J. F. Duthie & Company

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47°34′27″N 122°20′47″W / 47.57428°N 122.34644°W / 47.57428; -122.34644

J. F. Duthie & Company
Foundedc. 1911 (1911) in Seattle
FounderJ. F. Duthie
HeadquartersHarbor Island, Seattle, Washington, USA
ProductsShips

J. F. Duthie & Company was a small shipyard located on the east side of Harbor Island in Seattle, Washington. It was reportedly organized in 1911 (although there is no mention of it on the 1912 Baist map[1] at the location where the shipyard would be built) and expanded to 4 slipways on 25 acres (10 ha) of property[2] in World War I to build cargo ships for the United Kingdom, France and Norway, but those resources were eventually all diverted at the behest of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Work on the new plant started on 10 September 1916 and the first keel was laid on 29 November the same year.[3] At that time, the new Skinner & Eddy plant across the water was already launching its first two ships: Niels Nielsen (21 September) and Hanna Nielsen (23 October).

Some 24 of the 33 ships built at J. F. Duthie were the "West boats," a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built for the USSB on the West Coast of the United States as part of the World War I war effort, with 12 requisitioned and 12 built under contract, 16% of the steel tonnage built in Puget Sound for the USSB. Duthie was supplied with boilers by Willamette Iron and Steel Works of Portland, Oregon.[4]

After the war, Wallace F. Duthie, the son of the founder J. F. Duthie, organized the dismantling of the shipbuilding facilities. Wallace died in 1922 at age 23.[5]

In 1928 the company's name was changed to Wallace Bridge Company. It built structural steel for local projects, including the Washington Athletic Club building in 1930.

Notable ships built at J. F. Duthie & Company

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Among the first 7 boats built, before the Federal Government dominated the shipbuilding industry, was the steam ferry Leschi, which after an illustrious career capsized during Reagan's second term.

Requisitioned by USSB
Yard# Original Owner[6] Renamed To Launched[a] Delivered Marad Fate[6][b]
8 War Leopard Shipping Controller West Point 2 Sep 17 Jan 18 scrapped 1938
9 Hallbjorg P. Kloppe, Oslo Westerner Nov 17 Feb 18 scrapped 1935
10 War General Shipping Controller Westfield 8 Dec 17 Feb 18 scrapped 1930
17 War Port Western King 3 Jan 18 Mar 18 scrapped 1938
15 War Moon Westboro 26 Mar 18 Apr 18 [1] USSR 1945
11 War Topaz West Bridge 24 Apr 18 May 18 [2] USSR 1945
14 War Sun Westover 17 Feb 18 May 18 torpedoed 1918
12 War Emerald Western Sea 25 May 18 Jun 18 scrapped 1931
16 Viviam French Line Western Star 4 Jul 18 Aug 18 scrapped 1935
18 War Disk Shipping Controller Western Cross 4 Jul 18 Aug 18 scrapped 1931
19 War Ruby Western Hope 29 Jul 18 Sep 18 scrapped 1932
20 Petain French Line Westpool 21 Sep 18 Oct 18 UK 1941, torpedoed 1941
  1. ^ See List of ship launches in 1917 and List of ship launches in 1918 for references
  2. ^ Ships listed as "scrapped 19xx" were only operated by the USSB

In November 1918, World War I came to an end. In February of 1919, Seattle workers went on strike.

Yard# USSB# Name Launched[a] Delivered[a] Marad Lend-Lease
21 1471 West Helix 14 Dec 18 [3] Y
22 1472 West Hembrie 29 Mar 19 17 May 19 [4] Y
23 1473 West Hematite 26 Apr 19 13 Jun 19
24 1474 West Henshaw 2 Jun 19 14 Jul 19 [5] Y
25 1475 West Hepburn 21 Jun 19 2 Aug 19 [6] Y
26 1476 West Herkimer / Seattle Spirit 16 July 19 16 Aug 19
27 1477 West Herrick / Dewey 23 Aug 19 30 Sep 19
28 1478 West Hesperia / Deuel 27 Sep 19 11 Nov 19
29 1479 West Hesseltine 22 Nov 19 [7] Y
30 1480 West Ivan 20 Dec 19
31 2602 West Campgaw
32 2603 West Mahwah
  1. ^ a b See List of ship launches in 1918 and 1919 for references
  • For the Coastwise SS Co

Conversions of Japan-built USSB contract ships to oil burners during 1920: Eastern Crown, Eastern Dawn, Eastern Glen, Eastern Exporter for total of $338,094 on USSB account[7]

Shipyard

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Duthie plant on the East Waterway of the Duwamish, 1917.
View from the water
View from the water, 1917

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Baist's Real Estate Surveys of Seattle, Plate 26
  2. ^ "Annual_Report_of_the_United_States_Shipping Board, Volume 3, 1919, p. 160". 1919.
  3. ^ "One of Seattle's Great Institutions". Pacific Marine Review. July 1918. p. 102.
  4. ^ "$2,500,000 Worth of Boilers". Pacific Marine Review. February 1919. p. 132.
  5. ^ "Obituaries". Marine Review. 52. Penton Publishing Company: 244. June 1922.
  6. ^ a b McKellar, Norman L. "Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, The Requisitioned Ships" (PDF). Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921. ShipScribe.
  7. ^ "Nearly 1,750,000 is spent on Japanese ships in Seattle". Weekly Commercial News. Vol. 61, no. 19. 6 November 1920. p. 9.