NÄWILIWILI, Kauai — When the Kauai Sea Scouts leave on their 2010 summer cruise, the goal is to see how far along the Hawaiian Islands chain they can go, said skipper Larry Richardson.

That cruise became reality when an anonymous donor gave the Sea Scout program a 40-foot cruising trawler.

"We were looking around for a boat and came across this boat that has been for sale for a long time," Richardson said.

After making contact with the owner, Richardson explained how the program operates under the auspices of the Kauai Police Activities League and asked the boat's owner to visit several Web sites about the program.

To his surprise, the boat's owner called him a few days later and offered the boat to the program.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done," Richardson said of the acquisition. "We had the boat surveyed and the hull is in outstanding condition. But there are superficial dry rot and other things that need work."

The scouts plan on spending the next month doing maintenance and repairs on the 1973 Taiwan-built trawler that was harbored on Maui.

"It's got a 700-gallon fuel tank, which gives it a 2,200-nautical-mile range, and a 300-gallon water storage tank," Richardson said. "The motor runs fine."

Aboard the trawler, there are two staterooms and two heads, including one with a shower.

Once the initial repairs are done, Richardson said, the scouts will head out to sea on weekend cruises, making stops at Port Allen and elsewhere on Kauai.

"Our goal is to have a cruise a month. Eventually, we expect to expand the cruises, working out to Oahu," Richardson said. "All of this leads up to the summer cruise where the scouts will be aboard for two weeks. At that point, we'll see how far down the island chain we can get."

Richardson said when the program started, the goal was always to get a boat so the scouts could get experience in sailing, boating safety and Sea Scouting.

There are 13 registered Sea Scouts, Richardson said. Of those, 10 are active.

The Sea Scouts meet at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Näwiliwili Small Boat Harbor. For more information, call Richardson at 808-652-0802.