The Details:

The Chester B is a documented 52’x 19 ½ ‘ power scow. Construction is ¼” galvanized steel hull and an aluminum house weighing in at 55 tons. The vessel is powered by twin Detroit diesel 6-71s. The mains have just over 10,000 hours and have recently had both cylinder heads replaced as well as the camshafts in both engines by legendary mechanic John Wikan of Wikan Enterprises.  Electrical power is supplied by two generators. On the port side is a Northern Lights 8kw genset with 6383 hours and on the starboard side is a 12 kw genset with 2253 hours. Engine cooling is supplied by 300 gallons of coolant per keel which allows the vessel to be out of the water and run the mains or generators indefinitely. Other features include a below deck large cooler and freezer. Fresh water capacity is 1700 gallons. Fuel capacity is approx. 3600 gallons. There is a 50 gallon hot water heater in the engine room and the water is heated convectively from coils in the oil stove in the galley. The old Cascade stove was originally a wood burning stove converted to oil by Dave. The Cascade is the primary heat source for the vessel. There is a single bathroom with toilet and shower. Twin forward staterooms with full size beds on the bottom and single bunks above, the pilothouse has a settee and can convert to a bunk. The engine room also has sleeping quarters with a full size bed in addition to the two bunks in the aft house where the lathe used to be. Total accommodations for up to 9-10 people.

Navigational equipment includes a Furuno autopilot and Furuno radar. Garmin 3210 chartplotter and a Furuno depth sounder. Communications is an Icom marine VHF radio.

The History:

The Chester B was built in 1979 by Dave Ellis of Ellis Marine in Petersburg, Alaska. The construction took three years to complete and the vessel was launched in 1982. Dave, being a master machinist, originally designed the Chester B as a floating machine shop. The Chester B had a lathe and a drill press in the aft portion of the main house. This was later converted to sleeping quarters when the Chester B found more use as a charter vessel than a floating machine shop. Dave used the boat as a charter vessel contracting to the Forest Service and also charter fishing with guide Kent Brekke from Colorado. Kent ended up purchasing the Chester B from Dave in 1995. Kent Brekke operated the boat as a charter vessel for his flyfishing charters until 2008 when I bought it from Kent in September of 2008. I used the vessel for a guiding operation until I sold that business in 2020. The Chester B has been an iconic vessel on the Petersburg , Alaska waterfront for a long time and now I am looking for the right person to use the vessel as it was intended, to explore Southeast Alaska.

Asking $350,000

*Current survey available upon request.