The 2 unaccounted-for Marlin hull numbers are 1421 and 1422. 1421 has a contract date of 5/9/1939, and 1422 has a contract date of 8/8/1938. It is not unusual for later hull numbers to have earlier dates listed in the records. It seems odd to me that contract numbers and contract dates wouldn't both be sequential, so I have always been wary of the dates that are not sequential. So the dilemma now is: How trustworthy are these dates? The "new" Marlin, SANIBEL, has an old registration that dates her as 1938. If the dates can be relied upon, that would imply that SANIBEL is 1422 and the HMM Marlin is 1421.
This also jives with what HMM says. They aren't sure of the hull number, but claim she is from 1939.
So ........ opinions please. Is this enough evidence to make a hull number assignment?