| Feadship 226 |  |
On a recent late summer day in Vancouver, B.C., Dennis
Washington was polishing his latest project, 226-foot Attessa. To other eyes
the yacht was finished; she had even been photographed. Yet, carpenters scurried
to follow his ad hoc
directions for better cabinet storage partitions and to
reposition screens containing precious Lalique panels. There is an elevator
aboard the yacht but he didn’t use it, bounding up and down staircases with the
energy and lankiness of a teenager, although he’s 50-something years the wiser.
Washington’s enthusiasm for his latest Attessa overflows. But mixed with a gentle air of
pride in doing things with his own hands is the same steely determination that
took him from hard times to the Forbes 400 list. | Click on the Spec tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
Washington leads a Montana-based empire of mostly privately
held companies, mainly in heavy industry or transportation, and is chairman of
the Washington Group International, a global engineering and construction
company employing some 38,000 people in the United States, western Canada and 35
other countries. It all started with a $30,000 loan from Caterpillar to buy a
single bulldozer in 1964.  "Hey, I don’t want this story to be about me," barked
Washington. "I want it to be about Attessa." However, understanding Washington is the
answer to the "why" question that haunts a discussion of any of his three yacht
reconstruction projects, all named Attessa. He is more likely to deliver his short
answer, "I like projects." (Click image to enlarge)
In 1991, he turned a sturdy 130-foot Kong and Halvorsen trawler
named YeCats into a sleek 143-foot yacht pretty enough to land a supporting role to
Robert Redford and Demi Moore in the movie Indecent Proposal. He
modeled the refinements on a Feadship parked nearby in San Diego—Joan Kroc’s
Impromptu.
Then, in 1995, he got the chance to buy Impromptu and set about
revamping her for a multiseason lifestyle, adding a longer stern and a
helicopter pad.
The master suite takes its pale color
cue from honey onyx and antique gold-veined white marble. (Click images to enlarge)
Washington doesn’t refit boats, he guts them, keeping spaces
that fit his needs and completely reinventing those that don’t. All three
Attessas,
his float plane, jet and helicopter have benefited from the extraordinary skills
of Seattle-based stylist and designer Glade Johnson, but Washington’s uncanny
ability to imagine in three dimensions are at their very core. In 2002 he bought, Aviva, a 204-foot Feadship built in 1998, which
suffered a bizarre fire in 2001 that affected just the engine room and the upper
deck but filled the interior with smoke. After a protracted insurance battle,
the owner put Aviva up for sale and Washington grabbed it. At last he had a platform big
enough to hold all his ideas.
Top photo: Shirred silk surrounds a spectacular Beaux Arts
chandelier by Sabino creating a dramatic rotunda entrance to the main
deck. An 1810 Russian mahogany desk and a grand piano are the gatekeepers to the
salon proper. Bottom photo: The theater features electronics by Linn. (Click images to enlarge)
"Dennis has a way of looking at things other people think are
dead and seeing viability," said one of Washington’s team members. "He was that
way in the beginning with dump trucks and scrapers and later with the Butte mine
he bought from ARCO. He just sees how to make things work, often in new and
different ways." Washington’s vision for the newest Attessa gelled during a
short cruise on the boat not long after purchase. "Dennis wanted to improve the
boat’s water access in a big way, he didn’t like the placement of the gym, and
he thought the main staircase should be grand," said Johnson. His answer to the
fire damage on the upper deck was to cut the deck off entirely and start
over.
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