NATCHEZ — Tuesday afternoon the Adams County Sheriff’s Office received a gift two years in the making.

Deputies took possession of a brand new custom-made 28-foot aluminum boat.

And while ASCO administrators said the boat is filled with tools that make it a valuable asset for the office, one detail about the boat is hard to ignore.

The $122,000 boat was donated to the sheriff’s office.

“You can’t really ask for more than that,” ASCO jail administrator Charles Harrigill said. “We are extremely fortunate.”

Harrigill said plans for the boat began to culminate at a Mexican restaurant approximately two years ago.

That’s when boat builder Vance Breaux, former Sheriff Ronny Brown and Harrigill first discussed the office’s need for a boat.

“We had a boat, but it was an old government surplus, and it wasn’t in great shape,” Harrigill said. “And Vance just said ‘I can build a boat if that’s what you need,’ and we didn’t give it much thought at the time. But (Breaux) got to work on it.”

Breaux’s company, Breaux Brothers Enterprises, builds custom boats for a variety of uses.

“Most of what we do is much, much bigger than this,” Breaux said standing on the boat’s deck. “This is easy for us.”

While the boat wasn’t considered a large-scale project for Breaux and his crew, they didn’t put in less care in building it.

“You cannot sink this boat,” Breaux said. “It’s very sturdy, insulated with Styrofoam and covered in aluminum, you could cut the bottom 100 times and it won’t go down.”

In addition to being unsinkable, the boat has virtually limitless uses, Breaux said.

“It’s been built to Coast Guard specifications and can hold up to 12,000 pounds. You could put a car on the deck of this boat,” Breaux said. “It’s got a lot of character.”

Breaux, who initially met Brown through longtime friend Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Freeman, said he was glad to be able to aid the sheriff’s office.

“I’ve known them for a long time. And I was happy to help,” he said. “And it’s a great tax write off.”

Harrigill said having such a versatile piece of equipment, at no cost, is a enormous asset for the sheriff’s office.

“We couldn’t hope for anything better than this,” he said.

Harrigill said the craft will be used for water rescues, patrols of the Mississippi River and even has a strong enough engine to push a tugboat.