The company was founded by William "Bill" D. Schock in 1958 and specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

[2] Bill Schock built his first boat at age 13, a Skimmer sailing dinghy constructed in the family garage in Hollywood, California.

[3] 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.

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.

[2] In the 1960s Seymour Paul was the company's in-house designer and he drew boats such as the 1960 Catalina Catamaran and the 1969 Santana 21.