Replacing Plywood bottom

[Drew]

I went on a Thompson buying spree (4) and I'm in the process of restoring them one at a time. I could use alittle advise on the replacement of the 3/8 ply on the entire bottom of a 17 footer. and the scarfing in on a section of the keel, and keelsom, and appro, 9 ribs.

[AngWood]

Well, I can almost speak from experience. I'm about to replace the plywood bottom on my 1956 Scottie Craft--18 foot, shallow V, 3/8 inch ply. I have removed the first 8-foot section on one side and am working on making good clean faying surfaces on the chine, stem, and keel. Then I'll use 1/8 inch doorskin ply to make a pattern. I'll dry-fit the new 3/8 bottom panel, screws and all, then remove it and bed with Sikaflex (or maybe 3M 5200), then repeat the process for the other panels on the same side, then do the other side.

I began at the bow, would've begun at the stern if not for the limitations of my setup.

I believe in what I am doing, but have not finished doing it yet, so take this with half a grain of salt.

If you like playing with epoxy, you could do it quite differently, but that's not my bag.

Hopefully someone with more expertise will chime in about keel/keelson/ribs.

[Drew]

Thanks for the reply!! Believe it or not, I'm looking for someone to kinda hold my hand through this one. C.C.'s and Century's are alot easier to work on, less ribs, and the overall construction is more straight forward than on these Thompson's. From just looking from the transom forward, there is 180 bronze phosphate screws and nuts along with appro 140 screws and an untold number of nails to go along with this "simple" replacement. The thing that I have a hard time understanding is why so many people turn their noses up when you mention that you work on Thompsons. From what I can tell, the quality is really in these boats. Can someone tell what the difference is between these and lets say a Lyman of the same year and LOA? But, back to the project, HHHHHEEEEEELLLLPPPPPPPP!!!!! Drew. :eek:

[AngWood]

It just occurred to me that Thompsons are lapstrake--I assume that includes the bottom? My project is not lapstrake, but sheet planking. Still, making patterns and doing a thorough dry fit are the keys to this kind of thing, in my view. Good luck!

[NormMessinger]

Pictures, Drew. We need pictures.

[Noah]

Drew,

I don't know a whole lot about Thompson's, but I think that I do know the difference between them and a Lyman.

We have a 1957 Lyman 16.5 ft, and I also have a 1962 Penn Yan 18ft. I think that the Penn Yan is much more similar to your Thompson. It has wider strakes than a Lyman, (though the new Lyman's also got wider strakes) and the Penn Yan has a plywood bottom. The first two "strakes" are about 10-20 inches wide. As far as I know Lymans never had a "flat" bottom like the Penn Yan's or Thompson's. On ours the bottom is still narrow strakes all the way to the keel.

Lymans were "Clinker" built meaning that they were held together with nails that were driven through and then bent over. My Penn Yan is screwed together, and it sounds like your Thompson is "bolted"

Without knowing more about your boats including age and model I couldn't tell you more.

Good luck doing the plywood replacement thing!

Noah

[Bruce Hooke]

Drew, It might help if you could be a bit more specific about what you are looking for assistance with. Are you unsure about how to develop an overall plan for the job, do you have specific questions about certain steps, or are you simply feeling overwhelmed by all the fasteners you have to try to remove...?

[Drew]

Hello to all and thanks for the responses!!! First I have to finish removing the deck fittings etc... and get the boat on her topsides. I'm thinking on stripping the hull down to find all the screwheads and remove all the filler/putty and remove the screws this way to avoid any futher damage. At this point I'm planning on removing the outer keel, and refabricating it, the exsisting one is pretty rough. I would like to scarf the plywood on my radial arm saw, and use the original pieces for the overall pattern and reattach them with new screws etc... Now for the problem, the exsisting inner keel and keelson is rotten, about 6' of it going forward off the transom, and I'm thinking about scarfing it in instead of replacing the entire 14' of it. I've seen better wood come up from the WASA when they found her!! and I'm afraid that at this point when the garboards come off, the keel will collapse being that there will be nothing but the rib tips holding up the keel and keelson at this point. and keep in mind I'm also replacing about 9 ribs from the transom forward on the starboard side also. I've thought about bracing up the keel but I don't know if this is feesable being that the hull will only be about 4" off the floor. Any ideas? @@#$%^&*((&&^$$^&!!!!! :confused:

The grass maybe greener on the otherside, but you still have to cut it.

[Mr. Know It All]

Drew.....I have a 1961 16' Lyman Outboard/Runabout. Things I would do different if I was just starting my project. #1 Take lots of photographs, it helps when reassembling. #2 Keep notes, size of screws for each item removed, measurements,draw pictures etc. #3 Be gentle and preserve whats there.

Have you seen the Thompson online newsletter?

We have members of this forum that belong to the Thompson club and write articles for their newsletter.

You should find lots of help here
Welcome to the forum.
Peace---> Kevin in Ohio

[Drew]

I'm going to try to post some photos of what I'm talking about from image station , is this a great country or what? :eek: www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290312891

[Drew]

I've tried for the last hour and a half or so to get imagestation to sent my photos, but I'm still having a problem. if you want to see the photos go to www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290312891 (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290312891) and you can view them :mad: Thanks Drew.

[Mr. Know It All]

This is the Thompson website----> http://www.thompsondockside.com/

I'm lookin at the pictures now.
Looks familiar. :D

[Mr. Know It All]

The floor is supposed to look something like this 16 ft. Sea Coaster here.....

http://www.antiqueboat.com/boats/images/tayl16-3.jpg

What year is yours Drew?

[Mr. Know It All]

A fine example of rot.......

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/p77ebdcb56d08c6f871c57f431c6d54f8/fc4c5af0.jpg

[Drew]

Yep, ain't it just BEAUTIFUL!! I think I'll make it a live well, what do you think!! ha ha ha I think it's a 63-64, the original lay out looks like yours Mr Know it All!! %@^%%%^@&*@*&@*@)@)~&^%~$!$&!!! Some one removed the Nautolex deck and replaced it with a tongue and groove teak . and I post on the Thompson site frequentley. So instead of the taunt, how about some advise on fixing it? Drew. tongue.gif

[Wild Wassa]

Originally posted by Mr. Know It All:
"A fine example of rot ......".

I live in one of the dry rot Capitals of the World. We are also having the worst drought in our Nation's history, ... the dryest dry rot.

Bring on the dry rot, ... but I crave the smell of old damp, :D .

Warren.

ps, Drew Hi, Restoring 4 boats of the same type is a cool thing to do. Drew I can't get to look at your album. You need to release/cancell the password 'tick'.

[ 04-22-2003, 04:04 AM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Mr. Know It All]

You seem to have some good ideas Drew. Carefully remove (and mark so you can reassemble) whatever you can to make the boat lighter, so you can flip her. Remove the paint on the outside of the hull with a heatgun and "pull type" scraper and expose the fasteners. Resist the urge to sand it down to bare wood. You have to be carefull not to sand right through the thin vaneer of the plywood. Save everything for patterns or measurements. You can learn quite a bit just taking her apart. Will you be using CPES? Thats not my boat (mines a Lyman) Didn't mean to taunt, but to give inspiration and encouragement. :cool:

[ 04-22-2003, 09:34 AM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]

[Drew]

Oh I love to taunt people myself. If I ran into someone like myself, and I found out that he is about to torture himself for months on end I would have alittle fun with him also. At his expense of course. I'm still perplexed with the floating keel etc...I ordered a book from the bookstore on keel replacement, and I'm hoping this will answer some Q's. Since you, MR #$%^&&% KNOW IT ALL cant!!!!!!! so hows that for a taunt!!!!! I also sell arguments for a small fee. :D But on a serious note, where did you get the pict that you posted? I wonder if I traded boats if he would notice. :rolleyes:

Money cant buy happiness, but it will always buy you love.

[Mr. Know It All]

I had to take the no nonsense approach to my Lyman. It had been in storage in a barn for many years and totally infested with huge Ohio spiders. Once I encountered them I broke out the hose and reclaimed it for humanity. Finding and repairing or replacing rot is easy compared to that. Have you found a source for marine wood to replace with and what are the original woods on the boat?

[Drew]

I'm in the process of looking at present. Boulter ply quoted 55.00 for 5 ply 3/8 marine, and 89.00 for Mahogany 3/8, all 4' X 8". The only problem is the 95.00 shipping charge!! There has to be an outlet somewhere here in Chicago, or at least close by. I think I'll build a strong board and forms for the Sea Coaster before I open her up. Buying alittle insurance I think.

It isn't the size of the ship, it's the motion in the ocean.
but you don't go on the ocean in a canoe. :D

[Mr. Know It All]

Woodfinder turned up 2 suppliers in your state----> http://www.wdfinder.com/wdf/search.phtml

Lots of different quality and different prices out there.

I attended a local woodenboat show a few years ago and talked to the fellows who do restoration and building of wooen boats for a living in my area. They all said I should buy my wood here----> http://www.homesteadhardwoods.com/
A local outfit who knew what they wanted and understood why. They post prices on their website.
I'm lucky they're close, about an hour drive.

What condition is the transom in, on your boat? If the bottom is bad the transom usually is too. Is that taunting enough? :D

[ 04-22-2003, 01:38 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]

[Drew]

The transom is in great shape, along with the rest of the hull. The boat was up on a rack in a local boatshop for 15 years. The reason for the rot is because the boat was on a slight angle, and from what I could tell water pooled there over the years. Thanks alot for the wood search. I appreciate it greatly!!! I'll check them out . I'm still having a problem in posting pictures from imagestation though, I use a Apple iMac, maybe thats the problem? :rolleyes: Oh, by the way, the taunting is great!! thanks again to everyone!!! Drew.