How Building Materials Reach Remote Alaska

Getting building materials to a remote Alaska job site isn't always as simple as loading up a truck. While we were in Juneau aboard our 80-foot steel schooner, Alaskan Gypsy, our friends at Second Growth Homes needed a small load of plywood and tongue-and-groove hauled out for an A-frame cabin project in Southeast Alaska. So Gypsy became the delivery truck. First, Scott had to figure out how to get the lumber out of a covered U-Haul van at Juneau's freight dock without a forklift, using a crane he'd never operated before. Then we had to get everything aboard Gypsy, balance the load, beat the falling tide and get underway. From Juneau, we carried the materials out of the city and eventually transferred them from Gypsy onto a small barge that could reach the remote cabin site. It's not a huge load of freight, but it's a good glimpse into the logistics of building and working in remote Southeast Alaska, where boats, barges, tides and a little improvisation are often simply part of getting the job done. As Scott puts it in the video, it's friends helping friends, the Alaskan way. Thanks to Sterling, Elizabeth and Second Growth Homes for another adventure. Scott & Audrey S/V Alaskan Gypsy #alaska #remotealaska #sailingalaska Chapters: 00:00 A Delivery for Alaskan Gypsy 00:35 Getting Building Materials Aboard 01:42 No Forklift... Now What? 05:02 Loading the Lumber 09:23 Racing the Tide in Juneau 12:06 Finally Leaving the Freight Dock 14:48 Leaving Alaska's Capital Behind 16:01 From the City to the Wilderness 16:44 Transferring the Load to a Barge 18:22 Building in Remote Alaska