Penn Yan introduced the Captivator series in 1954. These 14 ft (13ft-4” LOA) strip plank boats were initially built using Penn Yan’s Striptite construction process (bead & cove cedar planks screw-fastened to oak ribs). Captivators soon became available in a wide array of designs. By 1956, a Captivator customer had his choice of 3 different production grades, each offering 16 different deck configurations.
In 1957 the Striptite technique was replaced by Triotite, which consisted of fiberglass cloth sandwiched between an outer layer of 5/16 “cedar bead & cove planking, and a 3/16” inner layer of cedar planking, all screw-fastened to oak ribs. That year, some Captivator models were also produced using the new Plaston method, which was basically the old Striptite construction process with the addition of an outer layer of plastic. In 1958, clinker-planked Captivator models appeared in the line up. The Captivator line was discontinued at the end of 1959, as Penn Yan converted most of its wooden boat production to the clinker process.
| The boat shown here is a model KFT, which Penn Yan produced from 1954 – 1958. Originally finished with a painted hull exterior, the boat was stripped and varnished by the owner, prior to donating her to the Museum. | |