thompsondockside.com

I haven't even picked up my Thompson yet and already I'm hearing about how crazy I am for getting a wooden boat. Oh, they're so hard to maintain! They leak! They're slow. Blah. Blah. Blah. Stop already! (Groan)

at least we arent just another white plastic hull on the water. I considered naming my boat "Glass Master". But no one seems to get it.

I have found that you get that sort of reponse from people who don't have the skills to work on a wood boat. But when they see it or ride in it they are in awe. As far as being slow I have a 75 hp on my 16 foot 202 and let me tell you it ain't "slow". My boat does not leak although if it did leak a little it would not be a crime and it would most likely stop after a while. If you leave a fiberglass boat on the water for a long period of time it will leak for sure. The Coast Gaurd teaches this in there boating classes because so many people go buy a fiberglass boat put it in a slip throw a cover on it and not have a auto bilge pump then come back a month later to find ther boat sunk. Your boat will never loose it's value. Can the fiberglass boat owners say the same. When you get it home post some pictures. Mike

Thanks, Mike. Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to putting my wood skills to work, and don't pay much attention to the doubters. The boat that I'm getting does have the "leak a little at first" syndrome, but I plan on doing whatever it takes to fix that, and as you said, if it still leaks a little, it is no crime. Thanks to this forum, I have a pretty good idea about what direction to take in my repairs. But enough speculation, let's get this puppy home!

One of the many reasons I wanted a wooden boat, was because I thought it demonstrated something about the owner... I thought that just about anyone can go out and get a loan and buy a 18K Bass boat, but it takes something more for a person to maintain, or restore and preserve a classic wooden boat.

Last Thurs, it was a beautiful day in Minnesota (Jul 3rd), and I got my boat out for the first time. This was after hearing all of the guys in Texas buzzing around for the past few months.

At the lake Thurs., there was one guy at the bottom of the ramp, looking at the apparently damaged skeg on his outboard... Another guy was in a boat at the dock, with the cover off of his outboard.

My daughter and I floated my Seacoaster off the trailer.. One of the onlookers said a single word.... "beautiful"... I said thank you, and cranked up the 75 Johnson, and putted out to open water....

Thinking back, I believe that every time I have launched the boat, someone has said some sort of complement. One fella said that he liked seeing "a boat that looked like a boat".

A friend of mine that had stopped by one day, said he liked things "that were the real thing".... meaning I think, that wood and paint and varnish are more natural than the alternatives..

Overall, I think there is a bit more maintenance, patience, and maybe nerve racking with a 50 yr old boat (almost 60 now). However, it is nice to know that the folks that see your boat tomorrow may be seeing one like it for the very first time, or may just be reminded of times past when they had seen them during family vacations.

Good Luck.

John.

Well said, John.

There really isn't anything like the feeling I get when I put my '59 Chetek lapstrake in the water and get the "thumbs up" from those around us. I really believe we wooden boat people "get it". What's "It"? The appreciation of things well made by craftsmen and women from a bygone era. The desire to preserve these magnificent boats for future generations is a big part of owning a woodie. The pride of ownership is just outstanding. Anyone who gives a wooden boat owner a hard time about upkeep, leaks, etc. is a dufuss
and should be ignored and avoided.

That's my two cents and I'm sticking to it!

John

Thanks, Guys. I was just venting. It was my brother-in-law who I went to all excited about my boat, since he grew up boating on the Chesapeake, and I instead got an eye roll and horror stories on everything from a friend who ended up with a huge gaping hole in his boat, to tales of "electrolysis" that eats right through wooden boats. I thought he'd be a buddy once I got to work. I won't even ask now. Oh well. I'll bet new friends will be made over this beauty.

Be sure to post a picture as soon as you can. Brother in law, huh? Enough said!

So I rock the boat at both ends of the spectrum. I have a 58' Thompson and 2002 Mastercraft Prostar 209. One has 50 hp where I have to mix the gas and oil and one has 335 hp Northstar with EFI where a computer adjust my air to fuel ratio depending on what elevation I am at. One has a AM radio with a leather strap and the other has an iPod hooked up to a couple thousands watts of power and a dozen speakers. Needless to say I fell I am an expert on the wood versus glass debate. I have it every weekend when deciding which to take out. So here are my two cents worth.

1. Like any good parent I can honestly say I love them both. I love the Thompson like a newborn baby while I love the Mastercraft like a ferrel cat my wife just had to have. But I do love them both. It is easy to love a fiberglass boat. There is nothing to it and that is why so many people do it. Wood boats are for those of us who have a little more soul and a little more passion for a thing of beauty and simple elegance.

2. Some glass boats leak more than wood boats. I was at an in the water boat show looking at the new ski boats and all of them had water in the bilge. One particular was a new $130K plus ski boat where the bilge pump seemed to be running every 5 minutes. People need to get over the leaking issue. So long as it is a nuisance not a hazard I think it is part of boating.

3. I have recieved "Nice Boat" comments on both boats. I think right now the score is about 230 - 10 with the Thompson in a commanding lead. I also look at the quality of the comment givers. The comments on the Mastercraft typically start with "Dude...." and come from a kid driving a Honda with a coffee can muffler. The Thompson comments start with "Oh My Gosh! My dad/uncle/grandpa had one...." and come from people with a sincere heart felt interest in the boat.

4. I have about 5 times the money in the Mastercraft and I can honestly say that if the house caught on fire I would be pulling the Thompson out first and let my good friends at Boat US Insurance take care of the Mastercraft.

5. I look forward to enjoying my glass boat all summer long. I enjoy my wood boat all summer AND all winter when I sneak out to the garage to peak at the last coat of varnish.

(Looking back at 1-5 my bias is revealed but I will keep going)

Basically it comes down to this. It is real nice to have a daily driver that you can hop in, turn the key and drive like you stole it. No doubt. There is certainly something special about slipping a wood boat off the trailer and motoring out on a perfectly calm morning. What I have found is there is a place for both fiberglass and wood boats. There is just no place for fiberglass IN a wood boat! Cheers

Good comments... After I made my last post, I was hoping I didn't seem snobbish against fiberglass and aluminum boats... I do like them all for different reasons. (By the way, mine is only 48 yrs old, not 58... I have been working on too many numbers in my head lately....)

Having both, you sound pretty objective about the benefits and concerns of each type.

One thing I like about a Thompson type boat, is that I am able to work on pretty much anything that I think it needs. With a big modern boat, I think I would have a harder time matching the competence of the builder.... like the difference between a 1965 Chevelle and a new Caddy.

I also have to admit that even though I like the smell of Fiberglas and Resin, I especially like to walk out in the garage to get a whiff of varnish now and then... especially since I was the one that did all the work to get it there.

John.

I've always been partial to calling those certain peeps watercraft "plastic-snot"
But I guess thats not too nice....

Even though this is an old thread, I agree with all of you. I will never get tired of wiping all of the drool off of the 51 year old mahogany deck on my Sea Lancer. And like what was mentioned before, the ones that are admiring it are people that know what it takes to keep it looking like this. The place that I launch from most of the time is right next to a Sailing Club, and those guys are like a bunch of little kids when I pull up.
Everyone keep up the good work on this site, and hopefully spring isn't too far away.
Bill Dunn

I too agree, My 61' Sea Coaster is the only thing that will drag the old timers out of their cars to come down and take a look. (you know those guys, the guardians of the public ramps)

I just found two cents so I thought I'd toss it in. I too have Wooden boats and a Fiberglass boat. Nothing too exotic on either front. The Sylvan is a deck boat that I got a very nice deal on and now all my in-laws can go out together on one boat and enjoy an afternoon. It is dependable, comfortable and scoots along respectably. It sits in the same slip that my 62 Lyman used to occupy and oddly enough, no one has walked by and made a single comment, good or bad about the Sylvan. I couldn't get the cover off the Lyman without someone coming up and complementing it. I suppose that says it all right there. I also find myself daydreaming about what I need to do next on the Grady White when I'm out in the Sylvan. When I'm out in the Lyman, I don't even remember that I have the Sylvan. I still think about the Grady White, but not as much. Bottom line, I love wooden boats, and like all boats. I just believe that wooden boats have more soul to them than a fiberglass boat does.
Enjoy whatever you have and be safe!

Ray
PS- I even put some Mahogany pieces on the Sylvan. Didn't help....

And now my two cents.

On the local river there is a long dock where boaters tie up to eat at the restaurants that over look it. I'm sitting with my brother havin' a brew and watching as people walked along that dock. Not a single person stopped to look at any of the many different glass boats. Some really nice. At least half of them, young and old, stopped and looked mine over. What was most gratifying was seeing the old-timers quicken their step to approach my boat, stand and point things out to whomever was with them.

A guess alot of it is that our boats are uncommon in the daily boating flow, so people take notice over "just another white hull". But I also feel that wooden boats, especially old ones, do indeed have a soul, or at least we impart one on them. They speak to the passion and simplicity of another time, and I think people get that or feel that.

Glass and wood have there places in the boat world. My place is on the wooden one.