Mr. Know It All
08-10-2003, 12:35 PM
One in a million; Man reunited with old boat By; Jennifer Hickin
LORAIN- "Looking for hull number 2820-an old friend. Last known location is Lorain, Ohio in late 1960's. Would appreciate any information." So said a posting at the Comet Class Association web site earlier this year and it led to a former Lorain man being reunited with his old racing boat, which his family hopes to race again.
In the 1960's Stan Youtt bought a 16-foot Comet class sailing boat that he raced before selling it in 1963. Now 38 years later, he is once again owner of the boat.
"Fact that it survived is a one in a million," said Youtt, a naval architect living in Massachusetts, who began looking for the boat at the beginning of this year.
In 1965, four years after buying the boat, Youtt sold the boat to pay for school and "it disappeared," he said.
The boat was built in 1946 in Lorain by Jerry Pankratz, according to Youtt. It was sold by Pankratz in 1952 to Jack Pincura a local attorney, who said he bought the boat because another boat he had owned was too heavy for racing. "That's amazing," said Pincura about the boat being found. During the first summer he owned the boat, he said, he and his brother were sailing in a regatta in Put-In-Bay and some of the competitors couldn't believe "two little kids were beating them."
"I spent a lot of time sailing, he said. "Those are fond memories." Pincura sold the boat in 1956, and Youtt later bought it in 1961. Youtt said he began looking for the boat earlier this year and made contact through the web site with a man in Willoughby who said he found the boat in a barn.
Tom Ralston, who had the boat, said he wasn't interested in sailing but had rebuilt the boat as a project. To help him, Pankratz's daughter had provided pictures of the boat so he could see what the boat looked like originally, according to Youtt.
A friend Youtt used to race with happened to be visiting Lorain and was able to go pick up the boat last Saturday.
"We had our picture taken by the boat yesterday," said Youtt, who plans to take the boat back to Massachusetts with him at the end of this week. The plan is to get it back to racing condition and have his sons race it, said Youtt, adding he used to race the boat with his wife Nancy. "It's just kind of neat that it's a piece of Lorain history," he said.
smile.gif
[ 08-10-2003, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]
LORAIN- "Looking for hull number 2820-an old friend. Last known location is Lorain, Ohio in late 1960's. Would appreciate any information." So said a posting at the Comet Class Association web site earlier this year and it led to a former Lorain man being reunited with his old racing boat, which his family hopes to race again.
In the 1960's Stan Youtt bought a 16-foot Comet class sailing boat that he raced before selling it in 1963. Now 38 years later, he is once again owner of the boat.
"Fact that it survived is a one in a million," said Youtt, a naval architect living in Massachusetts, who began looking for the boat at the beginning of this year.
In 1965, four years after buying the boat, Youtt sold the boat to pay for school and "it disappeared," he said.
The boat was built in 1946 in Lorain by Jerry Pankratz, according to Youtt. It was sold by Pankratz in 1952 to Jack Pincura a local attorney, who said he bought the boat because another boat he had owned was too heavy for racing. "That's amazing," said Pincura about the boat being found. During the first summer he owned the boat, he said, he and his brother were sailing in a regatta in Put-In-Bay and some of the competitors couldn't believe "two little kids were beating them."
"I spent a lot of time sailing, he said. "Those are fond memories." Pincura sold the boat in 1956, and Youtt later bought it in 1961. Youtt said he began looking for the boat earlier this year and made contact through the web site with a man in Willoughby who said he found the boat in a barn.
Tom Ralston, who had the boat, said he wasn't interested in sailing but had rebuilt the boat as a project. To help him, Pankratz's daughter had provided pictures of the boat so he could see what the boat looked like originally, according to Youtt.
A friend Youtt used to race with happened to be visiting Lorain and was able to go pick up the boat last Saturday.
"We had our picture taken by the boat yesterday," said Youtt, who plans to take the boat back to Massachusetts with him at the end of this week. The plan is to get it back to racing condition and have his sons race it, said Youtt, adding he used to race the boat with his wife Nancy. "It's just kind of neat that it's a piece of Lorain history," he said.
smile.gif
[ 08-10-2003, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]