Where was Overboard filmed?
1987
City Locations
Northern California: Fort Bragg, Mendocino County: Noyo Harbor; Mendocino, Mendocino County; Newport, Oregon
Location Types
American, NatureScapes, House
Location Styles
Americana/Anywhere America, Boat Style, Modern Building
About Overboard
Filmed in 1987, Overboard is a popular romantic comedy that was directed by the highly acclaimed Garry Marshall. Though the initial reviews of the film were less than 100% positive, Overboard has quickly become a cult classic with a worldwide following. The movie has been remade a few times with its most recent film adaptation completed in 2018.
In the opening Overboard film scene {spoiler alert!} Joanna Stayton, played by the effusive and lovely Goldie Hawn, is an heiress who enjoys the high life, spending much time on her personal yacht. Her husband Grant Stayton III (Edward Herrmann) joins her on her seaside adventures.
The Overboard film set opens in the fictitious small town known as Elk Cove, Oregon. Joanne employs a local craftsman named Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell) to design her a new closet on board her yacht. Proffitt, a widower with a family that includes four young sons, builds a beautiful closet. Joanna is displeased with the work because of the choice of materials. Proffitt fashioned the closet from oak while Joanne preferred cedar yet did not make her preference known to Proffitt prior to construction.
Proffitt is willing to build Joanna another closet but first requires payment for the initial work that has already been completed. Joanna is adamant that she will not pay for the work and an argument ensues between the pair. Proffitt calls Joanna a number of names including “arrogant” and “entitled.” Joanna’s staff hears these remarks and cheers in assent. Angry by Proffitt’s remarks, Joanne shoves him into the water and throws his tools in after him. As the yacht sails to its next destination that evening, Joanna loses her balance on deck and falls into the ocean. This is the scene from which the movie takes its title “Overboard.”
The next Overboard filming location takes us to a TV station where news is released that an unidentified woman was rescued from the water by a garbage barge. Joanna has amnesia and is admitted to the town hospital. Grant travels to the hospital to pick Joanna up. Upon arrival, he notices her mental confusion and seeing an opportunity to be free of her, goes back to the yacht where he begins a series of parties filled with lavish food and young, beautiful women.
With her old lifestyle no longer of interest to her, Joanna notes that Grant and Edith are quite disrespectful to the boat staff. She apologizes to her crew members and butler for her previous treatment of them. Longing for her old life with Proffitt and his boys, she turns her boat around and begins to voyage towards Elk Cove.
The following morning, Grant discovers Joanna’s change of course and is angry. He commandeers the ship and confesses that he intentionally abandoned Joanna and engaged in a series of affairs with women he invited on board her yacht while she was with the Proffitts. Proffitt and his boys travel on a Coast Guard vessel to rescue Joanna, but the ship must change its course when salmon poachers are discovered.
Joanna spies Proffitt and the boys coming towards her and is upset to see the boat change course, feeling Proffitt has given up on her. Proffitt races to the end of the boat and calls to Joanna. He then jumps into the water and begins to swim to her. Joanna also tries to jump overboard, but her butler Andrew (Roddy McDowell) stops her to ensure she is wearing a life jacket before taking the plunge. An angry Grant attempts to shoot Joanna with a bow and arrow but is thrust overboard by Joanna’s faithful butler.
Once back on board the Coast Guard vessel, Proffitt initially believes Joanna abandoned her fortune for him. He is surprised to discover that the wealth and the yacht belong to her. Proffitt’s boys, upon learning of Joanna’s money, begin filling out their Christmas lists. Proffitt asks Joanna what he can give her since she is such a wealthy woman. She responds, “A little girl.” The two kiss, and the Coast Guard ship sails towards the horizon.
Overboard Locations
There are several filming locations for Overboard featured throughout the film. The script indicates that the fictional town of Elk Cove, Oregon is found in Tillamook County along the coast of the state. However, much of the footage for this beloved film took place in Mendocino County, California with a few scenes also shot in Newport, Oregon.
If 80s rom-coms are among your all-time favorite films, you just might like to plan a trip to visit to visit Overboard locations. Consider our list of spots where some of your most beloved scenes were filmed.
Fun Fact:
A little known fact, Overboard is actually based on a true story. A woman with amnesia was discovered along the shores of a Florida beach in 1980. Her name was Cheryl Tomisczek, and she was happily reunited with her family shortly after her reappearance.
Dean arrives to build Joanna’s closet scene in Overboard
Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California
One of the best scenes in Overboard, Joanna and Dean meet for the first time on her yacht. Dean arrives ready to begin what he has been informed is an emergency carpentry job. Having asked Dean for references and being informed that he is new to the area, Joanna and Dean engage in this discourse: Joanna: Try not to touch anything. Dean: Oh, I won’t. Joanna: Andrew will keep an eye on you. Dean: Maybe you’d like to take fingerprints before I get started. Following this line, delivered with equal helpings of charm and sarcasm, Joanna gives Dean a withering glare. Filmed in the stunning Noyo Harbor found just off Fort Bragg’s beautiful Noyo Harbor Beach, you’ll have no difficulty finding this beloved Overboard location. Park your vehicle in the beach parking lot found at the end of North Harbor Drive. The parking area is situated just beneath the Highway 1 bridge that traverses the Noyo River and Harbor Channel.
Uncover Filming Locations
Dean dupes Joanna into believing she is his wife Annie scene in Overboard
Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, California
In one of many funny scenes in Overboard, Dean arrives at Elk Cove Hospital prepared to exact his revenge on Joanna for refusing to pay her bill for the first closet he built for her. He introduces himself to the doctor, a nurse, and a police officer at the hospital and tells Joanna he is her husband and that she is the mother of his four boys. Unconvinced, an argument ensues:
Joanna: What’s my full name? Dean: Oh, come on now… Joanna: What is it? Dean: Mrs. Annie Profitt Joanna: What’s my maiden name? Dean: Annie…Goo-le-hee Joanna: Annie GOO-LE-HEE? Where in God’s name did, I grow up? Dog Patch? Dean: No, no, not there. Over in Goober, Idaho. It’s a nuclear a waste dump…
Filmed on a sound stage at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, this scene is one of the most memorable in the film and is integral to the plot of this romantic comedy. Studio tours are held daily at this facility for the public to enjoy. Raleigh Studios can easily be reached by public transit. Choose from the bus routes 10/48 or DASH or hop the subway, taking the BLINE (Red).
Joanna attempts to cook for Dean and the boys scene in Overboard
Road 409, Caspar, California
This Overboard production scene takes place at Dean’s home in the heart of the Elk Cove countryside. Joanna is presented with a whole chicken that has been plucked but still bears its feet and head. Dean and the boys sit at the table, waiting for Joanna to prepare their dinner. When Joanna is horrified by the sight of the chicken and expresses she doesn’t know what to do with it, Dean tells her, “I hunt it; you cook it.”
The scenes involving the Proffitt house and homestead were shot on Road 409 in a town known as Caspar that is located several miles outside Fort Bragg. Found between the two main cities Fort Bragg and Mendocino, Caspar’s Road 409 can be found just off Highway 1.
Dean shows Joanna/Annie “family photos” scene in Overboard
Road 409, Caspar, California
Dean convinces his friend who has a side business creating fake IDs to manufacture some “family photos” of Joanna with him and the boys. On the front porch of their home, Dean shows Joanna the photos. She notes that in each of them she looks dazed or unhappy. She asks Dean, “Was I always this miserable? Wasn’t I ever happy?” Nestled in the deep of the woods, Dean’s house can be located on Road 409 just off the exit for Highway 1.
View Film Shoot Locations
Joanna/Annie’s birthday in scene in Overboard
Capt’n Flints, Fort Bragg, California
Dean takes Joanna/Annie to a local restaurant to celebrate her birthday. The two stand on the outdoor patio and enjoy the view of the nearby bridge and ships coming into the harbor. Dean unveils a bottle of champagne and two plastic wine glasses. He pours champagne into each glass and hands one to Joanna/Annie. As the two go to toast, the bottom of Annie’s champagne glass falls off, and she sweetly exclaims, “Oops, I lost my bottom!”
This poignant scene was filmed in Fort Bragg’s Capt’N Flints Restaurant, an eatery that is situated in a quaint corner of the bay. Now closed for business, the building still remains intact, allowing visitors to stop by to catch a glimpse of the spot where one of the most iconic scenes in their favorite film unfolded. Found just off Noyo Harbor, you can walk to Capt’N Flints from many of the other Overboard filming locations in the area. Leave your vehicle in the beach parking lot loud underneath the Highway 1 bridge.
Browse Production Spaces
Joanna and Dean declare their love for one another scene in Overboard
Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California
In one of the most exciting Overboard action scenes, both Joanna and Dean jump from their respective boats into the bay and swim towards each other to declare their love. A rescue boat brings the couple to the Coast Guard vessel where Dean’s boys are frantically transcribing their Christmas lists.
Dean and Annie share this discussion: Dean: Well, they’ve got me to thinking though. What can I possibly give you ever that you don’t already have? Joanna/Annie: A little girl.
The best place from which to view the area where this scene was shot is from the shores of Noyo Harbor Beach.
Conclusion
Overboard may not have been an instant box office success, but it’s a poignant love story and comic scenes have resonated with audiences throughout the years. With locations that span the gamut from the rich forest of the countryside to the shining waters of the Noho Harbor and even to local institutions like the bowling alley, elementary school, and homespun restaurant found in Fort Bragg, Overboard offers a picturesque landscape that is sure to be remembered. If you consider yourself to be one of Overboard’s biggest fans, why not plan a trip to explore the spots where your favorite scenes were filmed?