Sail/row boat identifying #

[davidc]

Folks,
I have a very old sail/row boat, red cedar and mahogany, 10.2' LOA, 48" wide, with open gunwales, the canvas gone. Under the mast step I found this: S 298 (looks like there might have been a letter before the S, but I can't decipher it). Anyone have any idea where/by whom this boat may have been built. Looks like an Alden X class, but I don't think it is.
Cheers to you and thanks in advance.
David

 

[Dan Miller]

A serial number with letter prefixes (and especially an "S") make Penn Yan Boat Company a good guess. They offered a variety of small sailboats, such as the sailing dinghy shown in the 1940 catalog pages attached below.

 

[davidc]

Wow, Dan! The catalog picture you sent is an image of my boat, exactly. Thank you very much.
Now, all I have to do is find a rudder for this beautiful little boat.
Thanks again.
David

 

[davidc]

A serial number with letter prefixes (and especially an "S") make Penn Yan Boat Company a good guess. They offered a variety of small sailboats, such as the sailing dinghy shown in the 1940 catalog pages attached below.

Dan or anyone on the forum,
I need to find or fabricate a rudder for the Penn Yan sailing/rowing dinghy I have (and I thank Dan for sending to me a catalog illustration of the boat, which provides me at least with an image of the original rudder), but I'd like to have a template or dimensions to use to fabricate one. Can anyone reading this help me with a rudder? I'd like to be able to steer the boat when I set sail, of course.
Cheers to you--and thanks in advance.
David

 

[Fitz]

The Finger Lakes Boating Museum lists a few Penn Yan sailboats in their inventory. I don't think I found a match, but you may find a very similar rudder on the boats in their collection, or maybe someone there can assist.

http://www.flbm.org/collection.php

 

[davidc]

Penn Yan dinghy changes...

A serial number with letter prefixes (and especially an "S") make Penn Yan Boat Company a good guess. They offered a variety of small sailboats, such as the sailing dinghy shown in the 1940 catalog pages attached below.

Dan,
What isn't apparent in the catalog image you were kind enough to send to me is the lever on top of the centerboard box, which is on my dinghy, but some kind of small lever on the side of the box. Given that the catalog image is from the 1940 catalog, the last year the sailing dinghy was offered by PY, might an earlier catalog image, one that shows the lever on top of the box, indicate when PY changed over to the side lever? The lever on my boat operates the centerboard with a push/pull mechanism (actually a very intelligent design, and the lever, like all the boat's hardware, is bronze).
Sorry if my queries are bothersome. Do any of your cd's vis-à-vis catalogs of various boat makers, cover PY catalogs? If so, I'd be interested in purchasing it instead of bothering you with my questions.
Thanks--and cheers to you.
David

 

[Dan Miller]

The catalogs show that same side-mounted lever back to 1937. I don't have a 1936 or 1935. 1933 and earlier don't show any lever detail.

Unfortunately, the Penn Yan catalogs are not available on any of the catalog CD collections. The company is still privately owned. We attempted to get permission to sell the scanned catalogs in a collection, but have so far been denied by the owners.

 

[davidc]

Thanks, Dan.
Sorry to hear about the difficulty in getting necessary permission from current owners.
I'll post a photo of the lever when I can.
Again, given that serial # on this boat is [T] S 298, and you say it should have four numbers, it is clear the first two numbers are 29. I've scoured available photos (on Antique Boats..., etc.) of PY dinghies, and mine is definitely a PY.
Cheers to you.
David

 

[Dan Miller]

Three numbers is perfectly fine for a PY serial number. It is only when there are five numerals that the date is indicated (according to current theory).

 

[davidc]

Three numbers is perfectly fine for a PY serial number. It is only when there are five numerals that the date is indicated (according to current theory).

Thanks for that clarification, Dan. This forum is very fortunate to have you on board with such expertise.
Cheers to you.
David