Harry Krause wrote:
There's only "sheltered water" up there in the balmy Pacific Northwest.

Generally correct. It's possible to run from the south end of Puget
Sound all the way to Alaska while encountering only a couple of
stretches of "open ocean" conditions.
We have boats running to Alaska that you would never consider taking
outside the ICW on the Atlantic Coast- (they simply lay in port waiting
for a favorable weather window before tackling the tricky bits), and
virtually nobody- regardless of type of boat owned- attempts to make a
pleasure cruise to Ketchikan or Glacier Bay in the winter months.

I'd estimate that 10% of Puget Sound Boaters won't ever get as far
north as the San Juan Islands, 40% won't get north of Nanaimo, and
probably 80% won't get north of Campbell River or Desolation Sound.
Knowing what I know about our local conditions and
after examining this boat, I would personally have no difficulty using
it in any of those areas during our typical recreational boating months
and (like most of us do anyway)
staying in port when it's truly nasty.