Recently, I was contacted by a local fan who lives off the grid in a remote location north of the city of Ketchikan. We got to talking through email and before I knew it, Ed P. shared the story of how he and wife Linda, made the transition from living in a ‘normal’ home to one off the grid. I was fascinated, reading about how they went from a large home to living on a boat, and then off the grid in a home they had built themselves! I asked, and Ed agreed to let me share the story with the fans of the page. The story below was edited only for clarity of locations and other references that only those who live here would understand. Other than that, these are Ed’s own words. I hope you enjoy!
Some 25 or so years ago, Linda and I lived as many Ketchikanites, in a 3000 sq ft. home located south of town on Shoup Street. Our six kids had all skeedadled to other parts of the country and we found ourselves somewhat bored in too large a home. Being boaters at the time, we decided to sell out and buy a larger boat and move aboard. We did…and lived another whole dream for about five years while I continued to work for in Ketchikan as a construction manager and real estate agent. It was a great life and we explored all of Southeast Alaska by boat that time would allow, even cruising to places that were winter bound to spend a holiday or two at anchor.
Our 42 foot cruiser was equipped with an inverter to create AC power and we had a washer/dryer aboard as well as a small chest freezer. All powered from a bank of 6 volt batteries and recharged from an on-board generator. We learned about power supplies, batteries, inverters, and how to make small spaces work well for us….and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Our cruises took us into the Naha many times. Short of the story, we located a three acre parcel in what is known as the Moser Bay – Long Arm plat and decided after five years living on a boat, to once again plant our roots on ground.
We bought the land and for the next one and a half years, spent every waking moment (while not at work) clearing the land, putting up a water tank, and building the house and dock. This while still living aboard…we built a small barge and hauled all the materials out behind our home afloat, packed it all up the ramp and steps and nailed it all together. (My career has mostly been in construction, so the building part was simply labor….in the rain…with my sweet Linda being my apprentice and helper).
Living on the boat at the same time allowed us to be able to work long hours on weekends and time off from work with shower, galley, and sleeping right at the dock next to the project. We got a lot accomplished in a couple years and moved in [in November] of the second year after buying the property. We hauled all our furniture from storage and piled it on our barge and tarped it down in driving rain…it all got wet. HA.
After moving in, I continued to work in town for a good ten years before actually retiring. We were forced to sell the live-aboard to raise money for our project which was a tough choice to make at the time. We still miss that life on the water. We went through several fast boats trying to come up with the right one to commute safely daily and finally found what we wanted…sturdy, good small cabin and room to haul freight and supplies. Our whole existence off grid became a focus and we continued until retirement to build and complete for our needs.
The shop came later, the hot tub, some covered area for equipment on the pier. A second set of floats and a floating breakwater to protect our docks from the fierce NW winds were all individual projects and took time and money to accomplish. I had a good job and we used it all on our home and boats. No regrets. We are now debt free and frankly could not make it on retirement income if it were otherwise. I suggest you make that one of your constant goals along with your dream to homestead. Hard to do in today’s world of credit.
We have now, after about 16 years, gone through two sets of batteries and two inverters. We have installed a new Kubota 7 KW generator and our old one is now a backup, as it still runs good. Our latest battery bank consists of 16 two volt railroad batteries wired in series and parallel to create a large capacity 12 VDC deep cycle bank. We have our generator now working automatically…It starts when the batteries get to a certain voltage and runs for 4 hours to shut off…this happens about twice in a 24 hour period during the winter and once during the summer with less lighting and power draw. We have all the same conveniences as anyone else and we have learned to be aware of power draw on all items. Conserving electricity means less diesel to burn.
We built a tram to carry our supplies from the pier to the porch, I built a wooden ramp to span the 55 feet to our floating docks and use a “MuckTruk” to haul everything from the boat to the tram. We now heat with a pellet stove, since I can no longer forage for fire wood on the beaches and with no logging, there are few floaters around. We still have oil for backup heat and we also have a fireplace that is wood burning. Propane is a problem as you grow older and weaker…I traded my large bottles for shorter ones, that still weigh about 100 lbs. We have come up with a teamwork that works for Linda and I and so far we can get the propane up the hill.
All that being said, living as we do is a LIFESTYLE CHOICE. It is not for many, and most would not be able to endure the boat trips in the wind, ice in the bay, and the effort of freighting the goods…everything we have has come here by our own efforts and by boat. We have found that we are subject to being able to obtain fuel and food just as most people, fuel for the boat is also an item, we now own a different cruising boat and spend many days cruising in our old familiar haunts during summer months. We are committed to stay at Freedom Point as long as health permits….Feel free to ask questions as you will!
Ed and Linda P.
Feel free to leave comments directly to Ed or Linda below! They have some fantastic stories and we plan to feature more in the coming months.
Articles about Freedom Point are written by Ed P and edited for content and clarity only. All pictures are the property of Ed P and used with his permission. You can read more about the Story of Freedom Point by going here.
Thanks for sharing.I love to read about people’s homesteading adventures.
I really do, too. Can’t seem to get enough! Ed assures me he will be telling us more of their stories, too. So excited!
Hey, hey! Ed and Linda. So glad to know your still our there living it up! I know you must be doing ok now, (even tho maybe just a little bit slower?) Nice story. How is bear-dog doing? Hugs, Carol
Riley, the bear dog is doing well, now over 4 years old. We hope to post some freedom point bear dog stories later. Ed
I know that I want to hear more about the bear dog haha! The first one will be out next week! So exciting!
Great piece! Ed is my grandfather and I’m glad you’ve given him the place to get this story out there. I remember bits and pieces of it from my mom, but this was the first time I got the bigger picture.
I remember fondly of the time we spent up there at Freedom Point and hope to make it back up there with my son soon. 🙂
You are one lucky person to have such adventurous grandparents! I am honored he chose my blog as the place to share his story and I cannot wait to hear more about it, too. He and Linda have graciously invited us to come for a visit and we hope to take them up on that this summer. Plus, I promised him some homemade salmonberry, blueberry, and huckleberry jams. I can’t wait for spring to go berry picking!