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

Riverboat Discovery

The Riverboat Discovery is a tour company in Fairbanks, Alaska which operates sternwheel riverboats on the Chena and Tanana rivers.-History:The Riverboat Discovery business was founded in 1950 by Jim Binkley, a former freight riverboat captain on the Yukon River...

 company. Discovery III is still in use as a tour vessel on the Chena

Chena River

The Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...

 and Tanana

Tanana River

The Tanana River is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon tene no, tenene, literally "trail river"....

 rivers near Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is a home rule city in 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 second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

.

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. 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

Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...

, 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, Washington

Langley is a town in Island County, Washington, United States near the eastern end of the north shore of the south end of Whidbey Island. It is the third largest incorporated area on Whidbey. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, while the ZCTA for Langley's post office had a population of...

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

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

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.

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-June on the Chena and Tanana Rivers.