Coast River

COMPLIMENTARY COPY

BUSINESS JOURNAL
September 2009
BUSINESS JOURNAL

We mean BUSINESS ... in the Columbia-Pacific Region Volume 4, Issue 9

Published the last Friday of each month
Pacific Expedition Bank of
now crafting yachts the Pacific
FEATURE
at Tongue Point raises over
Tough economy drives interest in
cycling
See page 14
See page 10
$10 million
by Joanne Rideout
joanne@crbizjournal.com

W ashington-based Bank of the Pa-

cific raised in excess of $10 million
this summer through a capital campaign.
The bank handled the fund-raising effort
through a private placement offering that
was scheduled to close Aug. 31, a few days
NEW BUSINESS after CRBJ’s September issue press date.
Way Kool Thrift Store offers quirky The final figure for the funds raised will be
art, bargains available after the offering closing date.
Paul Reese, CFA [Charter Finanical An-
See page 24 alyst] is managing director with investment
brokerage firm Howe, Barnes, Hoeffer and
Arnet in San Francisco. Reese is familiar
with Bank of the Pacific, and consulted with
Pacific Expedition Yachts owners John Shaw (left) and Patrick Meyer the company in the early stages of its recent
recently began building custom yachts in their shop at Tongue Point in private placement process.
Astoria. Photo: Joanne Rideout He said Bank of the Pacific had a legal
obligation to customers to raise the money
as expediently as possible. That’s because
INSIGHTS Pacific had an exceptionally good year, after
Astoria Sunday Market Executive BANK OF PACIFIC, page 
Director Cyndi Mudge

Help for businesses

See page 34

showcased at lenders summit

by Joanne Rideout
joanne@crbizjournal.com
REAL ESTATE & Construction
Hoffman Center Annex to
receive major upgrade
F inancial help for area small busi-
nesses could become more avail-
able locally, thanks to an educational
See page 35 banking summit held in Astoria in Au-
gust. The seminar was designed to up-
date regional banks and credit union
staff about federal and state loan guaran-
DEPARTMENTS tee programs that are working with Re-
Publisher’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 covery Act stimulus funding and other
News at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 monies.
Making Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The three-hour “Business Leaders
CRBJ Contact Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Summit” at the Holiday Inn Express pro-
New Business & Feature . . . . . . . 21 vided an overview of public sector loan
Articles • Corporate Filings • Guest programs for businesses.
Columns • Insights • Meeting Participants heard presentations from
Notices
the U.S. Small Business Administration,
Real Estate & Construction . . . . 35 the United States Department of Agricul-
Articles • Top Properties • Building ture, the Oregon Economic Development
Permits and Community Development Depart-
(503) 325-2999
www.crbizjournal.com ment, and the Columbia Pacific Develop-
ment Resources. The summit was orga-
nized and sponsored by CEDR, Clatsop
Economic Development Resources.
CEDR Directoar Rick Gardner said
the idea was to bring together the area
financial community and national and
state resource providers.
“There have been a lot of new pro-
grams coming out and a lot of confu-
sion,” he said. “It was a chance for the
banks to talk to the resource providers
and ask questions.”
Among session highlights were infor-
mation about SBA Micro-Loans, USDA
farm loans, economic development loans
designed to help businesses create jobs,
and interest-free federal ARC loans for
small businesses.
While ARC loans could be a godsend
for businesses hit hard by the recession,
banks have been slow to embrace them.
SBA criteria for ARC loans include im-
mediate financial hardship, declining
sales and revenue, reduced working capi-
tal and difficulty paying employees.
“The Recovery Act has changed some
of the rules,” Gardner said. “The intent is
to help small businesses that have histor-
ically done well but are suffering in this
environment.”
Under Recovery Act guidelines, the
SBA is permitted to guarantee some loans
up to 90 percent if borrowers default. The
provision may make it more appealing to
local institutions to lend money through
these programs.
Business owners can check with their
financial institution about the availability
of ARC loans - participation is voluntary
for banks and credit unions. (See further
details about ARC loans on page 3).
Federal lending reps at the meeting
said they would consider each loan appli-
cation on a case-by-case basis to deter-
mine if a business currently in financial
trouble is still a sound investment.
LENDERS, page 
 September 2009 • 10 NEWS
Pacific Expedition
begins crafting yachts at Tongue Point
by Joanne Rideout
joanne@crbizjournal.com
T he industrial waterfront at Tongue
Point in Astoria is seeing new
business life these days, thanks to an in-
triguing firm with a maritime focus.
Pacific Expedition Yachts, which has
another operation on the Central Oregon
Coast, set up shop quietly at Tongue Point
earlier this year and recently began pro-
duction of custom luxury yachts at the
east Astoria industrial site. The company
hired six employees from the local area
this summer, and their goal is to have a
staff of 30.
Pacific Expedition builds large rec-
reational motor catamarans designed for
coastal and ocean voyaging. The price
tag for one of its finished boats? Between
$700,000 and $2 million.
John Shaw and Patrick Meyer own
Pacific Expedition; the two business
partners together span a gamut of skills.
Shaw is an experienced Pacific North-
west boat builder and artisan whose com-
pany Shaw Boats, based in Grays Harbor,
built large custom sailing catamarans for
about 15 years. Meyer is also a marine
enthusiast whose specialties are customer
service, marketing and public relations.
The company, which started about
five years ago, is branching out to Asto-
ria from its original home base in Toledo,
Ore., on the Yaquina River.
The Toledo community shares some
similarities with Astoria: it’s located just
a few miles from the ocean, on a river
with a deep-water channel.
After an initial few years of research
and development, Pacific Expedition’s
first boats are now being built in Asto-
ria.
The type of boats the company builds
has thus far been mostly the province of
high-speed ferries and specialized mili-
tary craft in the U.S, while recreational
“cat” motorboats are something relative-
ly new here.
“Other countries like France and
New Zealand have motor cats,” Meyer
said. “From an offshore perspective, the
We are
your ansWer
to high
utility
bills
Coast River Business Journal
diesel fuel.
Shaw said catamarans can be the ul-
timate “green” boat in terms of fuel con-
sumption because they are light to begin
with and carry no ballast. That translates
into less diesel burned per mile and a
smaller carbon footprint overall.
The wide base of the vessel creates
U.S. and the U.K. are the last bastions of “They can’t wait five to 10 years to high initial stability - meaning it’s un-
monohulls.” get the boat they want,” Meyer said. likely to capsize. Their composite con-
Inside an old hangar building at Most clients will pick up their boats struction makes them almost unsinkable:
Tongue Point, on the former premises at the Tongue Point factory and motor even the parts will float.
of a WWII Navy seaplane base, are two them home, which could potentially be “The nature of the boat is that its sea-
large yachts in progress. Curved pieces anywhere on the globe. keeping ability is excellent,” Shaw said.
of composite boat parts lie on the floor, Shaw said Australian naval architect Shaw and Meyer hope PE’s presence
waiting to be assembled. The pungent Stuart Bloomfield created the basic hull at Tongue Point will encourage other
smell of epoxy resin permeates the air design, but owners can potentially have a maritime-related businesses to locate
– evidence that fiberglass construction great deal of input about interior features there. Pacific Expedition’s growth plans
is taking place. To Meyer it smells like and décor to make sure the boat fits their include adding motorsailing catamaran
progress. tastes and needs. yachts to their inventory, with another
But creating a custom yacht is a care- Meyer said the boats feature luxury unusual feature – hybrid electric en-
ful, painstaking process. “We build them accommodations specially designed for gines.
one at a time,” he said. efficiency at sea. Amenities include gran- “As people get into bigger yachts, we
One of the boats under construction ite countertops with baffle construction see it as an expedition boat,” Meyer said.
is a 44 ft.-long motor cat designed for that reduce the weight of a given boat by “This is the platform for a thousand pas-
coastal cruising. 700 lbs. compared to conventional mate- sions.”
The other is a massive 65 ft. ocean rials - a consideration in this era of pricey
expedition cat that will have a working
range of about 3,000 miles.
Out of the water, both hulls look sur-
real and oddly curved, and the huge span
between the hulls on the 65-footer allows
for roomy cabins.
Meyer said the concept of a catama-
ran motor yacht is catching on with a cer-
tain segment of the boating public.
“We’re in the process of building the
brand,” he said. “Cats by nature are a
niche market.”
Meyer said the company has gotten
inquiries from divers, treasure hunters,
and charter boat operators who are look-
ing for a roomy, stable platform at sea.
The catamaran design also features
shallow draft - meaning even a large
Pacific Expedition yacht will need less
than four feet of water under the bottom.
This gives the boats greater range with-
out danger of running aground. They
can reach speeds of 20 knots, far faster
than most recreational monohulls of the
same length. That high speed capability,
Meyer said, is a deterrent to piracy that
appeals to expedition voyagers in some
parts of the world.
Another segment of Pacific Expedi-
tion clients are wealthy retirees who are
looking to enjoy their retirement years,
and are still in the market for a high-end
boat despite the recession. This motor catamaran yacht is under construction at Pacific Expedition. Photo: Joanne Rideout
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