Hey Todd,

I came across this post on another forum from a guy who had owned a 34, previously owned by Hank McCune, the comedian (yes, literally) who founded the company...

"Well...I can speak from experience here. I had a 196? Yorktown 34 that I bought directly from Hank McCune, owner of Yorktown Yachts. It had at one time been his personal boat which he built himself. After I took a chainsaw to the interior (including bulkheads), I totally gutted the thing. Everything and I mean everything had been put together with finishing nails, household wiring and inexpensive glues. Bulkheads were out of plum to the tune of 1/4" per foot
The keels are the biggest joke on these boats. The 39/40 use 1/2" threaded rods and not many of them. The keel weight is bolted onto the bottom of the boat, then a keel shell cover is slipped over it and glassed to the hull. That being said, I saw a 39 come loose off it's mooring in Santa Cruz in 1995 or 1996. The first thing that happened when it hit (sand) bottom was to shear off its keel. A week later the keel was recovered. 1/2 of the bolts had sheared, the other 1/2 had pulled through the inadequete floor timbers (2X6). Hank McCune has a dark history in the boating industry. There are a few horror stories involving him and his construction practices. That being said, it's true, many of these have made good cruising boats without incidents. But one I know of had headed from California to Hawaii and never made it. There had been fair weather all the way. Boat and crew were lost. No one will ever know what happened."

One interesting tidbit I stumbled upon... Hank McCune was a comedic actor who had a TV show back in the early 50's for a brief period of time... In television history, the show was somewhat notable, in the fact that it was the first American TV program ever to incorporate a laugh track...

Hmmm... 'nuff said? (grin)

best regards,

Jon