Winter Harbour - Where to launch?

N

Nugget

Active Member
Hi guys,

Have a trip planned in July and will be trailering our boat from South Island. Wondering if I am best to launch and keep our vehicle and trailer in port alice or coal harbour? Any experience and recommendations?

Thx
 
I trailer my 20' center console to Winter Harbour and launch there. People are afraid of the road, it's a normal gravel road, nothing to worry about. Been doing it for a few years now. Don't think launching bigger than 24-26' would be as easy there though. It's a steep gravel launch. I like having the vehicle there, makes packing simple.

Everyone speaks highly of launching in Coal Harbour. Don't think I've heard of many people launching in Port Alice.
 
Lots of posts on this.

Coal harbour to Winter harbour

Looking to avoid driving the road out. Wondering about running my 16ft tinny from Coal harbour to Winter harbour. I move along at about 30 km/hr. So, morning is best? Any times to avoid? Any thoughts are much appreciated.
sportfishingbc.com

driving to Winter Harbour

We'll be driving to Winter Harbour in a couple of days and were thinking of taking the long way in through Coal Harbour. Has anyone driven the road from Coal Harbour to Winter Harbour ? Just wondering what kind of shape it's in and if directions are well marked, I don't always trust my GPS on...
sportfishingbc.com
 
It's a 90 minute drive in from Hardy in a pickup without a tow. You'd be adding 20-30 minutes with a boat so as not to shake the crap put of everything. You'll fill the boat with dust, even with a trailering cover, and there'll be gravel chips to deal with. Not that speed is everything, but it's probably quicker to launch at Coal Harbour and run down the inlet.
 
Thanks for the info. Launching in port alice would also avoid the Quatsino narrows. Interesting everyone uses coal harbour!
 
sly_karma said:
It's a 90 minute drive in from Hardy in a pickup without a tow. You'd be adding 20-30 minutes with a boat so as not to shake the crap put of everything. You'll fill the boat with dust, even with a trailering cover, and there'll be gravel chips to deal with. Not that speed is everything, but it's probably quicker to launch at Coal Harbour and run down the inlet.
Click to expand...

That's a good point about the dust. It's not a big deal for me as my whaler is like a piece of tupperware. I just hose it down at the dock. Boat will get covered in dust on the road.
 
Port alice has a great boat launch room to tie up and lots of parking can dump in at all tides and a nice trip in as well i use to go to coal but now use port alice
 
Flashman said:
That's a good point about the dust. It's not a big deal for me as my whaler is like a piece of tupperware. I just hose it down at the dock. Boat will get covered in dust on the road.
Click to expand...
I remember the first time I towed my CC boat into Bamfield, the dust was in my fishing reels, in my downriggers, and in my motor. the motor even sounded different after that drive. i’ll never do it again
 
RiverBoy said:
I remember the first time I towed my CC boat into Bamfield, the dust was in my fishing reels, in my downriggers, and in my motor. the motor even sounded different after that drive. i’ll never do it again
Click to expand...
Ya, I pack everything in the vehicle including the chart plotters and downriggers. All that stuff lives out of the boat anyhow so it's not inconvenient for me. Probably unreasonable for most people who keep their boats fully rigged all the time. Especially if you have a cabin without a sealed door.
 
Flashman said:
Ya, I pack everything in the vehicle including the chart plotters and downriggers. All that stuff lives out of the boat anyhow so it's not inconvenient for me. Probably unreasonable for most people who keep their boats fully rigged all the time. Especially if you have a cabin without a sealed door.
Click to expand...
Ah, explains you first post comment about easier vehicle packing. I prefer to leave most of it in the boat, especially if we're pulling out on a low ish tide. For sure the riggers and electronics stay mounted for the drive. Except for the odd time we've stayed the city en route to the cabin, yeah those goodies need to go out of sight.
 
I’m planning on heading to WH the week before the May long weekend. I was planning on launching in coal Harbour. My boat is a 30’ on a tri axle. How is the launch at coal harbour for a boat this size? Is there a floating dock or a dock that slopes into the water? It’s going to be me and a buddy, without too much experience. So just thinking of launching and retrieving. With a floating dock I can walk it onto the trailer, but sloping dock would be challenging.
 
Coyote Spooner, with a 30 foot boat you would be wiser to use Port Alice, Coal Harbour does not let you easily launch and tie up, also the ramp was designed for amphibious aircraft so it has a very shallow slope. I have a 25 foot boat , it is really a 2 man launching and retrieval operation.
 
Seaplane ramp that is gently sloped and I suspect just deep enough to launch your 30‘ boat. Can’t remember the drop off at the ramp ledge so depending on the tide some care with a spotter would be wise. Two man launch no question. The floating dock is to the right of the ramp but a little too far away to use conveniently to walk on for launch and retrieval. We were launching a 24’ Seaport. As for parking with the long weekend maybe tight but right next to the parking lot there was a secure fenced lot with a local tel number to call for access. We used the secure lot but I suspect this early in the year parking may not be an issue.
 
robertg said:
Coyote Spooner, with a 30 foot boat you would be wiser to use Port Alice, Coal Harbour does not let you easily launch and tie up, also the ramp was designed for amphibious aircraft so it has a very shallow slope. I have a 25 foot boat , it is really a 2 man launching and retrieval operation.
Click to expand...
How is the road to Port Alice?
I did it about 5 years ago but can’t remember its condition?
 
I drop my 32 ft boat on a triple axel trailer a couple times a year in. Coal Harbour. You will need at least 5 feet of water to drop it. I was shown a few years ago that if you launch in the gravel beside the concrete it is much easier as the slop is greater. It works like a damn !…
 
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