Empress of the North Sternwheeler at Rainier, Oregon, in Spring 2004

Photo by Cliff West

The Empress of the North was built in 2002 by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington, for the American West Steamboat Company at a cost of $50 million and was launched as a cruise boat in 2003 offering overnight cruises on the Columbia River and Alaska’s inside Passage for 232 passengers. It is 360 feet long and 59 feet wide with a draft of 12 feet 6 inches. With four 2000-horsepower Caterpillar 3516 engines driving 2 Schottel rudder propellers, it has an average speed of 14 knots. It had two elevators serving its four decks and could carry up to 235 passengers in 112 staterooms and a crew of 91. It is shown here on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in the Spring of 2004.