Garbutt-Walsh Inc. was started in 1907 by Matt J. Walsh (1866 - 1960) and Frank Garbutt (financier) as a

boatyard 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. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as , is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Wilmington and San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles ...

at Berth No. 221. Garbutt-Walsh Inc. built and repaired boats and yachts for pleasure and commercial. President of Garbutt-Walsh Inc. was Matt J. Walsh and Vice President was David J. Walsh. For

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

Garbutt-Walsh Inc built powered and non-powered covered and open barges, a

Type B ship The Type B ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II barges. Barges are very low cost to build, operate, and move, and can transport bulky cargo. Because barges lack engines for self-propulsion, they are ...

. The open badge, YGN-44, with a length of 65 feet and a beam of 20 feet, and 300 hp was lost in the war in 1944. The site is now YTI Terminal's

Intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, or a freight container, (or simply "container") is a large metal crate designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode ...

port. Matthew Joseph Walsh was born in

Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Guysborough County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq, and was colonized by France in the 17th century. Following the defeat of France in North America, the area wa ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1866. He came to California in 1899. His first job in California was working for the Los Angeles Railway Company, In 1906 was hired by Frank A. Garbutt as crewmen of his schooner ''Skidbladnir''. One of Walsh first boat building projects was Harry Pidgeon's ''Inlander'', which sailed around the world. Other noted boats: 53-ffor cutter ''Otter'' in 1914, 45-ffot sloop ''Thorobred'' in 1928, 43-foot sloop ''Margaret'', 27-foot ''Common Sense'' in 1933 (built 6 of this 27-footer) and his own 55-foot cruiser ''Mardo'' in 1930 for himself, 53-foot ferry ''M.J.W.'' for Matthew J. Walsh in 1918, which ferried from LA harbor to dan Pedro and the west end of Terminal Island. Th ''M.J.W.'' sank in 1946. ''Common Sense III'' 25-foot

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

built by Garbutt-Walsh Inc. was the smallest bat to sail the Los Angeles to Honolulu,

Transpacific Yacht Race The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around . In even-numbered years the ...

. ''Common Sense III'' sail in the 1934 race with a Hawaii crew. Halfway in the race her mast was damaged, but she still finished the race. After the race rules were changed and 30-foot min. limit was placed on the boats. Walsh raced his own boats. Walsh's had two big wins: The San Francisco Perpetual Challenge Cup in 1923 with the R-boat ''California''. and the Universal rule R-Class National Championship with ''Pirate'' in 1929 during the Larchmont Race Week. Walsh Walsh in 1960 at age 94 in his home at near the

Point Fermin Light Point Fermin Light is a lighthouse on Point Fermin in San Pedro, California. History The lighthouse was built in 1874 with lumber from California redwoods. It was designed by Paul J. Pelz who also designed Point Fermin's sister stations, East ...

house. Frank Alderman Garbutt (1869-1947) was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he is known for being a race-car driver, an entrepreneur, writing short stories and being an athlete. His business was a variety of activities in printing, oil drilling tools, California real estate, building and movie making. He was one of the founders of Union Oil Company. Worked in Hollywood and was Vice President of

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in New York City in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful theatre owners and producers there. History Discussions to form the company were held at Th ...

, which he sold to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. He was an investor in many new started-ups, having made his money in oil. He was an investor in Glenn Martin's aircraft business that later became

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Marie ...

). He also help start the

Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mo ...

Garbutt was a member of both the

Los Angeles Athletic Club Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is a privately owned Sports club, athletic club and social club in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1880, the club is today best known for its John R. Wooden Award pr ...

and the California Yacht Club in 1922). His passion for yachts connected him with Walsh. Garbutt owned the ''Skidbladnir'' a large yacht. Garbutt died of a heart attack at age 78.Frank Alderman Garbutt
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Built for World War 2

Built for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

for World War 2 in 1943 covered Lighter, also called covered barges, at 138 tons each and a length of 110 feet.

References

{{USWWII American boat builders

Built for World War 2

See also

References