The completion of the Eddon Boat Building represents the achievement of an enthusiastic community determined to save its waterfront culture. A citizen-passed bond initiative in 2004 and a Washington State Heritage Grant enabled the City of Gig Harbor to purchase the Eddon Boatyard site and seismically upgrade and restore the historic boat building shop. Built in 1945 and listed on the Gig Harbor Register of Historic Places, the structure required careful attention to maintain the detail and character of the original building while introducing modern improvements such as lighting and fire protection. This facility is one of the last working wooden boatbuilding operations along Puget Sound.
To maintain the structure’s rustic character, seismic improvements were designed to be unobtrusive. Diagonal braces and blocking augment existing framing. Deteriorating columns were cut back, new footings poured, and the structure reinforced with steel channels.
The Eddon Boat facility is a highly visible and iconic structure on the Gig Harbor waterfront. The project helped galvanize citizen interest in revitalizing a connection to their heritage of boat-building and fishing. The upgrades have left it a stable, shining example of Gig Harbor’s commercial past and bright future.
The shape of the new viewing platform is inspired by the Thunderbird sailboat’s hull. The Thunderbird was the winning entry by boatyard co-owner Ed Hoppen in a 1958 sailboat contest sponsored by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The shop still evokes those early days, where visitors can overlook boatbuilding and repair activities performed with the same tools and methods used sixty years ago.
The street level exterior, carefully stripped and repainted, is welcoming and accessible. Windows in the small, still functioning store were repaired; the project rooms were fitted with interior storm windows to retain the building’s exterior character while improving thermal comfort in the winter. The garage of the brick house was upgraded with accessible restrooms to serve the boathouse and the adjacent park.
