thompsondockside.com

I am restoring a 17' Cruisers Inc. Commander and I'm just about ready to start painting and staining. I was hoping to get some suggestions on what stain to use. I was at the boat show in Marinette and really liked the stain on John Hart's boat. Here is a picture of the boat before I started restoration.

http://www.joshcal.dns2go.com/Temp/Commander.jpg

I am also looking for paint for an early 60's Johnson and a late 60's Evinrude. Thank you for any help.

Josh

Welcome aboard! Great looking boat. Not many of those little cabin jobs by Cruisers, Inc. around. What is her hull ID (I am keeping a database) and what length is she?

Correct paint for outboard motors can be obtained via a link at www.aomci.org

Not sure what stain was used by Cruisers, Inc. in the good old days. Are there any old components you can use to find a match? I have been using Z-Spar Red Mahogany on my Thompson restorations. It actually is a bit too red. Their Brown Mahoagny is a pretty good match to the Thompson Bros. (Peshtigo) stain used on the 1959 Sea Lancer.

Experiment a bit and maybe mix some red into the brown. Use test pieces. Stain 'em and then put some varnish coats on 'em to get a good sample.

Andreas

Thank you for the information. The hull ID on the registration is 15124. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere on the boat. If I measured correctly, the length is just over 17’. The registration says it’s a 1961, but I purchased the Thompson Catalog CD at the Marinette boat show and it looks just like the model 370 Commander in the 1960 catalog.

Would you have any recommendations for primer on the hull and stainable putty for over screw heads? I’ve seen several posts discussing CPES, where and when should that be applied?

Thank you.

Josh

Josh, the hull ID (if that is the actual number stanmped into the transom of the boat - and not a state assigned number) would indicate a 1961 model year boat.

If you look very carefully at te 1960 and 1961 brochures, and note the side windows on the cabin. Your boat's windows match those of the 1960 model "Royal Commander." In 1961 they are a different shape.

Also, does the front deck have vinyl covering it - with a strip of varnished wood around the perimiter? That was done in 1961 but in 1960 the entire deck would be varnished.

CPES should be applied to bare wood. It will not penetrate thru paint and varnish. Any good quality marine primer paint is OK. I have used Interlux primer and primer from George Kirby, Jr. Paint Company of New Bedford, Mass. I have used Smiths "Fill-It" to fill the screw holes and also a 3M product called something like marine filler. White lead was used originally but it is very toxic. I think you can get it from Kirby Paint.

Hope this helps.

Get er done for the 2008 Thompson Boat Rally!

Andreas

Josh,
Check out my site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/classicoutboards/
I have restored several Seacampers and have multiple photos of this type boat. I think there is even a 1960 catalog that has photo of this boat.
check out restoration forum as I just posted about stain and a photo of my Seacamper.

Josh... FYI, in case you haven't seen my previous posts about stain color..

I used Interlux Schooner, and Interlux Red Mahogany Filler Stain... (I had bought four different filler stains to play with to see which one I liked... Zspar Red and Pettit Red and Brown)

I used a scrap piece of Mahogany, and did test patches of each, plus four or five 50/50 combinations. In the end, I felt 100% Interlux Red was the best for me. If you do some tests, be sure to put at least several coats of varnish on before making your decision. When I did the boat, it looked pretty red at application time, but after 5-7 coats of an amber varnish, it gets a deeper/muted tone.

Good luck.

John Hart

Thank you all for the help. When I bought the boat it did have vinyl on the deck, you can kind of see it in this picture.

http://www.joshcal.dns2go.com/Temp/Commander2.jpg

It had a yellow tint to it, unlike the cabin vinyl which is white. There were no strips of wood around the front deck perimeter, but after removing the vinyl, it is very obvious by the outline on the deck where they were. I’m guessing the vinyl was added later and the strips were never put back on. I shouldn’t have any problem using the outline to replace the strips. I will definitely have to try the Interlux Schooner and Interlux Red Mahogany stain. I think choosing the stain will be the most difficult part of the restoration.

I will bring it to the 2008 rally.

Thank you.

Josh

Hi guys,

I'm new to posting here and don't want to start a new thread. Hopefully someone can give me some insight.

I have a 1962 Thompson 17' from Cortland. I picked it up with my dad in '62 and it's been in his and now my garage ever since. We've used it in the Adirondacks and Lake Winnepesaukie NH.

I just sanded, primed, sanded, painted the hull and now I'm ready for my second coat of high gloss white enamel.

How do I prep the first coat? I searched the site for an answer to this but came up dry.

BTW, I used zspar standard mahoghany #1095 filler stain on the windscreen and it looks pretty close to original to me.

Have a great summer! Tom

Sand her lightly with 150 grit or so sand paper. Clean, clean, and clean. And then paint her.

Andreas

Thanks Andreas.

Do I need to get every bit of the shine off? Should I wipe her down with thinner?

Best regards, Tom