''Discovery III'', built in 1987, is the third of three Discovery sternwheel riverboats operated by the

Riverboat Discovery The Riverboat Discovery is a tour company in Fairbanks, Alaska, which operates paddle steamer, sternwheel riverboats on the Chena River, Chena and Tanana River, Tanana rivers. History The Riverboat Discovery business was founded in 1950 by Jim ...

company. ''Discovery III'' is still in use as a tour vessel on the Chena and Tanana rivers near

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

History

''Discovery III'' came into being in 1987 as a result of increased tour traffic to the Riverboat Discovery. Due to increased passenger numbers, the company frequently had to turn away potential guests due to the limited capacity of ''Discovery II'', their primary

tour boat A tour boat is a boat used, and frequently purpose-built or adapted, for boat tours, a type of tourism frequently offered in much visited towns and cities of historic interest, that have canals or a river running through it, or that lie on a co ...

. As a result, in 1986 Captain Jim Binkley and his three sons began planning for the construction of a third sternwheeler for the company, which would be named ''Discovery III''. Plans for ''Discovery III'' were finalized by the fall of 1986, and the Binkley family hired the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Inc. to build the superstructure of the boat's hulls and decks. Construction began in the late fall of 1986 at the Nichols Brothers shipyard in

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

, Washington. Construction of ''Discovery III'' was completed 8 months later, in early May 1987. The boat was christened May 9, 1987, in

Langley, Washington Langley is a city in Island County, Washington, United States. It sits near the south end of Whidbey Island, overlooking the Saratoga Passage. It is the third largest incorporated area on Whidbey. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, ...

, and afterward was taken by barge north to the mouth of the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...

at St. Marys, Alaska. Once in St. Marys, the barge was sunk from underneath ''Discovery III'' and she began the trip up the Yukon River to Fairbanks, Alaska. In order to make the journey as quickly as possible, ''Discovery III'' was driven up the river almost non-stop, with only occasional landings at villages for fuel and brief tours of the vessel by village residents. After a nine-day journey over 1,000 miles up the Yukon River drainage, the ''Discovery III'' arrived in Fairbanks on July 3, 1987. She was put into passenger service the following day, on July 4.Sturgis, Ken. 1988. ''Four Generations on the Yukon''. Epicenter Press, Fairbanks, Alaska. , p. 64 Since 1987, ''Discovery III'' has been the primary tour vessel operated by the Riverboat Discovery. She makes twice-daily trips throughout the summer from mid-May to mid-September on the Chena and Tanana Rivers.

Notes

{{Reflist Fairbanks, Alaska Paddle steamers Discovery III 1987 ships