J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation (Tacoma)
In January 1917, Martinac, with partners Martin Petrich (1880-1971) and William Vickat, established the Western Boatbuilding Company in Old Tacoma. In April, The Tacoma Daily Ledger reported the company employed 40 men building fishing boats up to 70 feet in length for use “in Alaskan waters, on the Columbia River and on Puget Sound” (“Fishing Vessels Turned Out Here”). Fourteen fishing boats worth $90,000 left the plant by the end of September, and the company found itself “receiving inquiries from all over the Sound” and “points in the Pacific Northwest” (“Builds $90,000 Worth of Boats”). While the venture was a success, In 1924, Martinac founded his own company, the J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation. While the company built some yachts, it primarily built fishing vessels. Photo gallery, >click to read< 21:08
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