50' Beeching-Boeing Bridgedeck Cruiser (1930) - NONCHALANT

NONCHALANT is a stunning 50′ motor yacht from a bygone era. Built for William Boeing (Boeing Aircraft), Nonchalant was designed and constructed by the Hoffar Beeching boat company at the Cold Creek boat yard in Vancouver. Her launch in 1930 was met with great fanfare and as she travelled she was celebrated in ports all throughout the PNW.

I purchased Nonchalant from the Center for Wooden Boats. CWB had displayed the boat for sale for a couple years at their dock on Lake Union in Seattle (The vessel had been donated to them). I expected the vessel to require some work – mostly cosmetic… but it turned out to require a full restoration/refit! You can read about the Coast Guard rescue required during her initial voyage in the blog below. Once on the hard in Port Townsend, I had to make the decision to invest the time and money required to “Bring her back to life” or to hire a crew with an excavator and chainsaws to demolish her. I opted to go forward with a restoration the details of which are also being documented in the blog (See link below).
There have been several inflection points where the scope of the work expanded to the point of me questioning the sanity of my decision, but I believe Nonchalant is an example of maritime history that is worth preserving.