Astoria Marine Construction Company

Last updated
Astoria Marine Construction Company Historic District
Astoria Marine Construction Company - Astoria Oregon.jpg
Astoria Marine Construction Company
Astoria Oregon in 2014
USA Oregon location map.svg
Red pog.svg
On
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Astoria Marine Construction Company (the United States)
Location Clatsop County, Oregon, US
Nearest city Astoria, Oregon
Coordinates 46°08′41″N123°51′45″W / 46.144722°N 123.862500°W / 46.144722; -123.862500
Area7.2 acres (2.9 ha)
Built1929
NRHP reference No. 13001058
Added to NRHPJanuary 8, 2014

Astoria Marine Construction (AMCCO) was founded as Astoria Shipbuilding by Joe Dyer is 1929 in Jeffers Gardens of Astoria, Oregon. Joe Dyer's father was a pioneer of early Astoria and operated a family sawmill. Joe Dyer started by building wooden fishing boats at his shipyard. Then added wooden pleasure craft to his product line. Joe Dyer designed and built Columbia River One Design (CROD) boats and boats for the United States Navy. [1] The shipyard was on the east bank of the Lewis and Clark River and the Jeffers Slough. [2] Due to its historical importance the site is on the National Register of Historic Places in Clatsop County, Oregon. [3] [4] Astoria Marine Construction shipyard closed in 2013. [2]

Contents

History

Before starting his shipyard, Joe Dyer (1898–1974) was given a contract to build 12 Bristol Bay sailing gill-netters in 1924. Joe Dyer partnered with Acme (Ac) Mansker, and Clair Mansker to build 12 boats, calling the firm Astoria Shipbuilding in 1929. Together they built a new 7.2 acre shipyard. The yard grew, Astoria Shipbuilding built the Arrow No. 2 Astoria's river pilot boat. In 1926 Ac Mansker and his family departed the firm and moved to Puget Sound. Ac Mansker later worked as a superintendent at Bellingham Shipyards and later Todd Shipyards in Seattle. In addition to building wooden boats, Dyer added metal sheet, called ice sheathing to the bows of wooden cargo ships, to protect the hull in iced ports. [1] [2] [5]

Tourist III

In 1931 Dyer received his first large project, the design and construction of a 120-foot car ferry, called the Tourist III run by Captain Fritz Elving. The Tourist III operated for the Astoria-North Beach Ferry Company, on the Astoria – North shore route. Dyer leased a shipway at the Port of Astoria to build the large Tourist III and hired a crew. Tourist III was built in 90 days, so good a ship it put its rival Columbia Transportation out of action in two years. Tourist III was 109 ft (33.22 m) long, 233 tons, with a capacity of: 28 automobiles, 280 passengers. Tourist III ferry service started on July 4, 1931. The Tourist III Astoria run ended in 1966 as the Astoria – Megler Bridge was built. The Tourist III was taken to Kodiak, Alaska and was used as a floating crab-processing plant. [6] [7] [1] [2]

Great Depression

Columbia River One Design

The Great Depression was difficult on Astoria Shipbuilding Company, but the firm survived. Columbia River Yachting Association contacted the shipyard to design and build a one-class racing and cruising sloop in 1934. The Columbia River One Design (CROD) became the standard for the Astoria regatta races for the next thirty years. The shipyard built five Columbia River One Design (CROD) and due to the depression sold four CRODs as kits between 1934 and 1940. [8] The second CROD built, CROD No. 2, named Jean II was sold to Dean Webster of Portland, Oregon, he won first in class in the Pacific International Yachting Association race. After World War II Dyer built three more CRODs, including one for himself Joe's own boat, called Tom Tom after his son, that was passed down to his son. Astoria Shipbuilding built 12 Columbia River One Design (CROD), the 28-foot sloops became a classic. Columbia River One Design hulls 1 and 2 were donated to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. [2] [9] [10]

Great depression boats

E Lester Jones built by Astoria Marine in 1938 USC&GS Lester Jones (ASV-79).jpg
E Lester Jones built by Astoria Marine in 1938

In 1935, naval architect John Omundse joined the firm. In 1935 Dyer built a 36-foot express cruiser, Joanne, for A. N. Prouty, a local mill owner, also a luxurious 50-footer, Phantom with twin V-8 for Dr. Wallace Haworth of Portland. In 1938 Dyer built a 47-foot boat the Evening Star for Portland businessman Milt Henderson. In 1938, Dyer built a 52-foot gaff-rigged schooner, Pagan, for Edward Hefty. In 1938 Astoria Marine won a contract with United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to build an 88-foot survey ship, the E Lester Jones out of pressure-treated wood. The wood was pressure-treated at a plant in Wauna, Oregon. Heine Dole a new engineer with Astoria Marine was key in overseeing the project. [2]

USS Osprey (AMS-28) built by Astoria Marine in 1944 USS Osprey (AMS 28).jpg
USS Osprey (AMS-28) built by Astoria Marine in 1944

World War II

To support the World War II effort, Astoria Marine Construction built boats for the United States Navy and United States Army. At its peak in 1943, Astoria Marine Construction had over 1,500 workers. Dyer improved an East Coast Navy designed Minesweepers. Astoria Shipbuilding Company won on April 1, 1941, a $1,312,000 contract to build four minesweepers. Astoria Marine Construction built a new shipyard for the minesweeper assembly line at a Port of Astoria facility. Other orders were given to Astoria Shipbuilding. Astoria Marine operated three-yard during the war: Lewis and Clark River, Astoria Port Docks, and Tongue Point yard. Astoria Marine also converted 50 escort carriers and 56 ammunition ships for the war efforts. [1] [12] [13] [2]

For the US Navy Astoria Marine Construction built: [12]


For the US Army Astoria Marine Construction built:

Post War II

NOAAS Oregon built by Astoria Marine in 1946 NOAAS Oregon (R 551).JPG
NOAAS Oregon built by Astoria Marine in 1946

Astoria Marine Construction built 79-foot trawlers including the Trask and the Shirley Lee. Astoria Marine Construction built a 58-foot seiner without an order and took two years to sell. Dyer built a CROD, the Tom Tom for himself in 1945. Astoria Marine Construction worked the reserve fleet at Tongue Point. For the Navy, and National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria Marine Construction worked on "mothballing" ships and boats. Astoria Marine was able to rent two Auxiliary Repair Docks (ARD) Auxiliary floating drydock to repair large ships and boats. [2] NOAAS Oregon was built in 1946 under a US contract with Reconstruction Finance Corporation, to help with the shortage of fishing boats after the war. Many good fishing boats had been used for patrol boats. In 1949 she was acquired by the United States Department of the Interior for fish and wildlife work. In 1970 Oregon was acquired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and used the Oregon for 10 years. [14]

Onversaagd-class minesweeper, Astoria Marine built three of this class in 1952 HrmsmercuurA856.jpg
Onversaagd-class minesweeper , Astoria Marine built three of this class in 1952

Korean War

Astoria Marine Construction won the contract to build new Agile-class minesweeper minesweepers with less iron (non-magnetic), less likely to set off new naval mines used in the Korean War. The first contract was for two ships, AM 480, the USS Dash, and AM 481, the USS Detector with aluminum engines. Next Astoria Marine Construction received an order for three more Onversaagd-class minesweepers for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Astoria Marine de-mothballed ships and boats in the reserve fleet, so they could be used for the war. [2] After the war the yard built fishing vessels and tug boats and repaired boats. In 1957 Astoria Marine Construction built the grand 39-foot Cutter Yacht Patronilla, for Bill Forrest. In 1966 the last grand Yacht built was the 39 -foot, Jeanne Elizabeth, for Leah Pierce. [15]

Joseph M. Dyer

Joseph M. Dyer was born in 1898, in South Bend, Washington. His father ran a small family sawmill. The family moved to Astoria, Oregon on Columbia River when Joe was young. His father became the manager of Clatsop Mill on Scow Bay at 13th and Exchange Street. His father died when Joe was fourteen in 1912. As a young boy, Joe would hang around Tim Driscoll's boat shop a lower Columbia River boat builder, and fell in love with boat building. Tim L. Driscoll (1870–1967) taught Joe skills he would use later, Driscoll's father-in-law was a Clatsop Indian canoe builder, his father was an English seaman. Driscoll was known for his bowpicker boats, which Dyer would later build also. [16] At 18 Joe joined the United States Navy Reserve and was sent to war. For World War I he serviced on the USS Goldsborough a torpedo boat. He was trained on the Goldsborough and then became a trainer of other new sailors as the Goldsborough patrol the Pacific Northwest coast. In 1918, after the war, Joe took Mechanical Engineering classes at Oregon Agricultural College, now called Oregon State University, and worked repairing fish boats in the summer. He designed buildings that replaced ones lost in the 1922 Astoria, Oregon fire. In 1924, Joe Dyer partnered with the Mansker brothers and started the shipyard. Dyer married Genevieve (Geno) Thompson in 1929, they built a house across the road from the shipyard. Dyer retired in 1964, at age 66, he turned the operations of the shipyard over to the employees. In 1968, he sold the shipyard to its employees, who that wanted to buy it. At the request of a friend, he helped build one last boat, the Mary Carol, a motor yacht for Ed Ross, an advertising executive. Don Fastabend, who started work at the yard in 1950, was the last of the employees who owned part of the shipyard and ran the yard as a boat repair shop. Fastabend, the last owner of the yard, died in October 2013, the yard closed in 2013. The shipyard records were donated to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. [2] [17]

In addition to being a boat builder, Joe Dyer held office in the Oregon legislature. He was a chairman in the local United Way. For his civic work, he was awarded the Astoria's First Citizen Award. Joe Dyer also served as the first chairman of the Oregon State Marine Board. The Board worked with state regulations on pleasure boat activity and safety. Joe Dyer helped start the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Joe died in 1974 at age 76, his wife Geno died in 1983. Dyer's had a son Thomas R. Dyer, who worked in Seattle at a marine consultancy firm and sailed his dad's boat CROD No. 10, Tom Tom. Thomas was Sea Scout, for his group he restored 26-foot whaleboat, later Tom and the yard built a 14-foot Blue Jay for the group. Tom and the yard built a six 8-foot El Toro that used local yacht club members, some used in El Toro championship races in Youngs Bay. [2] [18] [17]

The site of the shipyard is on the List of Oregon's Most Endangered Places.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipyard</span> Place where ships are built and repaired

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 with original construction, dockyards are sometimes more linked with maintenance and basing activities. The terms are routinely used interchangeably, in part because the evolution of dockyards and shipyards has often caused them to change or merge roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vigor Shipyards</span> Major American shipyard company

Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States and the Gulf. Todd Shipyards were a major part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program for World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fore River Shipyard</span> Shipyard in Massachusetts, United States

Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In 1913, it was purchased by Bethlehem Steel, and later transferred to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. It was sold to General Dynamics in 1963, and closed in 1986. During its operation, yardworkers constructed hundreds of ships, for both military and civilian clients.

Bathurst Street Wharf was a series of shipyards located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue along Lake Shore Boulevard West.

Toronto Drydock Company is a shipbuilding repair company in Canada and the name of two shipbuilders in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Shipyards, York (Upper Canada)</span>

The Naval Shipyards were naval shipbuilding facilities used by the Provincial Marine and the Royal Navy in York, Upper Canada. The naval shipyards were ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in 1793, and were opened in 1798.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Union Dry Dock Company</span> Full-service shipyard in Seattle, USA

Lake Union Dry Dock Company is a full-service shipyard that specializes in vessel repair and conversions located in Seattle, Washington. Drydocking vessels up to 6,000 tonnes, , Lake Union Dry Dock Company repairs factory trawlers, fishing vessels, Coast Guard Cutters and buoy tenders, tugboats, research vessels, ferries, mega-yachts, barges, and houseboats.

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 the island, completing its construction in 1909. It established itself in 1898 and engaged in construction projects around the United States and shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy during and after World War II. During the war it also operated under the name Associated Shipbuilders in a joint venture with the nearby Lake Union Dry Dock Company. In 1959 Lockheed purchased the shipyard and it became the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company. The Yard was permanently closed in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burrard Dry Dock</span> Shipyard in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Together with neighbouring North Van Ship Repair and Yarrows Ltd. of Esquimalt, which were both later purchased by the company, Burrard built and refitted over 450 ships, including many warships for the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy during the First and Second World Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency Shipbuilding Program</span>

The Emergency Shipbuilding Program was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime Commission, the program built almost 6,000 ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Engineering & Dry Dock Company</span> Shipyard in Alameda, California, United States

General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding and ship repair company in Alameda, California that was active from the 1920s through the 1940s. The company built ships for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the United States Coast Guard in the late 1920s and early 1930s and took part in the World War II shipbuilding boom, making diesel-propelled steel hulled auxiliaries for the United States Navy, primarily oceangoing minesweepers.

Henry B. Nevins Incorporated was wooden-hull yacht builder in City Island, New York founded in 1907 by Henry B. Nevins. Nevins was a master yacht builder and author on vessel construction who apprenticed at the island's Charles L. Seabury & Company. Later he purchased the nearby Byles Yard to increase his company's acreage. Henry B. Nevins Inc. built custom sail and motor yachts and racing craft for affluent clients, but also small tugs and barges for commercial customers. Run by a perfectionist, Nevins' company seasoned its own lumber, designed and machined its own fittings, made its own glue, and balanced spars by weighing shavings. As a result, Nevins built more cup-winning yachts than anyone else in the industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astoria–Megler ferry</span> Defunct ferry route between Oregon and Washington

The Astoria–Megler ferry, also called the Astoria–McGowan ferry and the Astoria–North Beach ferry, ran across the Columbia River between Astoria, Oregon, and two ferry docks near the present small community of Megler, Washington, from 1921 to 1966.

Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding company from Quebec City, Quebec. It was located in the Lower Town area of the city, along the Saint-Charles River. Founded in 1858, the shipyard stayed in operation until 1949, when it constructed its last ship. It built ships for the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy during both world wars. In 1947, the company was renamed St. Lawrence Metal and Marine Works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodgdon Yachts</span>

Hodgdon Yachts is a builder of yachts and specialized military vessels, based in East Boothbay, Maine. It is a family-run business that was founded in 1816—the oldest continuously operating family boatbuilder in the United States, antedating the Burger Boat Company in Wisconsin. Hodgdon Yachts is noted for building superyachts, both sail and power, using advanced composite materials and construction techniques. It's also noted for its ability to incorporate those advanced materials into traditional designs that employ modern electronic and mechanical marine systems. The company has several divisions—yachts, custom tenders, yacht interiors, yacht services and military composites with offices in Boothbay, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island and Monaco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type V ship</span> MARCOM tugboat class

The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of either steel or wood hulls. There were four types of tugboats ordered for World War II. The largest type V design was the sea worthy 186-foot (57 m) long steel hull, V4-M-A1. The V4-M-A1 design was used by a number of manufacturers; a total of 49 were built. A smaller steel hull tugboat was the 94-foot (29 m) V2-ME-A1; 26 were built. The largest wooden hull was the 148-foot (45 m) V3-S-AH2, of which 14 were built. The smaller wooden hull was the 58-foot (18 m) V2-M-AL1, which 35 were built. Most V2-M-AL1 tugboats were sent to the United Kingdom for the war efforts under the lend-lease act. The Type V tugs served across the globe during World War II including: Pacific War, European theatre, and in the United States. SS Farallon, and other Type V tugs, were used to help built Normandy ports, including Mulberry harbour, on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and made nine round trips to Normandy to deliver Phoenix breakwaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Coast Shipyard</span> Shipyard in Newport, California, United States

South Coast Shipyard was a shipbuilding company in Newport, California. To support the World War II demand for ships South Coast Shipyard built: minesweepers, Torpedo Boats, Submarine chasers, & Air-sea rescue boats. South Coast Shipyard was opened in 1938 by Walton Hubbard. After World War II the shipyard continued to build ships for the US Navy till 1955. The shipyard was located at 2300 Newport Boulevard, Newport, California. The shipyard closed in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wooden boats of World War II</span> United States wooden boats used in World War II

Splinter fleet or Splinter navy was a nickname given to the United States wooden boats used in World War II. The boats served in many different roles during the war. These boats were built in small boatyards on the West coast and East coast, Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. They could be built quickly, in just 60 to 120 days. Most of the boats were built by boatyards that already had the tools and knowledge from building yachts, sailboats and motor boats. Many were built by craftsmen in family-owned small businesses. Under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program and War Shipping Administration contracts went out to over fifty boatyards across the country. The boats were built for the US Navy, the United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard, and US Army. Some of the wooden boats went to Allied nations on the Lend-Lease program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weaver Shipyards</span> US Shipyard in Texas

Weaver Shipyards, also called Weaver Brothers Shipyards was a shipyard in Orange, Texas on the Sabine River. The shipyard opened in 1897. The shipyard was founded by Joe Weaver and his son as Joseph Weaver and Son Shipyard. Joe Weaver was L.E. Weaver, known as Ed Weaver. In 1898 Levingston Shipbuilding Company founder, George Levingston purchased major shares of Joseph Weaver and Son Shipyard. Weaver Shipyard's early work was the construction work for Galveston Navigation District building barges. The yard was also active in building and repairing tugboats. In 1930 Joseph Weaver died and a new family partnership was made, L.E. Weaver and his son. Ed Weaver's son was L.A. Weaver. In 1941 Ed Weaver died and L.A. Weaver changed the shipyard to Weaver Shipyards. Weaver Shipyards became a partnership of several a Weaver family members.

The George F. Rodgers Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilder located in Astoria, Oregon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Columbia River One Design 28". historywithheart.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Astoria Marine Construction Company". historywithheart.com.
  3. ↑ Astoria Marine Construction, nps.gov
  4. ↑ Astoria Marine Construction, nps.gov
  5. ↑ Makovich, Lee. "The Age of Wooden Boat Building." Oregon Coast Magazine, January 1998: 28–32.
  6. ↑ Evergreenfleet.com "Tourist III" (accessed 05–26–11).
  7. ↑ "Bristol Bay Gillnetter". The Center for Wooden Boats. March 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Columbia River One Design". historywithheart.com.
  9. ↑ "The History of Aeolus". historywithheart.com.
  10. ↑ "History of Terry". historywithheart.com.
  11. ↑ "Columbia river one design – sailboat data sheet". sailboatlab.com.
  12. 1 2 "Astoria Marine Construction".
  13. ↑ Astoria history, City of Astoria
  14. ↑ Anonymous, "AFSC Historical Corner: Oregon, RFC Exploratory Fishing Fleet Vessel," noaa.gov, undated Retrieved August 22, 2018
  15. ↑ "PATRONILLA". WoodenBoat Magazine.
  16. ↑ "Bowpickers". www.oregonencyclopedia.org.
  17. 1 2 "The Dyer Legacy". historywithheart.com.
  18. ↑ Joseph M. Dyer, Astoria Oregon: Culture, Tales and History by Stig M. Johannessen, March 29, 2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.