It was November of 1956, that the father and son partnership of Henry and Walter Sheffield opened their doors for business on Columbia Street in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Sheffield Marine Propeller Service was opened to serve the commercial and recreational boating community on the Columbia and Willamette rivers.

Factory-trained at Columbia Bronze Corporation in Freeport, New York, and later owning his own propeller shop in New York City, Henry, a seventeen year-old immigrant from Cyprus, brought over 34 years of propeller experience with him as he migrated to the Northwest United States. After 8 years working in the propeller division of a major tug boat company in Vancouver, Washington, Henry brought Walter and his family out west from New York to join him in his new business venture.

Sheffield Marine Propeller Service was open for 3 years before a fire destroyed the Vancouver location in 1959, and soon after – the business moved to their current location on North Vancouver Way in Portland, Oregon.

Having lost everything in the fire, Henry and Walter engineered and built by hand most all of their own propeller repair equipment which is still in use at our facility to this day.

After Henry’s death in 1964, Walter took over ownership and the day-to-day operations of the business along with his wife and lifelong companion Carolyn. Together they ran the business side-by-side until their deaths in 2008 and 2014.

Walter, a master skipper – and Carolyn having a great love of water, were both avid boaters and participated in many boating organizations in the area. One of Walter’s greatest joys was being the leader and organizer of the Christmas Ships for over 25 years.

Today, Sheffield Marine Propeller Inc. is now a third generation family-owned business, operated by Walter and Carolyn’s daughter Kimberly, and son-in-law Brian – who have both worked at Sheffield Marine Propeller for over 25 years. Together with the help of grandson Nathan and grand-daughter Danielle, the family carries on all the same founding principles and teachings that were passed down to them which are still in effect today: “Provide quality service, quality products, and make sure every job is 100% guaranteed to the customers’ satisfaction.”