MANSON — A cruise vessel known as the "party boat" on Lake Chelan was ordered to stop doing business while the state investigates whether it has been operating without a license.

An order of immediate restraint was served on the boat during the Sept. 5 weekend by the state Department of Labor and Industries, with help from the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, said L&I spokesman Steve Pierce.

The agency regulates charter vessels that operate on some lakes, such as Lake Diablo and Lake Chelan, Pierce said.

He said the order means that the owners of the Twisted Pearl can't operate it as a charter boat while the state is investigating the matter. He said no fines have been issued.

The vessel is owned by Jared Sadowsky of Edmonds, who is listed as the sole proprietor of the Twisted Pearl.

No one returned messages left Monday on the business' phone.

Pierce said the agency hopes to conclude its investigation in a few weeks.

The state Liquor Control Board is also investigating whether the Twisted Pearl has been serving alcohol without a liquor license, officials said.

"The complaint is that they were selling alcohol on the boat without a license, but it's just a complaint until verified," said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the state Liquor Control Board.

Smith said liquor licenses must be renewed every year. State records show the Twisted Pearl applied to renew its liquor license this year, but the agency was waiting for proof the business had a lease for a boat slip, signed by the leasing party, before issuing a license.

"The record indicates we did not receive that," Smith said.

Chelan County Sheriff's Sgt. Rob Huddleston said the owner of the boat admitted he has been operating the Twisted Pearl this summer, but said it's a charity, to benefit others.

Beneficiaries listed include RTS Productions, Wenatchee Valley Humane Society, Manson parks, and music and art programs in Washington public schools.

According to the Department of Licensing, Sadowsky owns a business called R-T-S, but the Web site does not indicate what the business does.

And if the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society is a beneficiary, it hasn't received anything from the Twisted Pearl or Sadowsky yet.

"We've never received anything from him. We don't even know who he is," said Stephanie Manriquez, the Humane Society's interim director.

Huddleston said the boat has generated more than a handful of complaints each year since it began operating on Lake Chelan about four years ago.

Calls to the sheriff's office were first mostly about noise, he said, and later included possible liquor violations.

The Twisted Pearl's Web site calls itself a "party cruise," describing the boat as a "floating bar and grill accessible only by boat, jet ski, raft, or by swimming out." It's located just off the shores of Wapato Point and provides live music, drinks and food Thursdays through Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend, according to the Web site.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com