Designed in 1913 as a class racer by Manley Crosby (The Crosby families began designing and building boats in 1744 on Cape Cod and continue today with the 8th generation EM Crosby Boatworks) the Wianno Senior has navigated Cape Cods shallow waters every Summer Season by generations of dedicated families. Most notably the Kennedy Klan.
Since 1913 173 wooden hull Wianno Seniors have been built. In the 1980’s due to the high cost to build out of wood, a fiberglass version was researched. Through a lot of effort to make the fiberglass version match to the wooden boats the mold was completed and hull # 176 was built. The most recent hull is #228. Up until 2008 the wooden hull and the fiberglass hull competed equally. Now the fiberglass hull, die to many factors, haas been the most competitive.
What makes # 150, Yankee Dime, special is she won the prestigious Scudder Cup (a six race series) I 2007. The last wood boat to win the Scudder Cup.
On Cape Cod the boats are a treasured family heirloom. Although #94, JFK’s boat now longed sails the shallow waters, the Kennedys continue to sail.
Yankee Dime came to the Sound by the love of boats by Nic Marshall (father of Pete Marshall of Marshall’s Cove Marine Paint). Nic did get to sail her but passed away leaving Yankee Dime to become neglected. Even though I had a Herreshoff catboat under repair I fell in love with her. Love as they say is blind and I only saw the peeling varnish.
This began a two year journey to preserve Yankee Dime Yankee Dime for the next 50
years. She has had her canvass deck replaced with Dynel by Riley McMath in the wood shop of the Northwest Maritime Boatshop. The Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op tackled the split keel and rotted deadwood, replaced garboard plus one plank needed to access keel repair and corked bottom. Then they replaced all deteriorated mahogany removed to replace canvass deck.
