Vancouver to San Francisco

No relevance. Tide can be dealt with. No, it's the topography, and that most of the population, and especially the unemployed population of the time was located in the eastern half of the country. There were also many more goods transiting the east coast than the west; plus there were defense considerations.

West Coast ICW

I think they would end up digging into the Cascadia and San Andreas fault lines and the whole coast would slip into the Ocean, Las Vegas would end up waterfront property..!!!!

what time of year do you plan to make the trip , going south is not as bad as going back up the hill, going south i would clear at port angeles instead of roche harbor or friday harbor there is a new dock just as you pull in the marina it is also a good place to take on fuel and stores if you need them , there is a wallmart and the car rental place that will deliver and pick upat the dock , the biggest concern will be the weather just watch it close and watch out for crab gear if you run close to shore just watch the bar conditions if you are going into some of the ports as the current jets just as bad as seymore narrows up of cambell river , there are not a lot of good anchorages and some have a pretty good swell i would probably limet my self to marinas for night time for my first trip , as you get to S F , V T S is active there this is about all i can think of off the top of my head , oh just one other thing remember if it has cape or point in it it can get real rough , also make sure you have a coast pilot and some good current charts

smooth sailing

Coast Pilot volume 7 has much valuable information. It is free as a PDF http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot_w.php?book=7
Be aware of the Areas To Be Avoided where there is much active fishing.
Victoria, Port Angeles (you can clear customs there), Neah bay, Westport Marina in Grays harbor, Tokeland Marina in Willapa bay, Astoria, Newport, Coos bay, Banning (and other Oregon coast river mouth harbors), Eureka, Noyo river, Bodega bay, SF.
Fuel available at all above. Weather will shut you out of most of those due to hazardous bar conditions. Pfd on everyone aboard for bar crossings and monitor 22a. You've got shallow draft, but it would be prudent to follow local fishermen into the dog holes. Weather forecasting via grib viewer or nws site is important before venturing out of a snug harbor. Safe voyage.

Even if they didn't do that, a good part of the West Coast has cliffs 200' or more high. The only other alternative would be to build up a sandbar system which would also be extremely expensive.

If you are still looking for good info for your trip, check out Charlies Charts
Online bookstore for Charlie's Charts cruising guides

good inf for cruising, marinas, fuel, and hazards.

I have used this many times going south into MX and found it to be good info, and easy reading.

Nemier,

I'll send you my contact info via a PM in a moment. I've looked at your trip plan and at 14 kts it seems mostly reasonable. Been awhile since I made the trip south of the Columbia, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Generally we do the 30 fathom dash on this part of the west coast. The 180' mark gets you out of the worst of the crab pot marker buoys. That, and the occasional dead head will be your most common hazards. You can go further off shore but if you travel further in you'd better have several eyes forward. Crab pots are a ***** to spot in the rollers. I'd also strongly recommend getting some cutters on your shaft(s) just in case.

Don't shoot the hole at Tatoosh. Doesn't save enough time to warrant the risk. I see people do it all the time and have even had customers get upset that I don't, but the currents can get funky in there and throw you into the rocks, and there's a lot of them.

If you want to stretch from Neah Bay, the bar at La Push is actually not as bad as it looks on the charts; the bar is generally pretty benign unless the seas are up. It's one of my favorite stops and the folks at the fuel dock are as nice as they come.

The worst (hardest) crossings I've had are at Gray's. It's really easy to get into trouble here so plan it well and pass it by if there's any doubt.

There is no reason to go into Willapa. It's a really long haul into the marina at Tokeland and the last time I was there there weren't any services available. There's a greater tidal exchange here than at the Columbia!

The Columbia Bar is actually not as bad as people make it out to be provided you plan well. For this (any really) crossing enter at the slack flood and exit at the slack ebb or as close as you can make it. Stay in the marked channel and don't cut any corners once you get past buoys 3/4. All things being equal it's a pretty straight forward crossing and people safely do it in 16-footers all August and September. Listen on 16/22A for bar reports but pay attention to the time the report info was gathered. It can be 6 hours since the CG was there so lots might have changed.

I wouldn't go into Astoria unless it's an actual destination. Ilwaco is the first port and it's got all the services you'll need. Follow the channel markers in and don't wake the CG docks and you'll be fine. Lots of room for transients and fuel is cheaper than further in. Avoid Hammond and Skippanon since services are limited and prices are generally high. If you do go to Astoria there are two locations. Most popular for the yachtie crowd is West Basin which is just west of the bridge. East Basin is also available if space is limited.

Further south it's been too long for me to comment intelligently without going back to my charts. I would add that Florence is a great stop and Depoe Bay should be avoided at all costs...unless you are looking for a hairy challenge and your insurance is paid up!