Lake Pend Oreille Cruises
Our 2025 Cruise Season has sadly come to a close.
The Captain and Crew would like to thank all our wonderful passengers this year, both old and new, for continuing to allow us the privilege of sharing the beauty that is Lake Pend Oreille. If it weren’t for your patronage, we would not have the amazing opportunities to see the wondrous bounties of nature on a daily basis. We look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones in the 2026 season starting in May…
In bidding adieu, we would like to share this photo with you taken last night by frequent Shawnodese passenger and local professional artist, Jeanine Asche.
Summer Location
100 Bridge Street, Sandpoint
The Shawnodese
The boat was built in 1966 in San Diego as a ferry to Coronado Island. It spent a few years on Lake Mead as a tour and fishing boat with a six-pack license. At this point, it had twin diesel engines midships with straight shaft & rudder. From there, it went to San Francisco as a crew boat taking crew personnel out to larger ships. It was also used to lay cable in the bay.
In the early ’80s, it was stripped of all running gear and shipped to Idaho as part of a settlement one of the previous business partners had made when they sold out of the boat business in San Francisco. It sat for about ten years waiting for the owner to make a personal yacht for use on Lake Pend Oreille. The founders of Lake Pend Oreille Cruises purchased it for the hull only in 1992. It was hauled to Sagle and sat for another six to eight months waiting for a new design and approval by the US Coast Guard. After plan approval, it took two more years to complete. On July 26, 1995, the hull got wet again.
This was the largest change the hull has gone through in its lifetime. This time just one engine, a diesel, with an outdrive for better steerage and now cruises at around 7 knots. It features a fully enclosed lower deck which it never had, an open upper deck and a good-sized wheelhouse. It weighs in at 15 tons of aluminum, wood, and metal. The hull and superstructure are welded aluminum. The interior was done in mahogany to give a softer and older look to the aluminum hull. All systems are new including the engine, drive, electric, plumbing and electronics.