MUSTELID Archives - Small Boats Magazine

Anke Wagner and Dave Zeiger live and sail in Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago, sometimes for years between towns, on a series of self-built boats mostly of their own design: TriloBoats, MUSTELID, and dories. They acted as caretakers at remote sites for a number of winters and work the gig economy when they must. They most enjoy sailing full and by along the Low Road, with extended stays in undisclosed locations of exceptional beauty.

MUSTELID is a new video series created for Small Boats Nation. New videos will be released in the weeks that follow. Episodes 1-6 will focus on the vessel, while Episodes 7-15 will focus on MUSTELID’s first voyage. The entire collection will be archived in the Specials page of the Small Boats Nation website.

MUSTELID – Episode 15

Epilogue

We made it! You made it!! Six hundred nautical miles later—a conservative estimate—we’d like to sit down with you and take a look back. How did this rowing sailing contraption of ours work out? What went well? What would we do differently? Are we still on speaking terms? What’s the take-away? Well, there is a moral of sorts. We’re not…

MUSTELID – Episode 14

Homeward Bound

It’s time, for real, to get our sweet bippies out of the wild. Snowline descends from no longer naked peaks. We wake to ice on the overhead. The stove warms cabin…boils coffee. We relish the thermal rush a hot mug imparts to cold hands. We blow steam till we can drink it down. First we have to cross Icy Strait…

MUSTELID – Episode 13

Lynn Canal

Cruisers with any sense at all would call this a fine adventure and head home. After all, it’s late in the year. Equinoctal gales are uncharacteristically late. But when they do arrive, they’re only the warning shot across the bow, presaging autumnal storms. And that’s just regional weather. Lynn Canal, the largest fjord in North America, has a reputation. It…

MUSTELID – Episode 12

Icy Strait

We return to inside waters with a double sigh of regret and relief. Icy Strait is a hydrological wonder. Deep and wide to the east, kinked in the middle, and shoal and narrow to the west, it connects Lynn Canal/Chatham Strait with ocean waters. The tide drive temendous flows across convoluted land and bottom contours. Right angle feeds collide in…

MUSTELID – Episode 11

Outside Waters

It’s now September and we’ve left the outer coast; we’re in outside waters, but once again in familiar surrounds. This is a short stretch, but it includes two of four communities on Chichagof Island. Together, they top 100 residents. The south end is hemmed by steep granite walls that rise abruptly above timberline. Many find this inlet oppressive, even ominous.…

MUSTELID – Episode 10

Outer Passages

We row and sail deeper into the maze to thread the passages between larger islands and Chichagof itself. Some passages squeeze into ocean level “lakes”—more saltwater than fresh—which “race” in...

MUSTELID – Episode 9

The Outer Islands

In this installment Dave and Anke have begin their exploration of the outer islands.

MUSTELID – Episode 8

Heading Out

We’re finally underway! We won’t see the wilderness wedding we set out for that never materialized. We won’t see Dave forget the durn camera at home and row back a...

MUSTELID – Episode 7

Introduction to the Venture

In this installment, we are getting ready to cruise, intending to row and sail around Chichagof Island, a distance of about 450 nautical miles—if we were to limit ourselves to the straight and narrow. But first we recap a change of venue, from the Southern Admiralty Wilderness site where we built MUSTELID to our home port of Tenakee Springs, Alaska,…

MUSTELID – Episode 6

Life Aboard

C’mon aboard… let’s tip a cup o’ kindness! Here’s a look at our living arrangements when we’re aboard for extended periods. The cabin accommodations include heating, sleeping, food preparation, lounging,...

MUSTELID – Episode 5

Rigging MUSTELID

MUSTELID’s rig and rigging are original. They should work, but might not work. Southeast Alaska is criss-crossed by long runs of water between shorelines of varying height. Winds tend to blow mostly up or down them. Mostly. Our intent is to sail from a beam reach to a run, and row the rest. Any slight windward ability in this rig…

MUSTELID – Episode 4

Outfitting MUSTELID

In this episode we take a tour of MUSTELID’s outfit. Much of this has never been tried, to our knowledge. Some has, at least in principle, but we’ve “dumbed it down.” Some is tried-and-true but not in our context or in conjunction with other items. But it must work, or be culled. There’s no space for laggards!

MUSTELID – Episode 3

Construction

In this episode, take a look over our shoulders at the building and launching of MUSTELID. Each boatbuilding project has its own challenges of time, space, contextual, and financial constraints. Paper is cheap, but it can sail us no farther than can our armchair. To get on the water, we must build.

MUSTELID – Episode 2

The Concept

In this episode, Dave and Anke serve up the stew. They present their influences on the design of their new hull. From these influences, they draw ideas and innovations, run them through a filter of perceived wishes, needs, and constraints, then simmer it all down to a design plan. Likewise, they look at the concepts behind their outfit and rigging…

MUSTELID – Episode 1

Intro, Who We Are, How We Live, What we Propose

In this, the first installment, they introduce us to who they are, how they live, and what they propose in a boat.