March 2018 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 19. Boat And Ship Yard News - 1940-42


SEARSPORT – If one sits and reads the magazine “Atlantic Fishermen” at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport they will be taken back to an era forgotten by most and never known by the rest. The early issues of this publication documents the fi shing industry from 1921 to the late 1950s. Early on, fi shing was done in schoo- ners, mostly going out of Gloucester, but also Boston, New York, Provincetown and the Canadian Maritimes. This magazine gives a good account of the boats, people and businesses involved and the challenges facing the industry. My focus has been on the vessels built,


which early on was mostly done by the yards in Essex and Gloucester. The 1920s saw a major change in the design of these boats as sail was quickly being replaced by diesel engines. This was also when several Maine yards were making a name for themselves and soon Maine was where most of the vessels were being built. The following is a summary, not inclusive by any means, of some of the boats built for the New England fi shing fl eet by Maine yards and some to the westward from late 1939 to 1942. We all know that Bath is the “City of


Ships” having built more than 3,000 vessels in her shipbuilding history. If one asked who built the second most, many would not guess Kennebunk/Kennebunkport. Even after the end of the big sailing ships Kennebunkport continued building. One of the best known yards operating at this time was B. F. War- ner and at the end of 1939 they launched the scallop dragger WINIFRED II for Mrs. Winifred Martin of New Bedford, MA. She was 79 feet 6 inches by 18 feet 3 inches by 9 feet, and has a capacity for 75,000 lbs. She is powered with a 135-hp diesel, which pushed her along at 10 knots. Now long forgotten builder George A.


Tainter of Brooklin launched the scallop dragger TWO SISTERS for Lawrence Cole of Brooklin in 1939. Another major builder at this time was


the W. Scott Carter yard in Friendship. In late 1939, they had delivered a 45-foot sardine seiner to Sydney Dowdy, of Portland, and a 28 foot dory-yawl. They were now working on a 65 foot dragger and two sloops. The Morse Boatbuilding Co. had long


been known for their work, especially on bigger vessels for the fi shing industry. On 27 February, they launched the 92-foot beam trawler HARRIET N. ELDRIDGE for Wil- liam D. Eldridge of New Bedford. She had a 19-foot beam and 9½ foot draft, and was powered with a 180 hp Cooper-Bessemer diesel engine. At the same time, the Snow Shipyard in


Rockland received a contract for a 120-foot beam trawler for Sea Trawling Corporation of Boston, which was scheduled to be com- pleted in the Fall. She will be similar to ST. GEORGE in design, but longer and will be powered with Fairbanks-Morse, as is ST. GEORGE. We know the names Morse and New-


bert and Wallace as notable builders in Tho- maston, but how many remember the Gray Boat Shop. Well, just as Spring arrived, they launched the sardine carrier EDWARD M. for Glenn A. Lawrence, who was the owner of the sardine factory at Belfast. This boat was named for his father, who built a sardine factory on Tillson’s Wharf in Rockland. She was 67 feet overall, 15 foot beam and draws four feet of water and has a capacity of 1200 bushels of herring. Her keel and frames are oak and she is planked with 2-inch mahog- any. She was powered with a Continental Van-Blerck engine. Also in the Spring, B. F. Warner was


planking up a dragger for Progressive Fish Co. of Gloucester, Capt. Anthony Linquata,


which will be named NATALIE II. She will be powered with a 200-hp Atlas Imperial diesel engine. The dragger that was under construc-


tion at W. Scott Carter’s yard in Friendship went over on 20 April. She was named JO- SEPHINE E., and was for Capt. Guy Privit- era of Boston. Her dimensions were 66 feet by 16 feet by 6½ feet and was powered with a 110-hp Atlas diesel. It was also announced that they would start on a 75 foot dragger for John Bruno of Boston and already un- der construction was a 71-foot dragger for Harold Olson and Norman Paulson of Cape Elizabeth. As summer arrived, the Gray Boat Co.


in Thomaston launched the 68-foot sardine carrier ROYAL for the Royal River Packing Co. in Yarmouth. The Morse Boatbuilding Co. of Thom-


aston was as busy as ever as they laid the keel for a 90-foot dragger for Robert Mitchell of New Bedford. She was to be powered with a FP-6-180 Cooper-Bessemer diesel. She is scheduled to be launched in November. In Damariscotta, there were a couple


of notable builders one of which was Harry S. Marr Ship Yard. On August 7 at 0100 hrs., when the highest tide occurred, they launched the dragger COLUMBUS for Capt. Jack Barbara of Gloucester. She was 90 feet 6 inches long, a beam of 19 feet 6 inches and powered with a 200-hp Atlas. She has a fuel capacity of 3,000 gallons and a fi sh


The dragger ST. GEORGE built in Rockland. (Photo from the Penobscot Marine Museum)


capacity of 125,000 pounds. She was outfi t- ted at Damariscotta with most of her fi shing gear coming from Hathaway Machinery Co. of Fairhaven, MA. During the summer it was announced


that the Snow Shipyard in Rockland had a contract for a 124-foot wooden beam trawler for a customer from Boston. She will be similar to ST. GEORGE, but with 20 percent greater fi shing capacity. She will be powered with a Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine. At South Bristol, Harvey Gamage


was building a 68-foot hull, designed by Eldredge-McInnis, on speculation. She was built of oak and had a fi sh capacity of 75,000


pounds. On 2 September the 121-foot wooden


beam trawler NORTH STAR under con- struction at Snow Shipyard in Rockland went down the ways. She was for Fred- erick and John O'Hara of Boston and was christened by Miss Helen M. O'Hara. She is powered with a 500 hp Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine and has a fi sh hold capacity of 200,000 pounds. W. S. Carter in Friendship launched the


dragger DOROTHY AND ETHEL II for Capt. Harold Paulson and Norman Olsen of


Continued on Page 21. Discover Boating in South Freeport


NEED TO MOVE YOUR BOAT? CALL YORK'S BOAT TRANSPORTATION


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YORK'S MARINE 11 Gordon Drive Rockland, Maine 04841 (207) 596-7400 www.yorkmarineinc.com


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