Here’s a cool find! The William F. Stone & Sons Company in Oakland, California built the YMS-299. Someone from the Stone family has written up a story about the shipyard with a pile of photos, including one of the YMS-299 in 1942, before she went off into battle.

YMS-299 in Oakland, CA; 1942

YMS-299 in Oakland, CA; 1942

From the presentation:

Wooden Boat Building in San Francisco Bay: One Family’s Story

A memoir of the Stone family: William Isaac Stone, William Frank Stone, Lester Frank Stone

Presentation to the Alameda County Historical Society at the Encinal Yacht Club,
Alameda, California, January 26, 2012

by Roberta O’Grady, granddaughter of W.F. Stone and Niece of Lester F. Stone

Here’s an excerpt:

As the Depression progressed in the 1930’s, my uncle was fortunate to build one yacht a year. His crew was reduce to three men. However, at the outbreak of World War II, the Navy needed minesweepers, and they had to be made from wood. Many wooden shipbuilders in the United States received contracts to build these boats. This is a picture of one of my Uncle’s Minesweepers which were numbered. This is the YMS-299. She is 14O ft. My Uncle had a crew of 250 men a this time.

Here’s, the photo’s caption:

Alameda, 140ft minesweeper, YMS-299, 1942

Also in the document is a complete inventory of ships built by the company. Here’s the page with the four minesweepers:

W.F. Stone & Sons, Boat Builders; Inventory List

W.F. Stone & Sons, Boat Builders; Inventory List

W.F. Stone & Son
Boat Builders

Office and Yard: 2517 Blanding Avenue
Phone: Lakehurst 3-3030, Alameda, Calif.

1942

  • YMS No. 299, 140′ Minsweeper, US Navy
  • YMS No. 300, 140′ Minsweeper, US Navy

1943

  • YMS No. 301, 140′ Minsweeper, US Navy
  • YMS No. 302, 140′ Minsweeper, US Navy

Check out the full PDFs on the Master Mariners Benevolent Association website, or directly here: