Captain Jeffrey and Christine Smith started Northwest Navigation Co. Inc. in 1998, and Aaron Mynatt joined them in 2004 as a business partner and the David B's engineer. While Jeffrey had been the captain of various kinds of vessels since 1992, his dream was to run his own small ship cruise business. With the vision in mind of providing a relaxed luxury cruise emphasizing nature, local history, and gourmet foods, while giving their passengers a sense of belonging, Jeffrey and Christine together searched for a vintage wooden boat. They eventually chose the David B because of its regional heritage and because its layout made it ideally suited to be restored and converted into a passenger ship.