The patrol vessel Stimson. DPS photoThe familiar Alaska Wildlife Troopers patrol vessel Stimson could be out of action for a while this summer.
That's because the state is looking to put the boat into drydock for work ranging from hull painting to propeller reconditioning to fixing those darned wobbly chairs in the wheelhouse.
The state has posted this invitation to bid seeking a contractor to do the work.
The plan is to complete the job over a month's time, most likely in August.
As far as I can tell, this is just routine maintenance and not the result of something unusual, such as a run-in with an outlaw crabber.
A state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman tells Deckboss the boat was last hauled three years ago.
The 156-foot Stimson is based at Dutch Harbor and is the largest patrol vessel in the state fleet. Its primary duty is commercial fisheries enforcement in the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay.
The vessel is named in honor of Sgt. John Stimson, who died in 1983 after a helicopter crash during a rescue mission.
