Sausalito Shipbuilding in

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, started in 1942 as the Oakland shipbuilding Corporation. The founders had hoped to start a new

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, but a better site opened up next to the new

Marinship Marinship Corporation was a shipbuilding company of the United States during World War II, created to build the shipping required for the war effort. Founded in 1942, the shipyard built 93 cargo ships and oil tankers, before ending operations in ...

shipyard in Sausalito, which built

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s. The site was near the former

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a mainline railroad from the former ferry connections in Sausalito, California north to Eureka, with a connection to the national railroad system at Schellville. The railroad has gone through a complex h ...

repair yard situated at

Richardson's Bay Richardson Bay (originally Richardson's Bay) is a shallow, ecologically rich arm of San Francisco Bay, managed under by the Richardson Bay Regional Agency, created under a joint powers agreement by the County of Marin, Town of Tiburon, and Cit ...

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

. With

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

underway, there was a demand for more vessels, Oakland and much of the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

was also already built up. The shoreline in Marin County had open space to build new shipyards. At the site, the new company built 4 shipways. It had no official name while it was being built but was referred to as the "Marin Shipbuilding Division of W.A. Bechtel Company" and that lengthy title was shortened to Marin-Ship or what known today as "Marinship" with a street in Sausalito named Marinship Way. Sausalito Shipbuilding received a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

contract to build

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s. Sausalito Shipbuilding was operated as a Co-operative, each worker having a share in the company. The president was D. F. Baker, who had worked at

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

and Bremerton Navy Yard. The vice president was R. E. Oberer. Tresurer was Ernent Collins. Office manager was E. G. Harris. The other key partner was Robert Rich and Stanley G. Morris. Stanley G. Morris sold his share to Rich in August 1945. The site was north end of

and just three miles (5 km) north of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

. Ernent Collins was a yacht builder for years before joining the partnership. Robert Rich became the president of Sausalito Shipbuilding, later selling his share in the company and joining a dredging company that worked with Sausalito Shipbuilding. Robert Rich sold his shares to Gus Wandtke and Ernest Collins. In 1945 with the end of World War 2, like many shipyards, Sausalito Shipbuilding closed. There was a surplus of ships after the war. The site later became Sausalito

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

community. For the war Sausalito Shipbuilding built US Army steel Barges:shipbuildinghistory.com army barges
/ref> *BC-157 to BC-168, the 12 Barges were a Design # 229 and are 110 feet in length. All 12 were delivered in 1942. *BC-803 to BC-809, the 7 Barges were a Design # 267 and are 130 feet in length. All 12 were delivered in 1943. *BG-1193 to BG-1198 the 6 Gasoline Tank Barges were a Design # 231 and are 120 feet in length. All 6 were delivered in 1943. *BC-2115 to BC-2128, the 15 Barges were a Design # 267 and are 130 feet in length. All 15 were delivered in 1944 and 1945.

References

{{Coord, 37, 51, 47.6, N, 122, 29, 35.8, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title American boat builders Companies based in Marin County, California Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States

See also

References