Shipbuilding History

This web site does not attempt to track the construction of recreational boats, because there are many millions of them, almost all manufactured of fiberglass and produced in factories rather than built in boatyards. In both world wars, however, the leading yacht builders made a significant contribution to the war effort and this section of the web site addresses these yards, of which there were at least 36 with significant records. In WWI, 16 yacht builders switched their capacity to the construction of sub chasers, a type of boat that was obviously well suited to their capabilities. In WWII, the same 16, plus another 20, were involved, not only building sub chasers but also turning out tremendous numbers of minesweepers, tugs and other small vessels, in both steel and wood. The tables in this section are far from complete, some only covering the yard's wartime output, and not always that much, because neither yacht construction nor wartime construction of small vessels are well documented. Note also that these are yards that were primarily yacht builders: dozens more yards built barges and other small vessels with simple hull forms. In addition, many more small yards engaged in converting existing small boats for wartime service and in repair work.