On “Deadliest Catch,” a crew can only be as successful as their boat will allow. The Lady Alaska was a difficult boat to sail for most of its run. Gallagher was open to discussing the issue on Reddit AMA.
One Redditor, u/Kirsten137, asked, “Is the Lady Alaska a lemon or was all the mechanical problems with the boat exaggerated at all?” It certainly wouldn’t be out of the question for a reality series to try to up the ante by overplaying a ship’s viability. Gallagher says they had real problems with the boat. They downplayed the boat’s problems for the cameras, if anything. As he stated, “I [wouldn’t] call it a lemon, we knew what [we’re] getting into. Crab boats were never meant to sit for 20 years. Zero exaggeration. Actually I would say it was even worse [in real life] but of course not everything can be shown.”
Lady Alaska has had its fair share of problems, including Having issues while the crew is on the ocean. It was rescued by several ships, which shows that not all drama in reality television is fake.