developed from her original concept of a dayboat with cuddy to become a small, cabin boat with a fully fitted interior. She measures 21′ LOA, 18′ LWL, 6′ 91/2″ in the beam and has a fixed draught of 2′, a centreplate-Iowered draught of 4′. Her construction is solid, giving rise to a displacement of 3920 lb, and the best quality materials have been employed throughout.

The hull is strip planked, rough sawn, square-edged , 5/8″ Douglas fir topped with a 1/8″ khaya mahogany veneer. The backbone is iroko throughout its length, laminated in the stem and sternpost and solid in the hog and keel. Having to accommodate the centreplate slot, the hog is 11″ wide and 2″ deep while the keel is a narrower 8″ wide but 2 1/2″ deep. Both are in solid timber.

Beneath the true keel there is a ballast keel, some 1450 lbs of lead and through it all, pivoted within the lead keel, passes the 1/2″ galvanised steel plate weighing 200 lb. The boat is fastened with silicon bronze screws and the keel is held by aluminium bronze bolts – it may not all be visible but there is no question of short cuts or “what the eye cannot see.”  Once planked up, the hull was planed fair by hand and only when David was satisfied that the finish was perfect, did he finish off with the 1/8″ diagonally-laid khaya veneer.

Of those parts of the boat that are visible I could find only one phrase which did justice to David’s work: true craftsmanship. He has a theory about boats that explains much of the manner in which he puts them together: “A boat should be pretty and sail well. It should never be ugly like so many modern boats. In the 1930s there were so many new beautiful boats and those are the ones that today’s yachtsmen are doing up and cherishing. But what are the yachtsmen of sixty years hence going to be doing up? The way the industry’s going, the answer is, very little.” One thing, however, is certain: if she is in need of renovation, then Sea Otter will be well worth the effort in 2023.

You would need to travel far to find better quality craftsmanship.

There is an elegance to Sea Otter that belies her diminutive size, the attention to detail is beyond compare and yet, thanks to the sheer efficiency of the layout and design there is no feeling of ‘preciousness’ or of ‘over the top fancy’. The beauty is lent by curves where there might otherwise be angles, the strength by solid wood where there might otherwise be ply, the warmth by a bright-finish and cream paint interior where there might otherwise be veneers and plastics.

Cabin Interior

There is a surprising amount of space down below although this has, perhaps, been gained at the expense of cockpit area – more than two adults would feel overcrowded when sailing. There is limited headroom but, as the bulk of the cabin is mattress with lockers under, this is no loss. From amidships forward, the cabin is dominated by two berths divided by a solid infill aft, acting as a fiddled surface for the reading book, the bottle of wine, the glass, the torch… and, forward, by the wooden support for the deck-stepped mast and the navel pipe for the anchor-chain – also in wood to reduce the noise of the moving chain. Immediately inside the hatchway from the cockpit is, to port, a small wet-locker and shelving and, to starboard, the centreplate and its lifting gear, a two-burner Optimus paraffin stove and some mug and plate racks custom-designed to accommodate the already-purchased crockery. All the shelves are fitted with bottom fiddles, while the curved locker openings have solid wood restraining bars to prevent their contents spilling out when in a seaway. Throughout, the solid timber has been bright finished the Douglas fir of the cabin roof contrasting well with the laminated cedar and fir beams – while the plywood sole, bulkhead and locker fronts have been finished in Epifanes cream monourethane paint.

On deck, 1/2″ plywood throughout, the layout is clear, uncluttered and simple. There are no guard rails but, with all the running rigging leading back and the foresail fitted with a Wykeham Martin roller, there is little need to leave the safety of the cockpit. There is, however, a deep iroko toe rail that runs right around the boat. The cockpit itself is deep and comfortable with highly varnished iroko seat tops hinging up to reveal two spacious bin lockers to starboard and one, running the length of the cockpit, to port – this latter is large enough to house the long-shaft 6hp Seagull outboard. Although there have been some complications in the simultaneous stowage of the engine and its fuel tank, the outboard will normally be stowed whilst under sail. However, as we were in a strong tideway, we elected to leave the motor in its bracket and, although the propeller did drag, it did not greatly interfere with our performance.

It is always one of my fears that a boat which looks beautiful, and is obviously well built, will let itself and its creator down when sailing. I also have to confess that I have not been a great fan of the yawl rig on small boats, not because of their performance but more because with three sails, the rigs tend to end up being low and spread out and thus, to my mind, not as visually attractive as some other arrangements. But here, with a high-peaked mainsail and an equally high-peaked mizzen of a size large enough to have a significant effect, I was prepared to accept that all aesthetic preferences should be prepared to allow exceptions! Furthermore, she behaved beautifully, despite it being only the second outing (her first in a strong breeze) and despite having a helmsman who was inexperienced with the strength of the ebbing spring tide in the main channel.

I should make mention of the weather helm which was, for me, slightly on the heavy side but I should also say that had we been sailing for a leisurely afternoon’s fun, we would almost certainly have put one reef in the mainsail which would have instantly negated this problem. I did find that her heeling motion was comfortable and would be surprised if she proved to be unpleasant or particularly wet in a seaway.

I was, however, particularly impressed by Sea Otter’s performance under jib and mizzen alone. I have always expected a yawl to be comfortable and safe under such a sailplan but not, to be honest, particularly useful. How wrong can one be? When it was time to sail back up the creek to David’s landing stage, we lowered the mainsail into its lazyjacks, tacked back and forth against and into the tide whilst the sail was stowed and then crept up the creek. Not once, when going to windward, did I have to attend to the mizzen, and not once did she falter in coming through the wind and settling down into her new point of sail. After the energetic performance under full rig, it was wonderfully restful.

Thus, Sea Otter forced me to revise my opinion of the yawl sail plan and proved that David is not only a first class builder but also a designer of no small merit. Ask David Moss for a boat and you vvill not be met with a glib salespitch and promises of delivery yesterday, but if you are prepared to be as thoughtful and methodical in defining your vessel as David vvill be in building her, there is no question that the result vvill be worth the waiting, so much so that you would need to travel a long way to find better quality boat craftsmanship.

21′ SEA OTTER SPECIFICATION LOA: 21ft (6.4m) LWL: 18ft (5.5m) Beam: 6ft 9 1/2in (2.1m) Draught – centreplate up: 2ft (0.61m) centreplate down: 4ft (1.22m) Weight: 3,360lbs (1,524kg) Sail Area: 252 sq.ft (23.41 sq.m) Cost on application.

The Boatman

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GAFF CUTTER ‘POLLY’ WINS CLASSIC BOAT AWARD

David’s recently completed pilot gaff cutter, POLLY, has won the prestigious 2018 Classic Boat Award in the new traditional build category.

THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE David would like to thank all those who voted for him, the boat and the team at Skippool Creek.

Sea otters are rebounding from near extinction. Not everyone is happy.

How can these voracious mammals be reintegrated into a world that changed while they were gone?

The scrunched face of otter 820 pressed against the grille of her carrying box, and she was squealing, the way sea otters do when they’re panicked or indignant or calling for their kin. (Think of a gull’s cry, but sharper.) She had dark eyes, deep brown fur, and a radio transmitter implanted in her belly. She was 16 months old, a sea otter adolescent, and unsettling events had so far marked the whole course of her life. Abandoned as a newborn, lifted into a truck by rescuers, bottle-fed by black-cloaked humans, and raised by a sea otter foster mother in an outdoor aquarium pool, 820 was one small part of a long ecological experiment—an atonement, of sorts, for the massacre of her species more than a century ago.

So she was in a box. The box was on the deck of an inflatable motorboat. She scrabbled her paws against the box floor and walls.

“We’ll see how this goes,” Karl Mayer said.

It was a late summer morning, and Mayer and his colleague Sandrine Hazan were animal care specialists with California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, the gray structure receding in the fog as Mayer gunned the boat into deeper waters. Inside the aquarium, a crowd was already forming around the glass-walled sea otter tank; from the perspective of the tank’s residents, the human species must sometimes appear as one endless lineup of goofy smiles and raised cell phones. A couple of undulating laps, a little nose-rubbing with the paws, a quick session of Bang Plastic Ball Against Rocks—everything seems to provide extreme amusement for the bipeds on the other side of the glass. Pop a whiskery head out of the water and pick a couple of gawkers to flirt with: happy mayhem, guaranteed.

There are semi-rational explanations for people’s ardor at the sight of sea otters, and you can hear experts tick them off: 1. Sea otters are tool users; they pick up appropriately shaped stones, roll over, and position the stones on their stomachs as shellfish-smashing devices. 2. They’re among the world’s smallest marine mammals, and they swim on their backs, which is weirdly entertaining to watch. 3. Something about their faces, the fur, a furry little animal being graceful in the sea …

And here the experts tend to give up, yielding to the obvious. “When people ask me about them, I have to be very professional, with my game face on,” Hazan told me. “But when no one’s around, we definitely use the c-word.” Cute, she means. So relentless is sea otter cuteness that people who work all day with them, while not immune to it, can find it exasperating. The notion that wild sea otters hold each other’s paws, for example, to keep from drifting apart: Winsome but wrong. (Sorry.) Some years ago, two sea otters at an aquarium were photographed floating paw in paw; those images have kept up a robust internet presence, but there’s no reliable evidence that sea otters regularly do this in open water. It is true that they hug their pups while swimming on their backs. It is also true that they sometimes converge into “rafts,” giving the impression of companions gathered for a pleasant group float.

Sea otters can be ferocious, though. They’re predators: carnivorous and tough. They have jaws and teeth that crush clamshells and rip the guts out of spiky littler animals. Their near-extinction story is a brutal eco-drama that commences in the 1700s, when Russian sailors exploring the Aleutian Islands learned what Indigenous Pacific coastal people already knew: Sea otters are covered with the thickest, most luxuriant fur in the world. The coastal people also prized those pelts, but they hunted at an otter-sustaining pace; the new hunters possessed no such wisdom. By 1911, when a treaty curtailed the international seal and sea otter fur trade, a few sparse clusters were all that remained of the sea otter population that had once ringed the Pacific—between 150,000 and 300,000, from Baja California in Mexico up into the northern islands off Alaska, Russia, and Japan.

Now, in waters off the North American continent, a different kind of human intervention has been helping sea otters survive and spread once again. Are they thriving? Touchy question. Is this a happy ending? Touchier question. What about the latest ideas for hurrying that spread along—reintroducing sea otters to more places they once inhabited, like San Francisco Bay? Raise that question among debating partisans, especially people who make their living catching the shellfish that multiplied when no sea otters were around to eat them, and, well, brace yourself. It’s complicated, figuring out how tough, carnivorous predators fit into a world that changed while they were gone, and amid this collision of opinions about Enhydra lutris   there was something comforting about the precision of the morning’s task: Help otter 820 get safely back to sea.

Mayer quieted the engine, studying the gray-green water. The rescue sea otters at the Monterey aquarium are numbered rather than named, to keep sentiment in check; the plan is to return them, if possible, to the wild. Otter 820 arrived at the facility’s intensive care unit—someone phoned in a beached-pup sighting; rescuers drove out to scoop her up—between otters 819 and 821. Today’s try at releasing her was a second attempt, as a few months earlier she’d failed the first: Mayer and Hazan transmitter-tracked her as she wandered about, ate too little, kept losing weight. When they finally brought her back in, she was so wasted she slumped without protest into their net.

“We restored her to normal weight and health,” Mayer said. “Now we’re trying again.” He nodded at Hazan, who pushed 820’s box to the edge of the motorboat, tipped it down, and threw open the door.

A newborn sea otter weighs about five pounds, resembles a fur pillow with eyeballs, and for the next few months needs a mother for everything—not just food but also the most basic instruction in staying alive. The adult males don’t stick around to help, and the pups don’t instinctively understand how to grab shellfish off the seabed, crack open a crab’s back, or stash smashing stones under their armpits as they swim. They have to be shown how to groom constantly, fluffing their coats and blowing air into the underfur; sea otters have no blubber, and the famous fur is a thick insulation system for keeping them warm in the water, where they spend most of their time. In the Pacific a sea otter with matted fur or skin wounds can quickly freeze to death.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been experimenting with sea otter recovery ever since it opened in 1984, with its focus on the region’s marine life. Some of the last surviving sea otters off California lived not far from Monterey; scientists call these southern sea otters, to distinguish them from the northerns near and above the Canadian border. Before long, reports of injured or stranded southerns set in motion a remarkable sequence of rescue and rehab at the new aquarium. In-house veterinarians performed emergency otter surgery. One area, closed to the public, became a sea otter neonatal ward.

Then, because even healthy pups still had to learn how to grow up, staff members began stepping in as substitute mothers. Mayer no longer works at the aquarium, but during his early years there as an animal scientist, his duties included some all-nighters on the aquarium’s sea otter waterbed, soothing and bottle-feeding an anxious pup. He would carry a pup into the bay with him, a weight belt over his wet suit, and demonstrate diving for shellfish while his pupil watched from above. He used his teeth to crack the shells of live crabs—more parental-style demonstration—while floating on his back. He put shells on his chest and pounded them with rocks.

“We’d essentially model what it was to be a sea otter,” Mayer says. “They’d follow you around. You couldn’t lose your sea otter pup if you wanted to.”

Trial and error taught the humans too. Wild sea otters must not associate the sight and smell of people with comfort or food, so the bottle-feeders improvised what they called Darth Vader disguises: black mask, gloves, dark poncho to alter the human shape. Eventually, to minimize even more the contact between pups and people, the aquarium’s biologists decided to try having the resident adult female sea otters take over the motherly finishing school. These were rescues that for various reasons had been declared unsuitable for release back into the wild but might still intuitively understand what to do—how to foster a pup, teach it to forage and stay warm, prepare it for meeting others in the sea.

No aquarium had ever tried such a thing. But the first of the surrogate mothers (as the biologists labeled them) inspected their new charges, clearly grasped the task at hand, and got to work. That was more than 20 years ago. The population of southern sea otters is currently estimated at about 3,000, an encouraging if still modest advance toward true recovery; they are scattered up and down the middle third of California’s coast, with 100 to 150 living in the protected Monterey Bay slough the aquarium has used as a prime release spot. Wild sea otters now share that inlet with surrogate-raised sea otters and their descendants, all of which seem to have figured out how to yank crabs and clams from the mucky bottom. Where smashing rocks are scarce, they improvise by using empty clamshells or by bashing hard-shelled prey against boat hulls and dock pilings. They’re surviving. They’re raising their young. They’re satisfying their prodigious appetites.

And here, problematically, is the 21st-century sea otter conundrum: their appetites.

Sea otters eat a lot.   The daily intake of an adult sea otter can weigh about a quarter what the otter weighs; lactating mothers need even more. They eat shellfish, and the about-a-quarter calculation doesn’t include the shells. (For one 60-pound adult sea otter, picture about 15 pounds of shellfish meat.) Within their Pacific surroundings, sea otters are a keystone species, the term biologists use for animals or plants that are especially important to the ecosystems in which they live. Those giant otter appetites, plus their choice of prey, can maintain—or restore—a healthy equilibrium in their part of the sea.

Among the shellfish sea otters eat, for instance, are urchins. Urchins eat kelp, so without the otters around to hold their numbers down, grazing urchins can take down whole forests of kelp. And scientists are learning that kelp forests, along with seagrasses that flourish when sea otters are present, play their own crucial roles in marine resilience. Kelp tangles make protective nurseries for baby finfish, increasing the number and variety of adult fish. Seagrasses filter out water contaminants and lock carbon into the sediment.

“Sea otters have huge effects,” says research ecologist Tim Tinker, a University of California, Santa Cruz adjunct professor who is one of the world’s leading sea otter experts and has spent decades studying both the northern and southern populations. “That’s why understanding them is so important. When they’re removed from an ecosystem or put back into an ecosystem, everything changes. And that’s disruptive. Some people are going to like the effects they have. And some people are not.”

Case in point: commercial shellfish harvesters. “Like setting off a nuclear bomb,” a dive fisherman named Jeremy Leighton told me one afternoon in a waterfront café, describing seabeds he’s seen in the wake of hungry-sea-otter foraging. “Everything getting wiped out, in a radius, as they expand.”

Leighton lives in Ketchikan, Alaska. He was born in Alaska, as were his father and grandmother. His catch includes geoduck, a large, burrowing clam, and sea cucumber, another shellfish. His territory is Southeast Alaska, currently the global epicenter of people hostile to sea otters. It was here that I heard them described as “an infestation” (a Haida tribal leader) and “a disaster” (a commercial crabber, glaring at the water off his boat). Also this, from a man who’s fished the area for almost 40 years: “Actually one of the most destructive things on the planet.”

To be fair, that last description was prefaced by “cute and fuzzy and cuddly and all that stuff, but actually …” The speaker was Ed Hansen, who works with a group called the Southeast Alaska Fishermen’s Alliance; his wife, Kathy, is executive director. They appreciate the popular appeal, in other words. But their version of the modern sea otter story is one of good intentions gone awry—because unlike their southern relatives, northern sea otters in recent decades have multiplied prolifically in waters from which they had once vanished. A 2021 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service–supported study put the Southeast Alaska count at more than 27,000 sea otters. Canadian scientists estimate that another 8,000 live along British Columbia’s coast.

Why the huge difference in comeback numbers, northerns versus southerns? The reasons start with human intervention more than a half century ago, when the U.S. government was holding underground nuclear tests on Amchitka Island, a thousand miles west of mainland Alaska. Amchitka is part of the Aleutians, and although that’s the very archipelago where the hunt to near extinction began, by the mid-1960s, some of the world’s remaining wild sea otters could still be found there—remnant colonies, biologists called them. After shock waves from the first test blast in 1965 killed hundreds of these otters, Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials began an extraordinary series of relocation airlifts: Over the next seven years more than 700 sea otters were pulled from the Aleutians and Prince William Sound, flown east, and lowered into the water in ancestral Pacific Northwest sea otter territory.

The otters released off Oregon didn’t make it; by 1981, they’d scattered or died. The otters put in off Washington State hung in along one stretch of coastal waters, their numbers growing steadily but slowly. In Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, though, the relocators set sea otters into the coastline’s multiple bays and inlets, which turned out to be ideal protected settings for rapid—some Alaskans would say explosive—population growth. The females had pups (seven to 10 in a lifetime is typical). The pups grew up and had pups. The expanding colonies moved into more bays and inlets, looking for food.

Here’s what the 1972   Marine Mammal Protection Act says about killing any such animal, including a sea otter, in the United States: You can’t. Criminal offense. You can’t “harass” a marine mammal, either. There are a very few exemptions, including one that applies to Alaska’s Native people, who may hunt sea otters for “subsistence” or for “authentic Native articles of handicraft and clothing,” as in skinning them and using their pelts only in the ways the law details.

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This means that if you’re watching sea otters eat your family’s livelihood, the MMPA says there’s nothing you can do about it, Alaska Native or not. (Canada has similar prohibitions, but with no exemptions for its Indigenous First Nations.) “The MMPA wasn’t written for ever dealing with overabundance,” says Mike Miller, a Sitka Tribal Council member who chairs Alaska’s Indigenous People’s Council for Marine Mammals. “But if you look at their overall impact on ocean health, there’s a positive side to otters too. There’s got to be something close to balance someplace.”

Sea otters have occupied quite a bit of Miller’s time since the turn into this century. He’s part of a cultural initiative to teach and encourage the kind of Alaska Native sea otter hunting and skin sewing the law does permit—though it’s been a challenge to build a viable sea otter fur industry, given the many restrictions as to how pelts may be obtained and used. He’s also intrigued by the situation off the coast of his hometown, Sitka: In the early 2000s, advancing sea otters were out there hoovering up the shellfish—crabs, abalones, gumboot chitons, urchins—that locals had harvested for generations. Recently, though, the sea otter numbers have dropped in Sitka Sound, and the shellfish stock is improving. Is this because of the Native hunters, prompted by that cultural initiative, who have made it a point to shoot their otters in those waters? Not enough to wipe sea otters out of the sound, but enough to send a warning to stay away?

“Otters are smart,” Miller says. “We didn’t have to take them all out.” Tribal knowledge and scholarly research support the idea that sea otters learn to recognize and avoid danger areas and that Indigenous people may have once used site-specific sea otter hunting to protect designated shellfish areas. There’s no question that they did live amid an abundance of shellfish and sea otters—long ago, to be sure, before there was refrigerated transport plus a global appetite for the animals that sea otters eat. Now Miller is part of an ongoing meeting of Southeast Alaska “sea otter stakeholders,” as they label themselves—fish and game officials, tribal members, scientists, and commercial fishermen—all trying to work out a modern plan for sharing resources with a keystone animal that humans came so close to wiping out.

“It’s important for us to relearn how to coexist with sea otters,” Tim Tinker says. “Humans had learned that. And then for 150 years arriving Europeans learned how not to.”

No specific proposals have emerged from the Alaska discussions, but there are people watching closely from the western edge of the lower 48, especially around San Francisco Bay and the Oregon coast. Both regions are under serious study as reintroduction sites—shellfish-rich waters that once supported thousands of sea otters and could perhaps do so again. And in both places, healthy sea otter colonies might improve the water quality and plant life while delighting tourists.

The local dive industry and crab fisheries’ wary response: We’re part of the ecosystem too. “We are not necessarily dead set against sea otter reintroduction,” says Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission executive director Tim Novotny, who has joined ongoing talks with the Elakha Alliance, a group of conservationists, scientists, coastal experts, and tribal leaders exploring another attempt at returning sea otters to the state. “The concern is, you don’t want to put a floating time bomb of furry crab-eaters in the water. Goats are cute, but nobody wants 5,000 of them in their backyard.”

Elakha   is a Chinook word for “sea otter,” and the alliance’s president, a former Oregon coastal planner named Robert Bailey, says he and his colleagues are working hard to learn from the Alaska experience—to regard sea otters as “everybody’s treasures,” as he puts it, while trying to craft reintroduction proposals that might keep human shellfish harvesters from losing too much of their catch. In any case, the sea otters would have to be placed strategically, Bailey says, and their population monitored closely. “We want to minimize that impact,” he adds.

Where might these sea otter transplants come from? Among other sources, the populations that include surrogate-raised otters like 820. A carefully monitored reintroduction site could become another release spot for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s rescue sea otters, and two other West Coast aquariums are developing Monterey-style programs to pair surrogate sea otter mothers with rescue pups. Those programs will need appropriate release spots too.

And here it would be nice to be able to report that 820 was last observed swimming serenely in Monterey Bay, smashing crabs on her stomach and so forth. Alas, that’s not what happened. In the tradition of her species, 820’s story turned into a just barely survival saga: A few weeks after that second release, she slid onto a nearby dock, wounded and emaciated. She’d been bitten by a shark. She had parasites. Rescuers scooped her up again, the vet staff nursed her back to health again, and this time 820 was formally pronounced unsuited to life in the wild. She lives these days in a rock-landscaped outdoor pool at SeaWorld San Diego, where she and her poolmates—all rescue sea otters, like 820—“hit it off,” says Shirley Hill, an animal care specialist who’s worked for decades with sea otters. “She’s just got a great disposition.”

Her name, also, is no longer digits. A public poll renamed her Nova, and Hill says that despite the way Nova sometimes tries to cadge extra food from the others’ meals, she appears to have won over even the pool’s oldest sea otter, who tends toward aloofness. The last time I saw her, Nova was cruising around juggling a plastic tube stuffed with bits of abalone and octopus frozen in ice. The attendants toss these into the pool so the otters can bash them around to loosen the meat and then dig it out, and Nova had evidently decided to toy with hers first, balancing it on her stomach, pushing it with her nose, banging it against the glass. People in the gathered crowd pointed and smiled, and a man lifted the small girl beside him so she could get a better view. “So cute ,” he said.

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Ep. 596: An Alaska Native on Hunting Sea Otters and Honoring Her Culture

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In this episode.

Steven Rinella talks with Heather Douville and Seth Morris .

Topics discussed: How to pronounce Tlingit; setting halibut hooks in competitive pairs of two; drying fish over spruce sticks; putting good energy into what you’re doing; “do the best you can, your friend is coming to fight you”; salmon as a part of a way of life; only take what you need even if the law says you can take more; wearing seal; the sea otter fur trade; Heather’s small business,  Coastal Fur and Leather ; how sea otters eat 25% of their body weight in seafood a day; how there’s more hair on one square inch of a sea otter than there is on an entire German shepherd; soft gold; shooting off hand out of the boat; supporting the cause; restrictions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act; how kids are sacred; get Heather's handmade fur items here ; and more.

Outro song: "The World To Me" by Jared Hicks  

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