As a prominent marine engine dealer, James Hoffar rose to notoriety in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1900s; when he formed the Hoffar Motor Boat Company. The ship building firm was located on Coal Harbor near the entrance to Vancouvers Stanley Park.
Hoffar was an early experimenter in combining the boat with the airplane. In 1914 his factory produced its first seaplane from sketchy plans in a magazine.
He later merged with the neighboring Beeching Boat Yard to become Hoffar- Beeching.
In the 1920s, the Seattle, Washington based Boeing Aircraft Co. purchased Hoffar-Beeching. This became Boeing’s first seaplane factory & test site. Hoffar was retained as the President of the Boeing Aircraft of Canada, Ltd.
The subsidiary started building seaplanes and testing them on the shores of Coal Harbor, but it is also noted for building wooden boats for Canadian Government and commercial service, fishing boats and even sail boats.
The Boeing family yacht Taconite, was launched in 1930 and still cruises the waters of the Northwest as a charter enterprise.
In 1931, the new Inspection Cruiser the M/Y Wyrill was completed for Pacific Mills. She was powered by an Atlas Imperial, six cylinder 120 Horsepower engine such as the one pictured here.
The launch of the M/Y Wyrill was heralded in the April 1931 issue of Pacific Motor Boat Magazine.