W. D. Schock Corp

The W. D. Schock Corporation (usually styled W. D. Schock Corp) is an American boat builder originally based in Corona, California and later in Santa Ana, California. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.[1]

W. D. Schock Corporation
Privately held company
IndustryBoat building
Founded1958
FounderWilliam "Bill" D. Schock
Headquarters
Santa Ana, California
,
United States
Key people
President: John O'Donnell
ProductsSailboats
Websitewww.wdschockcorp.com

The company was founded by William "Bill" D. Schock in 1958 and reported as out of business in 2018.[1] In the 2019 the company website was made active again and the company seems to have been restarted.

History

Bill Schock built his first boat at age 13, a Skimmer sailing dinghy constructed in the family garage in Hollywood, California. After his time as a crew chief in the military in the Second World War, he returned home to live in a small beach house in Newport Beach and started a boat repair business there. Among his early customers was an amusement park, who had a rental fleet of boats.[2]

Schock's first boat built and sold was an International 14 that he intended to sail himself and constructed using a cold-molded wood method. Another sailor saw the boat while it was under construction and bought it from Schock. This led to the formation of the company, initially called W. D. Schock Boat Building and Repair.[2]

The first design mass-produced was the Lehman 10 dinghy. The Lehman 14 was updated to become the Lido 14 and proved a commercial success, propelling the company to become one of the biggest boat builders on the US Pacific Ocean coast.[1]

Eventually Bill Schock passed the company to his son Tom Schock and Tom's wife, Jane to run. Son Steven Schock was also involved in the design of some of the sailboats.[1][3]

In 2011, after 53 years in business, the company was sold to Alexander Vucelic von Raduboj, who became the new president, while Tom Schock remained on the company's Board of Directors.[1] In 2014, the company was sold to John O'Donnell, who had formerly been the General Manager.[4]

In 2018 the company was producing four designs, the Harbor 20, Harbor 25, Harbor 30 and the US Sabot.[5]

The company was reported as out of business in 2018,[1] but the website was reactivated in 2019.

Boats
Lido 14
Santana 20
Harbor 20 Fleet
Schock 23

Summary of boats built by W. D. Schock Corp:[1]

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References
  1. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Schock W.D." sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  2. W. D. Schock Corp (2016). "About W.D. Schock". www.wdschock.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. Browning, Randy (2017). "Schock 23 sailboat specifications and details". sailboatdata.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  4. "Steady as She Goes Update". web-extract.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. W. D. Schock Corp (2016). "Boats in Production". www.wdschock.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
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