HOMER, AK (KTVA/CNN) - An Alaskan entrepreneur is bringing his unique business to a new port of call.
His "stripper boat" quickly gained attention when it opened in 2014 near the town of Kodiak and plenty of legal battles.
After years of bureaucratic fights, the converted crab boat is welcoming customers aboard once again in a different location.
The boat's owner, Darren Byler, said for years fishermen had joked about starting a stripper boat.
"So I'm the only one that actually did it," he said.
Byler says re-opening the so-called stripper boat is a political statement.
He's calling the summer tour a "civil liberties freedom to recreate" event.
"The reason I'm back is I'm the kind of guy that don't like to get bullied by the government, and that's why I'm here," he said.
Byler keeps records of his stormy past.
His liquor license was taken away in 2014 after officials said the boat was serving alcohol while on-anchor, not as a dinner cruise as the license had intended.
Byler was also convicted of dumping sewage into the Kodiak Harbor, a charge he calls a political witch hunt.
"There's something going on here and it's not about sewage," he said. "It's about morality. It's about the strippers. They don't like it, and they use the power of the government to try to hurt an individual and take away my civil liberties. That's just not right."
The boat is now operating as a recreational vessel in state waters with no drugs or alcohol allowed on board.
A private water taxi brings out customers who are greeted by a number of adult entertainers.
One stripper said working on the boat is busy in the summer.
"... Working here on the stripper boat is a novel thing," she said. "It's new. We're in Alaska. We're in the middle of the ocean, can't get much better than that."
Byler describes his business as a new tourist attraction and says he has a steady stream of customers brought by boats daily.
Some locals, including Donna Beran, dislike Byler's kind of enhancement.
"No, I don't think our hamlet by the sea needs that kind of tourism," she said.
With two weeks of business under his belt, Byler expects even more customers as the word gets out the boat is back.
Byler says he wants to serve up his brand of entertainment in other ports around Alaska.
He's planning to start a tour later this summer.
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