Thompson restoration begins...

[Roger Stouff]

Well, thanks to Don's acquisition of those boats in need of some TLC, I got the bug and, putting all my other obligations aside again, got to it.

The boat is a 1963 Thompson Super Lancer, 19' long. It was a "free boat to a good home" thing. We know how hard those are to pass up, eh Don? smile.gif

http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompson1.jpg

That's how she looked when I picked her up. A careful survey so far has turned up a rotten inner keel and ribs at that juncture.

http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompson-ribs1.jpg
http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompson-ribs.jpg

The stem is also a goner.
http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompson-stem.jpg

In addition, she'll need a new deck and the bottom replaced, the windshield bracket remade and a new transom. Among other odds and ends.

Notice the twist in the hull?

http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompson-twist.jpg

Today I took of the windshield and started bracing her up for turning over, hopefully this weekend.

I am going to put this last pic up in the garage (boatshop) for inspiration!

http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/thompson/thompsonrestored.jpg

Hey Don...wanna race? :D

Regards from the Rez,
R

[videoguy]

By golly That will keep you in fun for a while . smile.gif

[AngWood]

A wonderful boat. I'm a month or two ahead of you on my 1956 Scottie Craft. At the rate it's been going lately, you'll pass me by Turkey Day. One of these years we'll show 'em off at Madisonville, eh?

[Mr. Know It All]

Roger.....My 61 Lyman is worse and needs everything you have listed for yours and then some, but it's smaller at 16'. I will be watching your restoration project with great interest. Is your Thompson 3/8" Doug Fir plywood planking on oak frames? What kind of fasteners? I see steam bending and joint scarphing in our future. :D
Kevin in Ohio

[Roger Stouff]

Madisonville is a must, Ang! smile.gif

Kevin: It's mahogany 3/8 ply over white oak frames. All of the laps save the very top one are excellent, thankfully. The only reason the top one is bad is that the cheap rubrail nailed to it held water and rotted both the top lap and the edge of the deck. It seems to be bronze screws, though the ones in the window were a hodge-podge.

I have, thankfully, very few rotten bends, so most of my repairs to the ribs will be straight. For the ones that are bent, I'll either steam bend or laminate. Probably laminate.

The WORST part will be finding an engine I can afford!

R

[ 10-31-2002, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Roger Stouff ]

[Donn]

Roger...she's gonna be a beauty, but the only way I'll race my lapstrake against you is in heavy seas! Mine will have either 7 or 8 hp in her, and will probably be faster under sail. :D

[mhoffman]

Hey Roger-
I have a neighbor who is an active collector of antique outboard engines- he has lots of engines and contacts for others. (He even has some engines on display in his house- my SWMBO would never go for that...)If you want the boat to be "period" he would know where to find the right one- cheaper than an new one anyhow. Shoot me an email if you would like me to pass your information to him if you are interested.
Matt

[Roger Stouff]

Hey, Don,
I was talking about racing to completion of the restoration! :cool: With a 115 hp or so on the back of this thing, I'll be afraid to get it on the water!

Seriously, I'm not much on major speed. My runabout does about 30 with me alone in it, and that's plenty fast. I'm mostly doing this boat because it was free, I like something big enough to take into the bay (which the runabout definitely is NOT) and do some fishing from out there, and it's also just plain fun.

Matt,
Thanks for the tip! I'm a long, long way off from engine time, but I will surely keep this in mind.

Best to all,
R

[Donn]

Roger...I'm doing the Garvey before the Sea Bright Skiff...and the Garvey isn't even close to the job you have on the Tommy, unless I go for a full out restoration. Holzbt is suggesting that I just paint her, power her, and put her in the water.

[Roger Stouff]

Pulled off the windshield last night. The good news is: Propping up the starboard side with a piece of lumber, the twist came right out it and everything lined back up well.

http://www.banner-tribune.com/ftos/Thompson/thompson-bow2-1.jpg

I'm getting encouraged. That's the bad news. :cool:

R

[Mr. Know It All]

Roger......I have a 1961 Johnson 75HP 4-stroke short shaft you can HAVE ,with the controls. It's too much for this 16' Lyman. It's been sitting for awhile and needs work. All you have to do is pick it up in Ohio. :D I'm looking for something around 35HP to 40Hp max for the Lyman. Be very careful removing the metal strip thats over your rotted rub rail,you may want to clean it up and reuse it. It's been my experience that the replacement is hard to find and expensive, if you can find it. Mine is stainless steel and I believe yours might be too. Is the rub rail oak? I'll bet the fasteners are bronze not brass and are there rivets between the screws or clinch nails? Did the boat come with seats or are you gonna need to make those? Also, Have you seen the Thompson website?--> http://www.thompsondockside.com/
Kevin in Ohio

[ 10-31-2002, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Hey Roger, good luck on your Thompson project. Will you have it finihed by the time of the third annual Thompson Antique & Classic Boat Rally, August 8-9-10, 2003? I will start working once again on my 1959 Thompson Bros. Sea Lancer. The new transom is fabricated awaiting installation. Then it's flip over time and work on the outer keel and stem, strip paint, repaint, and flip back over to work on the decks, windshield frame, seats, etc...

Also just found a home for my '58 Sea Lancer. My '57 Sea Lancer is my "user boat" and is now in winter storage!

Check out www.thompsondockside.com (http://www.thompsondockside.com) for more Thompson information.

[Scott Rosen]

That looks like a great project. You're gonna have more fun than any one man deserves. smile.gif

[Roger Stouff]

Kevin,
Yes, I meant bronze, not brass. :rolleyes: The rub rail is oak, but I haven't gotten far enough to tell more. I have the seats, and the upholstery is faded but no tears or bad seams. Thanks for the offer of the motor! Doubt I can make the trip though, but just in case...!

Andreas,
I check out the Dockside often. I doubt I'll be done with the boat by the show, but you never know. The site is very useful! I communicated with you a few months ago about the ID, and we were relatively sure that it is indeed a Super Lancer, though the stamp on the transom was hard to read. I'm satisfied with that, though. I'm going to try to get her as original as possible, but I know original Thompson hardware is hard to come by. I am particularly on the look out for a set of the Peshtigo emblems, and the Thompson skid plates on the deck. Nearly everything else is there.

Scott,
There's plenty fun to share. Come on down! ;)

Thanks all,
R

[David N.]

My first posting , so there I was , reading the Saterday paper , and some one was giving away a 17' Thompson , engine and trailer too , whats one more project ?? . There is some rot in the transom area , and a couple of the planks have lost there top lamination , no broken frames ( or rotted) . A friend of mine restores old wood boat ( thats his biz ) and I was asking him about using plywood as planking , his answer was , "that fastening that close to the edge is stronger in plywood than solid wood , less prone to splitting ", I did notice that the boat use's two type of screws , between the frames flathead machine with nuts on the inside ( phillips ) and flathead wood screws ( slotted ) on the frames . In some places where the glazing has fallen out , I re-tightened the fastenings , on an average of one full turn .
Having a buisness with an open door , many people come in and see this boat and tell me stories about the " Thompson's " , right next to the boat is a wing and an engine for the plane , that has raised a few eyebrows , I can see the gears turning , a 300hp engine in the boat with wings ?? . Well thanks for reading this mess , just thought I would let you know that reading the paper's "free ads " does work !!

[chesterm]

Pop and Uncle bought a 16 foot Thompson brandy new in 1958 with a 35 horse Evnirude Lark. Spent many a fine summer day on Long Island Sound in the 70s learning seamanship. Then the moms and grandmoms got nervous with their kids out and about in such a "frail wooden boat" and talked the dad's into buying a F@#%^-glass center console boat with a big motor. Us kids now look back and wish we kept the old boat it had a personality. Anyone ever see an older Thompson boat historic registration CT 7204A ? We had sold it to a couple of guys who hailed from near the mouth of the Connecticut River.

[Mr. Know It All]

Welcome to the Forum Tinman.
Kevin in Ohio

[Mr. Know It All]

1958 Thompson 16' Sea Coaster with an original 35HP Johnson Sea Horse. Did it look like this chesterm?
http://lymanboat.com/brown16.jpg

or this?
http://www.antiqueboat.com/boats/images/jage17-4.jpg

Kevin in Ohio

[ 11-05-2002, 10:44 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]

[GROOVY]

Hey, looks like a worthy project!

[chesterm]

oh boy Kevin those photos bring back memories. Our bow was not quite as raked but the rest of the boat was just like that. We had a white helm wheel, different dash cluster that was an evinrude dash piece no gauges and our motor was an Evinrude Lark model. We had no fixed horn and a teardrop light. great little boat. regards and thanks for the post, Mitchell in CT

[Roger Stouff]

Cool!

[ 11-08-2002, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: Roger Stouff ]

[Mr. Know It All]

Good eye chesterm, the second picture is a 1962 model with the newer bow design. In older boat restoration, one of the biggest helper's is pictures of what the boat is supposed to look like. I got my Lyman complete but disassmbled and went for months trying to figure out what went where and why. Another real eye opener was attending a local Lyman boat show where someone had my exact year and model beautifully restored on display. Talk about inspiration. smile.gif I'll keep my eyes open for pic's of a 1963 Thompson Super Lancer 19'. Hang in there Roger and keep us posted on your progress.
Kevin in Ohio

[Roger Stouff]

I'd appreciate that tremendously, Kevin.

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Roger, watch for the next issue of "The Thompson Dockside" newsletter. It will be the "owner's directory" issue, listing all the subscriber's boats and their owners. Maybe there will be some Super Sea Lancer owners amongst them. If you don't have the Thompson catalogs CD-ROM, get it. It will have the catalogs upon it and I know it includes all years thruoughout the 1960s. Available at: www.dragonflycanoe.com (http://www.dragonflycanoe.com)