HAROLD WILDSTEIN, ex-PVT. JOSEPH F. MERRELL, being eaten - Three Merrell-class double-enders were built by Bethleham Steel at Staten Island in 1951, the last steamboats on the Staten Island run, but otherwise a break with many traditions. They were the first with three passenger decks, and the first without an outside prominade all around the boat. Engine was 6-cyl. Skinner Unaflow of 4800HP. Capacity of the boats was about 3000 passengers and sixty automobiles. Finally retired from ferry service, the Merrell went into service as a dormatory for prisnors of the city prison at Riker's Island, joined by one of its sisters, the ex-Cornelius G. Kolff. Harold Wildstein was an offical of the prison system. The ex-Merrell is seen on the Kill Van Kull shore of Bayonne, New Jersey, being devoured about a mile from where she was launched. Early in 2005, the Kolff was similarly shredded, this time at Staten Island, almost exactly where she was built. The third boat of the Merrell class, the Verrezzanno, is still afloat but in dubious condition, facing an unknown future. I have additional ferry and tugboat wreckage on my website, more than I can repost here, but if you're interested take a look at www.don-sutherland.com .