Shipbuilders

We know that building a ship takes shipwrights or ship carpenters.  They build the bare bones of the ship. It takes many other specialists such as boilermakers, sailmakers, riggers, ropemakers, blacksmiths, etc. and general labourers in building a ship.

These tradesmen can be found in naval forces, big shipbuilding companies or small independent boat builders. Our Trintella sailboat, the Volante, was built by the renowned Tyler Boat Company in Tonbridge, UK.

The young man that bought our sailboat last year was a shipwright in BC.  He had suffered a serious head injury while working that took him years to recover from.  He bought our boat to live on and occasionally sail around the islands. We knew our beloved sail boat was in good hands.

You may find your Canadian Shipwright on the United States Navy List under "Navy Yards and Docks". There are also listed workers from countries such as Ireland, England, Scotland, Sweden and Austria to name a few.

You will find names of Shipwrights of the Naval Forces of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India in the Navy Lists, such as this one from 1945. Also check Sessional Papers.

The Navy List, Vol II 1945

Some local and University libraries have registers of shipwrights and shipbuilders, like these publications in Warwick. 

Also look for "annual [monthly, quarterly, etc] reports" and "transactions" of shipbuilding federations or societies, such as this one...

Here is a short video of shipbuilders building the St Rosalie in Essex, Massachusetts, 1940's

Do you have a shipbuilding ancestor?

Relevant Links

Navy-yards and Naval Stations - Official Register of the US Dept of Interior

The Navy List (various years)

List of Shipwrights at Harland & Wolff who signed a petition in Belfast 1912

List of Shipwrights at Harland & Wolff who signed a petition in Belfast 1915

Federated Shipwrights of Australia - info

The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights - info

List of Shipbuilders and Shipwrights in New York 1844

List of Shipbuilders and Shipwrights in New York 1845

Shipbulding Tools in the Age of Sail

Quarterly report/ National Union of Shipwrights Joiners and Caulkers of Amer. 1903

Shipwrights - Working Class Movement Library

An Index of Shipwrights in the UK

Transactions of the North-east coast institution of engineers and shipbuilders, Newcastle-upon-Tyne - with lists of members, various years

United Society of Boilermakers & Iron Shipbuilders' monthly report - 1852

Transactions of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, various

History of shipbuilding on North River, Plymouth county, Mass, with genealogies of shipbuilders, and accounts of the industries upon its tributaries: 1640=1872

Housing the Shipbuilders: housing constructed during the war, 1920

The Shipbuilders of Essex, Mass (short video)