1860 the canneries began to absorb a considerable part of the catch,
and they employed vessels to ply along the coast and buy lobsters.
As these vessels would only be out a few days at a time, wells were
not necessary, and the lobsters were packed in the hold. In the
summer great numbers of them were killed by the heat in the hold.
After 1885 the canneries rapidly dropped out of the business, the last
one closing in 1895. In 1853 there were but 6 smacks, 4 of them from
New London, Conn. In 1880 there were 58, of which 21 were dry smacks,
while in 1898 there were 76, of which 17 were steamers and launches
and 59 sailing vessels. These were all well-smacks. A few sailing
smacks also engaged in other fishery pursuits during the dull summer
months. In 1879 a steamer which had no well was used to run lobsters
to the cannery at Castine. The first steamer fitted with a well to
engage in the business was the _Grace Morgan_, owned by Mr. F. W.
Collins, a lobster dealer of Rockland, who describes the steamer as
follows:


The steam and well smack _Grace Morgan_ was built in 1890, by
Robert Palmer & Son, of Noank, Conn. At that time she was a dry
boat, but the following year, 1891, the Palmers built a small well
in her as an experiment, but I am of the opinion that it did not
prove very satisfactory or profitable; consequently they offered
her for sale and wrote to me in relation to buying her. I went
to Noank and looked her over and came to the conclusion that by
enlarging the well and making other needed changes she could
be made not only a good boat to carry lobsters alive, but also
to do it profitably; consequently I bought her and brought
her to Rockland, had the well enlarged on ideas of my own, and
differently constructed, so as to give it better circulation of