Wender·Vista
Pacific City fishing dories
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileOregon
on the north Oregon coast, in the lee of Cape Kiwanda

Pacific City fishing dories

— — flat-bottomed boats that go straight at the surf.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Pacific City is one of the last places in the country where flat-bottomed dories launch straight off the sand into the open Pacific. Trucks back trailers down the beach at first light. The boats run the surf, fish the rockfish grounds off Cape Kiwanda, and come home the same way they left, riding a wave up onto the sand. Haystack Rock sits offshore through all of it. from the studio

from the studio
Pacific City fishing dories
— bring it home

Pacific City fishing dories, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Pacific City fishing dories

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Pacific City sits in Tillamook County on Oregon's north coast, about 25 miles south of Tillamook and 100 miles southwest of Portland. The town is built around the mouth of the Nestucca River and the broad sand beach south of Cape Kiwanda, a sandstone headland rising about 240 feet from the surf. The unincorporated community holds roughly 1,000 permanent residents. Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area protects the headland and the offshore Haystack Rock, a 327-foot sea stack a third of a mile from shore.

— the water

The Pacific City dory fleet has launched directly off the beach since at least 1907, one of only a handful of beach-launch commercial fisheries left in the United States. The boats are flat-bottomed, square-sterned, typically 22 to 24 feet, originally rowed and now outboard-powered. Crews back trailers to the wet sand at dawn, gun the motors through the breaker line, and run out to rockfish and salmon grounds off Cape Kiwanda. The Pacific City Dorymen's Association still organizes the annual Dory Days festival each July.

— the visit

Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area is open daily, free, with a paved lot at the north end of Pacific Beach. The dory launches typically start about an hour before sunrise and the boats return mid-morning to early afternoon depending on swell. Visitors should stay clear of trailer lanes on the sand. The Pelican Brewing taproom and the Stimulus coffee shop face the launch, both within a short walk of the cape trail. Beach driving permits are required for non-fleet vehicles below the dune line.

— informed by Oregon State Parks
— where
United States · Tillamook County, Oregon
— within
Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area
— elevation
3 m · 10 ft
— position
45.2010° N · 123.9624° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km N
Cape Kiwanda
headland
1 km W
Haystack Rock (Pacific City)
sea stack
18 km N
Cape Lookout
headland
40 km N
Tillamook
town
N
Pacific City fishing dories
Cape Kiwanda
Haystack Rock (Pacific City)
Cape Lookout
Tillamook
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Pacific City fishing dories — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A flat-bottomed, square-sterned wooden or aluminum boat, usually 22 to 24 feet, designed to launch through surf off a sand beach. The hull shape lets the boat skim across breakers under outboard power.

The Pacific City dory fishery dates to at least 1907, when boats began rowing out for salmon. It is one of the last beach-launch commercial fisheries in the United States.

The Pacific City Dorymen's Association holds Dory Days each July, with a parade, fish fry, and dory races off the beach. The festival has run for more than fifty years.

The Pacific City Haystack Rock rises 327 feet above sea level, about a third of a mile offshore. It is the southern of Oregon's two famous Haystack Rocks; the other stands at Cannon Beach.

Yes. The boats typically launch from the south side of Cape Kiwanda about an hour before sunrise and return mid-morning. The state lot at the north end of Pacific Beach is the closest access.

Primarily rockfish, lingcod, and chinook salmon, taken on the nearshore reefs and pinnacles within a few miles of the cape. Halibut and tuna are taken farther out when conditions allow.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The dory fleet is the town's defining identity, and locals, second-home owners, and dorymen's families all recognize the launch instantly. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries the place well.

The cool blues, weathered greens, and wet-sand neutrals sit well in Coastal-modern, Pacific Northwest cabin, and Nautical traditional rooms. The tile also pairs cleanly with whitewashed shiplap and natural oak.

Yes. The current Coastal-modern and Quiet Coastal palettes favor washed driftwood, deep ocean blue, and matte ceramic. The tile reads as art rather than souvenir, which is what those interiors want over the sofa.

A single Large reads well above a standard sofa or a console table. For more presence, a 4-tile Mural fills the wall above a console; a 9-tile Mural anchors a longer sofa.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for humid rooms and vertical installations. Both are scratch-resistant and clean with a microfibre cloth. The Glossy finish is better suited to framed wall placements.

A soft microfibre cloth and water are enough. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender, the studio's curator, in the same stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. There is no licensing and no third-party reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you

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