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I hope someone out there has had some experience with a problem that I have in restoring my 1976 Offshore camper. On the hull interior, above the floorboards of my boat there is a coarse weave material similar to jute installed along the ribs. It is held in place along the upper edge just below the gunnels, with a snap on every other rib. The material then drapes down below the floorboards forming a kind of debris shield. It has deteriorated to the point where I have to do something about it. On this model boat I would much rather replace it with something similar instead of having all the ribs and interior planking showing. Does anyone have any info on material that I could use?

I have the same defugulty . It would be nice to find a match

Thanks for the input Scott! It's nice to know I'm not alone. I found a Poly shade screen material at our local home & garden center in a sandy brown color that, I guess would be better choice than vinyl. Our local owner of a fabric store says she remembers years ago people put a similar Jute weave material on walls in their homes for a rustic look (go figure). She is attempting to find out more info for me. I'll keep you informed.

What year is the boat? You wrote 1976. That would mean she is fiberglass. Thompson Boat of Peshtigo didn't make any wooden boats after 1969.

Andreas

Sorry bout that, It is a 1967 not 1976.

That stuff is called cockpit liner or hull liner.

I restored a 1965 Thompson Bros. Sea Lancer model 1800 last year. The rotten cockpit liner was still sorta there. It was almost a burlap bag type material. Hidiously ugly in my mind. I did not try to get a replacement. Most folks would rather be able to see the inner side of the hull planking and ribs.

I have no clue where you may be able to find replacement if you do want it.

Andreas

Thanks for the info Andreas. The stuff in my boat is a very coarse weave far coarser than burlap. Each individual strand is about 3/32" in dia. It almost looks like a fine rattan. It is a blend of 2 or three shades of brown and tan. I may as you suggest just leave the ribs and planking bare if I can't find a suitable replacement that looks like it belongs on the boat.
I have a question for you, Do you know if Thompson ever offered a hinged windshield for ventelation on any of their boats? I'm thinking of a few I've seen on some of the 1960's era wood lapstrake Lymans. A friend of my father-in-law had a 20' Lyman with this feature. It was a really nice option when cruising on a hot day. If I can't salvage my existing windshield and have to make a new one I might consider incorperating something similar even though It might not be original to the boat or to Thompson.

I said burlap looking. Definately not as tight as burlap tho.

Yes, windshields on Peshtigo built Thompson boats had operable front windows. Almost exclusively on anything bigger than the 16 footers after about 1959. Both on the wooden framed and aluminum framed windshields.

Andreas

I was in Lowe's the other day and happened by the carpet section . There was some rugs that were very similar . A little heavier fabric though . Then yesterday at Costco , there was some maybe even closer .

Hmmm...

Thanks Scott, I'll cetainly look into it. Also, I found a web site selling what they call Phifertex Plus it has probably at least 8 colors. Anyway, it looks promising by looking at the web page. I requested some swatches of the material, so we'll see where that leads. FYI <http://canvasdealers.com>

I finally found some material that looks and feels very much like the original inner hull covering on some vintage Thompsons, similar to my 1967 20' Offshore. The material is called Phifertex cane wicker and would be for anyone who wants a nearly original restoration look. It's kind of pricey but I think this will subsitute for the original material very nicely. http://www.patioproducts.com/fabric.html