Chacon and her sister Celtic were designed by world-famous naval architect Leslie Geary and built in Seattle by Johnson Brothers and Blanchard in 1912 as fish trap tenders for Fidalgo Island Packing Co. cannery operations in Ketchikan, Alaska, and Port Graham, Alaska[1] Chacon was featured in the Port Graham Independence Day Parade in Seldovia, 1930.

Chacon was originally powered with a 125 hp gasoline engine[4] that was later replaced with a General Motors "Jimmy" Detroit Diesel Series 71.

[5] The next day Wallace purchased the Chacon for $5,000 [6] from William "Willie" Tillion, whose family has fished out of nearby Halibut Cove for decades, with the intent of restoring her to sail around the world.

The vessel was refloated with crude patches and several bilge pumps in August 1984 and towed to Anchorage, Alaska, where she would be lifted from the water and taken to Chugiak to be restored.

To haul the vessel onto land for transport, Wallace paid for the removal of debris that had illegally been dumped on the shore as well as sand and gravel to facilitate the lifting operation.