Vessel
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimeshippingshipwrecksheritage
Summary
The Marold II was a Beaver Island mail and passenger/freight vessel used in the late-1936/early-1937 gasoline salvage operation described by the primary report. It exploded while transferring gasoline from the stranded J. Oswald Boyd on New Year’s Day 1937 and sank almost immediately.
Evidence and limits
The held sources disagree about the vessel’s length: a 2003 local history says
40 feet, while a 1997 caption says 140 feet. The record intentionally leaves
length blank. The sources also describe ownership in different stages—Capt.
L. L. Hill and his son Leon as owners in the 2003 account, and Everett Cole as
the recent purchaser from Hill in the 1937 report—so owned_by remains empty.
Open questions
- What enrollment, inspection, or ferry-company record identifies the vessel and resolves its dimensions?
- Was Marold originally a yacht, and when was it converted for the Beaver Island run?
- What became of the wreck after it sank at Simmons Reef?
See also
Sources
- Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.”Calls Marold II a mail boat and salvage boat, says it was operated by the Beaver Island Transit Company, and reports that it sank almost immediately after the explosion.
- Charlevoix Courier, 2003, “Many ferries have served the island,” scrapbook section.Calls the Marold a 40-foot yacht converted for passenger and freight service by Capt. L. L. Hill and his son Leon.
- Charlevoix Courier, January 1997, “Ship explosion recalled on 60th anniversary,” scrapbook section.Describes Marold II as the larger replacement for the Ramblar in the gasoline salvage operation and records the explosion and loss of five lives; a separate caption’s 140-foot measurement conflicts with the 2003 40-foot description and is not adopted.