Mallows Bay - High tide shoreline

Mono was a "Hough" type vessel, differing from the majority of "Ferris" type ships built for the war effort. San Francisco naval architect Edward S. Hough designed a maximum-cargo carrier of simple construction, more adaptable to young yellow pine lumber than the "Ferris" design. Resource constraints led to the use of at least eight basic wooden vessel types and one composite type in the wooden emergency fleet.

<p>Namecki is a "Ferris" built vessel, one of many that make up the Ghost Fleet. The design is named for Theodore E. Ferris, a senior architect for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), who standardized emergency ship designs so they could be built at yards across the United States. Each "Ferris" ship measured approximately 282 feet long and grossed 2,556 tons. Four of these vessels were built at the Tampa Dock Company, with Namecki being the first.</p>

<p>The wooden cargo ship Casmalia illustrates how wartime shipbuilding needs did not always suit peacetime use. Many wooden cargo vessels were rushed into service to carry war material to Europe, but the war ended before this emergency fleet proved its worth. Built quickly from abundant wood without straining other war production, they still met their immediate military purpose.</p>

<div>At the northern end of the Mallows embayment, the remains of two ships have created a landmass known as Grady's Spit, a landing spot where paddlers can get out and stretch their legs on a small beach. The beach is usually covered with driftwood at the high tide mark, along with iron and wood projections from the wrecks lying beneath it. Swimming from the spit is not recommended due to submerged debris in and around the beach areas.</div>

Yawah's brief history reflects the industrial boom sparked by a cargo vessel shortage early in the war, as the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation sent contracts nationwide to expand the fleet. Small waterfront towns quickly became major shipyards; at the Shattuck Shipyard near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where Yawah was built, nearly 8,000 workers commuted by rail to labor day and night, building a strong sense of community and pride.