September 5, 2011. Scot Ioset has checked in as the new owner of Yankee #204, the former Cattivo. Click here to go to Cattivo's page

Dear Ron,

Wanted to let you know that I am the newest owner of Cattivo, Yankee #204 on Oneida Lake in New York. She has been on the hard for over a year now and needs a lot of TLC to return her to her former glory. Thank you for creating and maintaining such a wonderful site--I have already gotten a great deal of info.

I will be replacing the toe rails along with a few other pieces of cracked brightwork, resealing the stanchions (leaking), and painting both the deck as well as the hull. And then there is the centerboard which may be absent - any suggestions?

I was raised sailing a Yankee 24 Seahorse and fell in love with Yankees. I have now realized a dream to own another Yankee, and I didn't have to leave our marina to find it. I have a Sea Ray 225, which will be sharing a double berth with the Dolphin.

I will try to photograph and share the resurrection of #204, which will be named "Prodigal". Updates to come.
Sincerely,

Scot Ioset, DDS
Hamilton, NY

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October 22, 2011. Scott, who has several posts on the Forum on various matters, put together the following summary of Prodigal's resurrection - with photos. We'll start with what must be the first photo of the family's new toy, and some of the restoration crew?

Rough day at the marina

Well, today marks the beginning of trying to get Prodigal (still named Cattivo) back to the shop to start the restoration.  I received a call from Loadmaster this morning, and they will be delivering my trailer the first week of November, which is too late for the marina because they will have the lift and hauler winterized as of 1 November. Besides that, they were about to load several boats right in front of mine thereby making any access impossible until Spring of 2012. So the only option was to put it in the water and let it sit dockside for the next few weeks until the trailer arrives.

She has not been in the wet for 2 years, so I was a little worried.

It did give me the opportunity to inspect the centerboard and centerboard  well when it came off the cradle. As you can see, the CB is broken forward of the lifting tang and is nothing but a free-swinging stub of delaminated wood and fiberglass.

Once we were in the water, the gentleman watching our launch noted that the waterline was way off or otherwise we were going down nose first.  A quick check of the bilges showed a leak around the CB lift line tube which is cut 4" above the top of  the trunk and fitted with a 1 inch rubber hose with a hose clamp.  We lifted up again after taking less than a gallon on board, and I was able to cut a fresh end on the hose, force it over the tube, then get the hose clamp on.  A second floating was dry and the bilges remained so. The waterline is still wayoff as you can see in the above shot.

Upon lowering the mast, I found one of the side stay anchors to be loose, rising 3/4" above the deck.  I will have to see if the nuts are off or if the chainplate is no good.

There is an old proverb that I have lived by when facing big challenges:  When asked" how do you eat an elephant", the answer is "one bite at a time".  This elephant will need a lot of bites to get her restored! I will take lots of photos and keep you updated on my progress.

Thanks again for such an amazing site.

Bless you for it!   Scot

Scot has additional pictures of Prodigal at http://s1134.photobucket.com/albums/m606/hamdental/

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November 7, 2011. Prodigal has her new trailer. Here's pictures and Scot's email. This will be included in the Technical Section/Trailers.

Dear Ron,

Wanted to let you know that we were successful in getting my Dolphin onto its trailer. We had a beautiful Sunday afternoon and had to get out my wetsuit to venture into the 49 degree water. The Loadmaster trailer arrived on Friday afternoon, as I drove over to Buffalo to meet the driver coming from Port Clinton, Ohio with my new trailer. Saved some $$ and enjoyed some blue skies the entire trip.

Very impressed with the whole experience with Loadmaster. They are a family business and were great to work with, plus they had my trailer to me on the promised date of delivery. Ordered it in Navy blue to match the future hull color.

I will be moving the boat and trailer inside this week into an old 1930's school workshop that is perfect for the renovation project. I will be taking pictures throughout the project, as I have found that the photos on the website have been very helpful and illustrative. The enclosed pictures may be helpful for the trailer section in the technical category. The height of the boat with this trailer is 8' 1" to the top of the cabin. I will have to take the bow and stern pulpits off to get it inside the shop, but they have to come off anyway for finishing the decks.

Sincerely,

Scot Ioset

Nice rig...	Bye Cattivo...

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November 19, 2011. Scot has moved Prodigal into her winter workshop. Now the hard part starts....Here is his email and shop photos.

Ron,

More than a little concern for having enough clearance to get Prodigal into the shop for the Winter. Had to remove the stern and bow pulpits and the companionway cover; still an inch and a half too high. Let air out of the tires to lower the boat 2 inches and it cleared by the half inch left. Now it is safe and sound in the workshop of this old 1929 school in Eaton, NY.

The school is being remade into a home for the family of the owner, and it is quite a project. My mast is hanging from the ceiling of the main hallway along with the boom. The shop stays above 55 due to a coal burning stove and can be warmed up easily to 70 if the need arises. The owner stores his contracting supplies in this large area so liquids don't freeze.

I am starting to remove all the wood from the exterior so that we can repair woodwork and sand to get ready for teak oil application. Then will come the prep work for painting!
Scot

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