Gene Willard and a crew member prepare to untie the Joseph S. Kennedy, a retired UB85 Navy boat, from its berth in Portland for a trip out to Great Diamond Island. Willard and his partners bought the retired Navy utility boat previously attached to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which will bring guests to the soon-to-open Inn at Diamond Cove.

Willard pilots the Joseph S. Kennedy, a retired UB85 Navy boat, through Casco Bay, At right is Willard's daugther Meredith Willard.

A lifesaving ring aboard the Joseph S. Kennedy, a UB85 Navy boat, is marked with the name of the boat and UB85.

Seen through a rear window of the Joseph S. Kennedy, the Maquoit II passes through the wake of the UB85 boat as it motors through Casco Bay.

Willard pilots his UB85 boat through Casco Bay.

Andy Gildart ties up the Joseph S. Kennedy while Nicole Frantz, left, and her mother Cathleen Hart-Frantz explore the bow of the boat.

Willard stands on the bow of the Joseph S. Kennedy, a retired UB85 Navy utility boat, while it is docked at Diamond Cove at Great Diamond Island.

Work is continuing on the Inn at Diamond Cove, which is scheduled to open in mid-July. The Joseph S. Kennedy will bring guests and staff to the inn when it opens.

One of the finished hotel rooms at the Inn at Diamond Cove on Great Diamond Island. The inn is scheduled to open in mid-July.