A backyard boat in Sun Valley

Griffith hired Seattle shipbuilder Ed Monk & Son to draw up plans for his steel-hulled craft and built his own dry dock out of heavy-duty piping. He started building the boat in 1977, working from the keel up.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Griffith chats with one of his grandchildren involved in the project. Patricia Bezart, 32, said she’s proud of the family’s role. “How many people can say their grandfather built a boat in the backyard?” she asked.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Griffith shows one of the passenger cabins in his 64-foot boat.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Dillon Griffith in the engine room. Though he had a truck with a small crane, when the twin 600-horsepower marine engines were hoisted into the rear of the vessel to power its two propellers, a larger crane had to be rented.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Victoria Bautista, 19, looks down the hatch of her grandfather’s boat.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Dillon Griffith and family members on the Mystic Rose. From left: granddaughter Mellani Bautista, 22; daughter Kim, 48; wife Christine; Dillon Griffith; and granddaughter Victoria Bautista, 19. The family originally moved to the half-acre Sun Valley property because it had enough room not only for the couple and their eight children but also for the boat project.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)