Gregory Gorham executed this image of the Arrow No. 2 on the Columbia River approaching the Astoria Bridge based on photographs he took during an excursion last fall.

Gregory Gorham wanted to thank a boat captain who went the extra nautical mile to help him create art.

The answer was obvious: he presented Mark Schächer with a framed copy of a hand-colored linoleum print depicting his vessel, the Arrow 2.

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Gregory Gorham’s work is on display at Bold Coffee Art and Framing, 711 Pacific Ave. N., in Long Beach.

Online his work can be viewed at www.gregorygorham.com and www.facebook.com/Gregoryartstore

Details of Arrow No. 2 tours are online at www.arrowtug.com and www.facebook.com/arrowtugboat

The two linked up when Gorham took a Columbia River excursion last fall.

The artist, who splits his time between Ocean Park and Vancouver, had a career as a commercial illustrator before easing into retirement — and his inevitable hobby. He favors a process in which he cuts linoleum blocks to make prints then hand-colors them with what he labels “concentrated watercolor.” Every print is different.

His decades-long background in commercial art, for the Ford Motor Co. and elsewhere honed his dedication to accuracy and authenticity when depicting vehicles and vessels.

Schächer is captain of the Arrow 2, a tugboat which logged 50 years of service ferrying river pilots on the Astoria waterfront from the 1960s until its retirement in 2012.

Now restored, the vessel is available for river tours from its base in Astoria.

Gorham savors his memories of their excursion last fall. “I had called him and said I wanted to go out on his tour,” he said. A group of six climbed aboard on a day that started out foggy before visibility improved.

“We had a great time,” he said. “Mark was so knowledgeable — he had so much information. We went down to Tongue Point and back.”

The “extra mile” was the artist’s request to allow him to disembark for a while before the tour was done. “On our return, I asked if it would be possible for him to drop me off to get pictures of the Arrow going up and down the river. He was really gracious to me.”

Schächer even steered his vessel back and forth parallel to the waterfront several times to accommodate the artist’s lens. “I stood on the Columbia Maritime Museum dock and I took quite a few photos,” Gorham recalled.

Schächer was delighted with his gift, which has pride of place in his North Coast home. “I love it! It was incredibly generous, and way more than he needed to do,” he said. His boat tour operation recently moved from Warrenton to Astoria’s Pier 39. “When I get myself an office one day, it will hang there.”

Gorham’s joy in presenting the gift of the custom-framed artwork to Schächer was evident as he recalled the cordial manner in which they linked up.

“He was just a super guy!” Gorham said.