thompsondockside.com

Now that I have your attention....

What is the accepted method for measuring the length of a runabout? I've always thought you measured from the tip of the bow straight down the middle to the transom.

However, when talking with a former builder from the Chetek boat company, he said the measurement was always from the tip of the transom along the gunwails to the transom. This accounts for the fact that my 16' Chetek Duchess was marketed as a 17' boat.

Did any other boat manufacturers do this?

Yup, this was the way most if not all boat manufacturer's measured and labeled boat lengths. It was good marketing! Made the boat longer!

My 1955 Thompson Thomboy 14 footer is actually something like 13'-4" centerline length.

Sometime in the mid or late 1950s the Outboard Boating Club of America (OBC) encouraged boat builders to include both the gunwale length and centerline length in their brochures and descriptions.

Who did you speak to at Chetek?

Andreas

Andreas, that was Loren Horton, the same gentleman you interviewed for your fine article on the Chetek Boat Company some years ago. I talked with him on the phone for quite a while.