Current Project

[nutmeg2go]

I picked this old girl up off of Ebay. This 1959 Thompson should keep me out of trouble for a while. All the decking, floors, forward wall of the cudy with windows and the windshield have been removed. After replacing the ribs, transom repairs, replacement of decking, and paint and varnish, she should be sweet.

Hopefully I can have her back in the water by June.

I'm including a few pics:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid164/pbc2c1c39185406c72337b3ddd65bf40a/f4873688.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid164/p13b4111bc587da036bbe950fc5b73e17/f4873691.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid164/pd1d47d069948cec479094322ed2f9173/f487368c.jpg

[Bob Perkins]

Nice Boat smile.gif

What happened to the 12 1/2?

Do you still have it? I wanted to comare notes. Sent an email - but your profile must have an old one :(

Take Care,
Bob

[nutmeg2go]

June 2006 that is. The deeper I dig, the more I find to fix. The hull is sound, so the end product should come out the way I want. I just have to figure that the extra work will just keep me out of trouble longer.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

Looks familar. :D
What model is that boat?
How big is it?
Do you have mahogany planking or Douglas Fir?
Oak frames with bronze screws and rivits or clinch nails holding the planking. Thompson,Lyman and Cruisers Inc. are some of the best still around.
Is the top factory?
Details man, we need details. :D

[nutmeg2go]

Duh. Idono.

Bought her off of Ebay on the VERY cheap. She's a 1959 Thompson, at least that's what I was told. She came with a very sound trailer, a freshwater 40 horse Johnson, and all canvas. Planking is fir plywood fastened with 3 machine screws and bolts on each plank between each rib. The raised cudy has a hatch and then a windshield that mounts on top of that. Whether it's factory or not, Idono. The front seats cleverly swivel down and out of the way when not in use. All seats have been replaced with plywood, but I plan to replace the plywood with mahogany.

Decking was mahogany plywood, but it has all been removed at this point. The top of the cudy was covered in canvas. The transom is 3 sheets of 3/4 inch mahogany plywood. The inner sheet has some rot which I hope doesn't go too deep. The "garboards" are foot and a half wide sheets of plywood. A number of the ribs along the bilge have rotted but the plywood is still firm.

Thoughts regarding the boat's identity, replacement of ribs, transom repair, etc. are most welcome.

[nutmeg2go]

Re the transom. Water allowed to stand in the motor well has compromised the inner layer of 3 sheets of marine plywood. The transom is very sound at the keel and the planks and the outer layer sounds very solid when tapped.

If just one layer is compromised, I was hoping to rout out the damaged area plus a substantial radius of undamaged wood and epoxy in a replacement layer using the standard dutchman technique. Does this sound like a viable plan?

Thanks

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

I have the same transom problem on my 16 foot Lyman. The transom is made of 1 7/8ths inch mahogany plywood, custom made for Lyman. My only option is to glue two layers of 1 inch ply I can buy local. The transom has a line of rot where the splash well was mounted. The drain holes get clogged and water lays in there. I figure since it's an outboard model and all the weight from the motor is going to be on the transom, it should be as strong as possible and I decided against the patch approach. Keep those photos coming and let us know how you're getting along.
Peace---> Kevin in Ohio ;)

P.S. Thats a classic boat you have there. 1959 was the begining of the end for wooden boats.

Quote from a Thompson Boat History page.....

"In January 1959, brothers Roy and Grant Thompson gained complete control of Cruisers, Inc. In 1959 and 1960, they made 3,000 boats annually. Then the bottom fell out of the wooden-boat market.

As fiberglass boats hit the scene, customers abandoned wooden vessels en masse. Cruisers resisted the change, with the Thompsons believing firmly that a well-built wooden boat would outperform and outlive any fiberglass version of itself. Cruisers sold less than 800 boats in the 1965 season, and wooden boats were eliminated from the line by the end of 1966." :(

For what it's worth, I think she's beautiful and has potential. :cool:

[ 04-14-2005, 10:09 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Know It All ]

[nutmeg2go]

I hear what you are saying about the need for the transom to be strong with the weight of the motor. I'm pretty confident that with a careful creation of steps in the patch and a judicious use of epoxy that the result will be at least as strong as the original.

I also have a 1957 16 1/2 foot Lyman. She's a wonderful boat but the higher freeboard on the Thompson will be better suited to the chop in Penobscot Bay. Once the Thompson is done, I expect that I will move her on to another owner. As I tell my wife, "One in the water, one in the shop, and one for sale."

Thanks for the encouragement. The raised cudy makes her a very seaworthy and handsome craft. I expect I may be hanging on to her for quite a while.

[carioca1232001]

A very enterprising schedule you have chalked out for yourself.

Should keep you out of trouble, but make great holes in your pockets too ;)

I nearly adopted a 1974, 37-ft twin-Volvo-diesel motor-cruiser last September, in addition to a similar 32 ft that I already own.

But, at the time the subject started off a terrible commotion in the house.... perhaps I should try my luck again this year, now that the 32 ft. is finished and done ;)

[botebum]

Re: "One in the water, one in the shop, and one for sale." I have a similar agreement with my wife. I can have all the "junk" boats the yard will hold, but no "junk" cars. To quote her: "Boats get fixed around here. Cars don't." How true, how true.

[Katherine]

Nutmeg, I actually remember that boat on eBay, thought about buying her, but the 61 Owens I bought off of eBay last year has a prior claim on my resources.

[nutmeg2go]

She first tweaked my interested when she was listed on Yachtworld.com for a good deal more than I paid for her. I suspect that I will be a good deal wiser (and a tad older) by the time I finish her.

[Katherine]

Nutmeg, I hope to have the Owens back inthe water sometime before I qualify for social security. I'm 27. My main problem is that I want everything perfect on her before she gets dumpped back in the lake. I'm trying to convince myself that she'll never be "perfect".

[carioca1232001]

Katherine, You are not alone. I know a fellow just like you ;)

He had finished the undersides overhaul (2500 #10 screws + 8 m²planking) in December 2004.

Since then has been refurbishing the bilges, the steering tie-rod now equipped with truck-type ball-joint ends, engine support brackets and mounts, sea-water pump to be now gear-driven etc etc

A never ending list before it sees the water again :rolleyes:

[Katherine]

Carioca, I think the problem is my engineers brain. It's always thinking there's a better way to do something. The Owens is my first boat and I jumped in head first. I want her good and seaworthy before she gets tossed back in. I don't like the idea of constantly worrying about her breaking down far from shore, or being found one morning at the bottom of her slip.

[pcford]

I can't recall seeing a Thompson with a cabin. Might be original but doubt it. Thompsons often have rot in rear end of boat. Transom is three layers of wood. Rot starts between layers.

Thompsons leak along keel. A careful bedding of keel strip will slow that down.

Thompsons are fastened with #10 bronze machine screws. These are often badly corroded. It's a good idea to extract several from various locations. There are a mess of them on the boat. (!!) These bolts are expensive. They sometimes have to be all replaced.

Thompsons are lightly built boats. Be sure that it has been properly stored. If it has been on a roller trailer or on trailer that does not support the weight of the engine, problems will ensue.

[nutmeg2go]

PC

Thanks for the tips.

It is an original. A Thompson Lancer cabin cruiser 1959. Part of what drew me to her was the higher freeboard provided by the cabin. She should be dry in the chop.

[carioca1232001]

Katherine,

Consider yourself lucky in that you have the opportunity to do things correctly, right from day one . But don´t overdo it !

I am presently dismantling the shoddy workmanship in the bilges and engine compartment contracted out to third parties in 1998.

Very wasteful on time and money.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

The Oak rubrails will rot too. If you don't have at least a small bit of rot in them, I'll be surprised. The seats and windshield frames will sometimes delaminate and the bow deck frame closest to the steering wheel should be checked for cracks and re-enforced before you put the decking down. Check for rot where the back edge of the windshield meets the rubrail. If you relplace any of the steam bent frames, beef up the frames that hold the seats. Most importantly, take lots photos before you start working, this helps with re-assembly. Label everything, wear protection and..... Watch out for spiders! :D

P.S. Reclinch, reclinch, reclinch! ;)

[nutmeg2go]

She will keep me out of trouble for a long, long time. Fortunately, my Lyman is seaworthy, so I can get out on the water with her, and my other projects may involve less work than I first expected.

Expected date of completion has been moved to June 2006.

[nutmeg2go]

This is the 21 1/2 model of the cabin cruiser. Mine is 17 feet, but is similarly configured.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/p4c3d6060f753187e9245b4f18c5ada27/f454a331.jpg

Now, once I get ribs, decking, and transom replaced, she should take us round the bay just fine.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

So you've decided to replace the transom. ;)
What kind of plywood are you going to use?
Have you priced real Mahogany plywood? :eek:

Check out marine grade BS1088 prices on this website.

http://www.homesteadhardwoods.com/

I am considering using the best marine grade Douglas Fir ply I can find and slaping some mahogany veneer (or a cheap 1/4 inch piece) on the outside. :D

I'd almost be too scared to cut the expensive stuff. :D

[nutmeg2go]

I used the term "replace" too overinclusively. I still have hopes that the transom is sound and that the rot is confined to the upper area where water apparently sat in the motor well. I should know more soon.

With the number of hours I expect I will be spending on this baby, cost of materials is a small piece of the "real" cost. I plan to go with the mahogany ply, both for the transom and for the decking. Some of the seats have been replaced with plywood, and I plan to replace them with solid mahogany (as well as the forward portion of the cabin, which rotted where it joined the deck.

I guess this is why they call it a project. Thank heavens I have the Lyman in the water.