Lake Union Drydock Company is a full-service

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

that specializes in vessel repair and conversions located in Seattle, Washington. Drydocking vessels up to 6000 tons (420’ in length), Lake Union Drydock Company repairs factory trawlers, fishing vessels, Coast Guard Cutters and buoy tenders, tugboats, research vessels, ferries, mega-yachts, barges, and

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

s. Lake Union Drydock Company was founded by Otis Cutting and John McLean in 1919 to build and service watercraft vessels. Located along the eastern shore of

Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...

, Lake Union Drydock Company is among the longest operating shipyards in the United States. Accessible via the Hiram A. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks, Lake Union provides refuge from tides as well as the marine life and corrosive saltwater of Puget Sound.

Company history

In 1919, during the Post-World War I recession, Otis Cutting and John McLean started a partnership when they jointly purchased waterfront property on

and established the Lake Union Drydock Company. Between 1920 and 1954, Lake Union Drydock Company constructed a total of 63 vessels, the majority of which were not yachts. During Prohibition,

rum-runners Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...

used fast boats to transport alcohol along “rum-lines” where they risked passage between ports in the western waters of both the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and Canada. To address this challenge, the US Coast Guard commissioned Lake Union Drydock Company to construct 15 75’ long, high-speed Patrol Boats, an effort that achieved Lake Union Drydock Company economic viability as well as recognition for the craft and quality of the vessels they built. Following the start to their business, in 1923 Cutting and McLean hired R.M. Mooney, a former Marmon Automobiles agent. Inspired by Henry Ford’s assembly line, Mooney implemented repeatable manufacturing processes to produce a stock cruiser, the Lake Union Dreamboat, to achieve a price point more accessible to yachting enthusiasts. Fro
1928-1930
Lake Union Drydock Company worked with noted yacht designer, Ted Geary, and built a series of four, 96’ long, fantail yachts
Principia, Blue Peter, Electra, and Canim
''); each created with classic lines, luxurious joiner work, and fittings. The company also made two sailing yachts
Pirate and Circe
Both vessels remained functional till 2019.

Second World War

Operating under the name Associated Shipbuilders in a joint venture with the nearby

Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was a major shipbuilding and construction company, located in Seattle, Washington, on the southwestern corner of Harbor Island, an artificial island in Elliott Bay. The Bridge and Dredging Company created t ...

Harbor Island Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, US, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then the largest art ...

, a small number of yard minesweepers were built for the United States Navy.http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/lakeunion.htm * 18 of 481 s ** BYMS-9 ... BYMS-14 ** YMS-287 ... YMS-298

Post WWII

In 1946 Harry Jones, an attorney, and George H. Stebbins, a marine engineer
joined forces to purchase Lake Union Drydock Company
a union that would be followed by three subsequent generations. Much like their predecessors, Jones and Stebbins took over just after a world war. The post WWII era was lean, but the abundant market for of ship repairs and dedication to craft enabled Lake Union Drydock Company to thrive. A contract performed between 1952 and 1953, during the Korean War, resulted in construction of four, 144’ long, minesweepers. This would be the last multi vessel construction contract that Lake Union Drydock Company would perform. During th
1960s and 1970s
Lake Union Drydock Company focused on vessel conversion and repair work. Alaska’s rapid growth in that era caused a significant increase in the demand for repair of freighters, tugs and barges that supplied goods to the state. In response to an increase in marine traffic, additional US Coast Guard vessels were stationed in the region, each requiring periodic repair. Additionally, the Alaska Marine Highways System looked to Lake Union Drydock Company to service and refit vessels for their ferry fleet. The passing of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 brought growth to the fishing industry in Alaska; dozens of US factory

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

, catcher boats and longliners arrived on the scene and Lake Union Drydock Company became the principle repair source for the North Pacific trawler fleet. Between fishing seasons, it was not uncommon for several 200’-300’ trawlers to be in the yard simultaneously. Yard craftspeople adapted to the specific needs of the fleet and developed new skills. In 1976, the yard acquired ex-

USS White Sands (ARD-20) USS ''White Sands'' (ARD-20), ex-USS ''ARD-20'', ex-USS ''ARD(BS)-20'', later AGDS-1, was a United States Navy auxiliary repair dock in service from 1944 to 1947 and from 1966 to 1974 and an Auxiliary floating drydock. Construction and commissio ...

, an

Auxiliary repair dock An auxiliary repair dock (ARD) is a type of floating drydock employed by the U.S. Navy, especially during World War II. The Navy commissioned 33 ARD vessels: ARD-1 through ARD-33. ARDs were self-sustaining in World War II. ARDs have a rudder to hel ...

ship. This required the ship with an beam to pass through the 80-foot wide

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, or Ballard Locks, is a complex of locks at the west end of Salmon Bay in Seattle, Washington's Lake Washington Ship Canal, between the neighborhoods of Ballard to the north and Magnolia to the south. The Ballard L ...

in Ballard. This was accomplished by heeling the ship to 38 degrees with ballast water then with of ballast blocks and steel plates, plus additional buoyancy. Along with all the industry shifts, servicing wooden vessels remained a mainstay of Lake Union Drydock Company’s operation. Capitalizing on the opportunity to maintain wooden minesweepers, Lake Union Drydock Company assembled vessel-specific tooling and established craft training to service sophisticated componentry. In 1990, after the Invasion of Kuwait, the US Navy enlisted Lake Union Drydock Company to prepare the Seattle based Minesweeper Offshore (MSO) fleet for transit to the Persian Gulf. In 1994, the Taiwanese Navy contracted with Lake Union Drydock to refurbish and then transport four Mine Sweeper Offshore (MSO) to Taiwan. This job required a workforce of 140 craftspeople to concurrently perform repairs on all four vessels. In need of 70 shipwrights, who were difficult to recruit by 1990 due to changes in the labor market, Lake Union Drydock Company had to search Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and British Columbia to assemble an appropriately skilled team. As part of the contract, Lake Union Drydock Company provided training to the Taiwanese maintenance staff. To fulfill the transport requirement to Taiwan, the shipyard found and prepared a heavy lift ship to deck-load and transit the four 176’ minesweepers, once delivered, Lake Union Drydock Company’s relationship with wooden Naval Minesweepers was concluded. Between 1995 and 2001 Lake Union Drydock Company worked i
collaboration with the Virginia V Foundation
to successfully restore the Virginia V; the last operational wooden steam passenger ship of its kind.

Company today

Lake Union Drydock Company
in its 103rd year of business
remains a full-service

that specializes in vessel repair and conversions. Lake Union Drydock Company vessel repairs includes; factory trawlers, longliners and catcher boats, deep sea and harbor tugs, barges, US Coast Guard ships including buoy tenders, medium and high endurance cutters and high-speed patrol craft, Washington State Ferries and regional high-speed passenger ferries,

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

vessels, large yachts, and assorted commercial vessels.

References

{{Puget Sound shipyards Companies based in Seattle Shipbuilding in Washington (state) American companies established in 1919 Manufacturing companies established in 1919 1919 establishments in Washington (state) *