From Raliph stenl BOATBUILDING DURING WORLD WAR II M.D.I., ELLSWORTH, STONINGTON, AND BLUEHILL RALPH W. STANLEY Dec. 7, 1941 - I was twelve years old. Even though I was building a model airplane at the moment the news of Pearl Harbor came over the radio my primary interest was and always has been boats. Needless to say it still is. With the United States entering the war there was a great demand by the armed forces for coastal patrol boats and for harbor utility boats. Many yachts and fishing boats were taken over by the Army, Navy and Coast Guard to fill the increased demand. These boats, while they filled the gap, were not entirely satisfactory and it was essential to build as quickly as possible new boats for the armed services. Building of new fishing vessels was also made a priority to replace those taken over by the government and to add more new boats to the fishing fleet, thereby increasing the national food supply. There were three boatyards on Mount Desert Island that were suited to build boats for the war effort, The Manset Boatyard, The Henry Hinckley Co. and the Mount Desert Yacht Yard. Rasmus Hanson started the Manset Boatyard in 1924. He bought the property that had once been the old Parker fish wharf and started a storage yard for a few boats that with a helper he could maintain. The Hinckley family owned the property next to this yard and in 1928 when Hanson wanted to retire Benjamin Hinckley bought the yard and 1 1334