The story of the Raa Wee Yin, an Alaskan skiff

This is our boat in Alaska, the Raa Wee Yin, which we've been told translates roughly to "little mighty one".

Shortly after we acquired the Raa Wee Yin in 2009 and before her new paint job.

And over the course of the past four years that Scotty and I have owned her, the Raa Wee (we leave off the Yin for short) has proven her moniker many, many times.

She's also around two decades old and made of wood.

Raa Wee Yin is a 20-foot Tolman skiff, designed by Renn Tolman of Homer, Alaska. We've also been told she is the number one hull (first built) of that design. These skiffs have a devoted following of folks who enjoy their classic lines designed with stability and fuel economy in mind.

There are plenty of reasons these boats have become popular (if not populous) in our area. You can learn more about Tolman skiffs here and view the specifications for different types (our is a standard shown in the #3 photo).

But before she was ours we almost lost her for good.

In 2009, we began borrowing the Raa Wee from a friend who brought the skiff on a trailer all the way to Juneau from where it was made in Homer. After over a year of letting Scotty use it on a regular basis, the friend bought another boat and offered to sell her to us. Scotty called me and we discussed it, but at the time we didn't have much extra money and he reluctantly said no. Within days, another family purchased the Raa Wee. And our days of using her were over. (We were very sad.)



But then a miracle happened. The family decided they didn't want the upkeep of a boat that wasn't practical for their needs with several young kids and winter crossings to a nearby island.



At our friend's suggestion, they asked Scotty if he was interested. And after a few months of going without "our" skiff, we didn't even need to think about it!

Since then, the Raa Wee has taken us on many trips to nearby islands for camping in the summer, helped us successfully fish for salmon and halibut, and on rides to watch whales with family and friends.

The weather in Juneau is such that while rain and overcast skies are frequent, any time of year can bring beautiful, clear days with blue skies and sunshine. 

Sometimes we have no choice but to give the Raa Wee a rest...

But when the seas cooperate with the skies, we make it a priority to get out on the water. 

Even if it's really cold!

A few years ago, our good friends Tony and Jeff helped Scotty completely re-paint and patch up a few spots on the bottom needing fiberglass work. For weeks, they worked late hours after their regular jobs to get it done, cheerfully joking, a case of beer and music to make the tough work easier. It was a major project that we couldn't have done without all of their help.



There's something about boating that really brings people together. Growing up in Minnesota, the only boats I knew of graced the pages of fancy yachting magazines and seemed to belong only to wealthy people who boated on Lake Minnetonka (i.e. not us). And until I moved to Alaska, I never knew that having access to the water on a small, sturdy vessel could affect my life in such a positive way.

I am so thankful for this little boat.

And for her captain too, of course. :)