Maritime Trades: Close to the sea

"Made in Connecticut": Shipbuilding and Boatbuilding

Shipbuilding and boatbuilding have been important industries for Connecticut throughout most of its history. From clipper ships built for the California trade in the nineteenth century to Navy submarines in the twentieth and twenty-first, vessels of many types and functions have been constructed, rebuilt, and repaired in Connecticut “yards.” Some were slated to work for a living, as military, cargo, passenger or fishing vessels. Others were built for pleasure. Patrol boats, freighters, tugboats, sail and motor yachts, barges, America's Cup contenders, canal boats, ferries, coasting schooners and speedboats are but a few of the many products of Connecticut ship- and boatyards. While vessels were built at and launched from a number of cities and towns in the state, due to favorable geography and other factors, the five-mile long Mystic River proved a particularly good environment for ship and boat construction, reconstruction and outfitting. From Mystic and Noank yards alone, over 1,400 vessels were launched.

< Among the many shipyards in coastal and riverfront cities and towns was the Robert Palmer & Son yard in Noank. The Palmer family's shipbuilding and repair facility, in operation from the mid-19th century until 1914, was one of the most prominent on the east coast. It was incorporated under several names and experienced substantial growth in the second half of the 19th century, specializing in the production of utilitarian barges and floats. At the time depicted in this view, the yard employed 400 men on average.

Mason Crary Hill and John Forsyth
of Mystic
Photograph by Hoag & Quick
ca. 1864
Photo CD: 4768
File: Img0035.pcd

< Designers were responsible for the first step in ship or boat construction. Mason Crary Hill and John Forsyth of Mystic worked on vessels built in local area yards as well as those constructed elsewhere. Hill is given credit for developing a distinct type of clipper ship associated with Mystic shipyards, the “half clipper.” In his long career, Forsyth worked for a number of yards in and out of state, including the Thames Towboat Company of New London. During the Civil War, Hill and Forsyth were government inspectors of vessels built or purchased for war service. They are shown here with a picture of a Civil War era single-turret monitor, possibly the Catawba.

Half-model of the ship Frolic
Mystic, 1869
Photo CD: 4203
File: Img0035.pcd

< The design phase often involved the carving of a half model. These might consist of sections that were later separated and "sized up" to create wooden patterns (molds) for the shaping of vessel hulls. This half model of the ship Frolic was possibly the work of Thomas Greenman or Frank Champlin. Thomas Greenman was the youngest of three brothers who owned George Greenman & Co., a shipbuilding firm in Mystic. Champlin was their nephew.

< Inside the hull, work included laying the “ceiling,” or inner planking of the hold. This photograph depicts an unidentified vessel under construction, possibly at Eastern Shipbuilding in Groton. Eastern Shipbuilding launched several large vessels in its short working life, including the steel steamships Minnesota and Dakota, which ran between Seattle and ports in Japan and China. The company employed around 1,900 people at its peak. Electric Boat Company, famed for building submarines later established a subsidiary company on the Groton site.

< Work on the schooner Nellie Crowell appears to be complete as she sits on the building ways at the Seabury & Eugene S. Belden shipyard at Dutch Point, Hartford. Workmen are gathered alongside her. Several men with mallets appear ready to knock out chocks. A smaller vessel is in the frame at left.

< Vessels were built by Connecticut ship- and boatyards for pleasure, work and war. The ship Frolic, whose half model is seen above, was built by George Greenman & Co. of Mystic for John McGaw and launched on July 5, 1869. She was a clipper ship intended for the California trade. Also visible in the photograph are the hulls of gunboats built by Charles Mallory & Sons of Mystic as well as other local builders for the Spanish government.

< Launchings were occasions for celebration and frequently drew large crowds. The four-masted auxiliary schooner Marie Gilbert was built and launched at the Gilbert Transportation Company yard on the Mystic River, just south of the highway/trolley drawbridge in downtown Mystic. The schooner was named for the company founder’s wife. “Auxiliary” refers to a vessel being fitted with an engine as well as rigged for sail.

< The Balsto was one of many World War I era freighters built to support the war effort. Groton Iron Works, which had a main yard on the Thames in Groton and a second on the site of the earlier Palmer shipyard in Noank, produced a number of iron and wood-hulled vessels during and after the war. In the postwar period, business declined and the Noank yard was closed. The Groton yard remained in operation for a while longer, until the late 1920's. By that time, the Electric Boat company was increasing its business. The U.S. Navy, which had a substantial presence in the New London-Groton area, became a principal customer for Electric Boat’s submarines and other vessels, and the company became and remained a mainstay of the local economy through World War II and into the nuclear age.

< Vessels could have many lives, and might be adapted for purposes other than the one(s) for which they were constructed. A schooner might be rebuilt as a barge, or a yacht, cargo or passenger vessel converted to military use during wartime (and then back again). Making such changes were another source of income for Connecticut yards and their workers.

< Rerigging, refitting and structural modifications were part of the work of Connecticut ship- and boatyards. The outboard vessel at the Mystic Iron Works wharf, seen in starboard stern view, is undergoing overhaul and is in the process of being rerigged. Many vessels built or adapted for Civil War service were refitted for commercial use.

Link to other essays in this Journey:

>> Introduction: Maritime Trades
>> Related services, industries and trades
>> Whaling, sealing and fishing

>> Guideposts
>> Suggestions for further reading