thompsondockside.com

HI ALL, I AM A NEW MEMBER TO THE THOMPSON FAMILY OF BOATS, GREAT SITE TO LEARN AND RESTORE THESE WELL BUILT WOODEN BOATS, JUST PURCHASED A 1962 18FT THOMPSON WOODEN BOAT, NOT SURE WHAT MODEL THIS IS, BUT I DO KNOW SHE WAS BUILT IN CORTLAND N.Y. , I HAVE A ESTIMATE ON SOME REPAIR WORK NEEDED, APPARENTLY THERE ARE ABOUT 20 RIBS THAT NEED ATTENTION AND REPAIR AND OR REPLACEMENT, I WANT TO DO THIS MYSELF OVER THE NEXT 2 MONTHS OR SO AND NEED SOME ADVISE ON WHERE TO BUY THE CORRECT WOOD FOR THE RIBS, AND BEST METHODS OF REPLACING THEM, I AM TOLD THAT THE COVER BOARDS NEED TO COME OFF, THOMPSON USES RING NAILS FOR FASTENING I WAS TOLD BY A SHIPWRIGHT, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THESE COVER BOARDS WITH OUT DAMAGING THEM? ANY INFO ON DOING THIS WORK IS A GREAT HELP. THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE

JEFF SANDERSON

Jeff,

Welcome Aboard!

The ribs of Thompson's were made of Quarter sawn White Oak. Preferred would be air dried white oak if availalbe in your area. Other wise kiln dried can be used. In either case I do recommend soaking the lumber for a few days before steaming the ribs. Do all your machining of the ribs prior to steaming.

I know some boats had their decks attahced with ring shank nails, but not all. Check to see if what you have are screws or nails. If the deck fasteners have filler over the top of them clean that away and see if they are sloted head screws or nails. If they are attached with nails you can cut the nails using a thin blade between the deck and the strings. A Multi-Tool would work great here.

In this forum there are some good posts about replacing the ribs by one of our members from just a month or two ago. Do a search and you should be able to locate it. He included some pictures also in the post.

Replace all the fasteners with new silicone bronze fastners. With screws you can either plug the old screw hole with glued in wood or go to the next larger diameter size screws.

As you go along post you questions here and we should be able to answer them for you.

Also there a lot of good books out there on doing repairs and restorations on wooden boats. Wooden Boat Publications has many available. www.woodenboat.com

Good Luck,

Phill

Welcome to the site.
If you post pics of the boat most likely Andreas or somebody will be able to tell you the model.
Ribs should be white oak unless Cortland boats were built different from the Peshtigo boats. If you search back thru the restoration topics you will find some great info on rib replacement. Look for a specialty wood supplier in your area. Do not use red oak. It has no rot resistance.
Try using a thin pry bar to start to lift the covering board to expose the nails. To keep from damaging the wood you can use a thin board under the claw of what ever tool you use to pull the nails. Or cut the heads off , remove the boards and pull the remaining shank.
Take your time and have fun.
Karl.

thank you again for the info, i'll be sure to look into every thing, any thoughts on original gas cans? not sure if there is one tank or two?

thanks again
jeff

HI AGAIN, FORGOT TO ASK ABOUT THE FLOOR BOARDS, MINE HAS THIS MASONITE TYPE FIBER BOARD, IS THIS WHAT THOMPSON USED ORIGINALLY? OR MAYBE SOME NICE HARDWOOD BOARDS INSTEAD.

THANKS ALOT
JEFF

Jeff,

Yes, the floor board was simular to masonite. I am not sure what the exact material was.

Good Luck,

Phill

OK GREAT, THANKS PHIL, YOU ARE A BIG HELP, NICE TO HAVE SOME WHERE TO GO FOR CORRECT ADVISE.

GOOD DAY TO YOU
JEFF

ANY IDEAS PHIL ON TH GAS TANKS?

THANK YOU,
JEFF

Jeff,

Watch Ebay and go to swap meets, outboard motor and boat rallies, etc.

They are out there you just have to do some searching.

Good Luck,

Phill

Jeff.
Go to the Antique Outboard Motor Club Inc site on the web.
I believe it is www.AOMCI.org
Great resource for old outboards and they have a "for sale" section as well.
Hope this helps.
Karl.

thank you guys, now back to the ribs, quarter sawn air dried white oak is the wood to use for the ribs, how should i buy it? in strip form or hit the lumber yard and pick up some boards and make my own ribs? how thick does the oak need to be? i am told i need 20 ribs, i have not measured the lenght yet, any thoughts on how much i need and lenght?

thanks again

jeff

I used 1/4 sawn oak that was kiln died because that is what I could get.
I bought 5/4 planks and milled the ribs to size useing a table saw.
The ribs on my Offshore were 5/8 thick by 1 and 1/8 wide. I made them 6 feet long and that left plenty of length. Measure yours for thickness and width.

Amount of wood you will need depends on how knot free and straight grained the planks are that you get. Sometimes it looks good and then once you start to cut it things show up.
All of this can be done by you with just basic tools. I would encourage you to do this yourself as you will find the "satisfaction" factor to be great. My concurrent car project along with my Thompson is a 1941 Ford that a tree fell on. The previous owner was going to scrap the car. I won't.

Go back thru the restoration posts to the one marked "Rib Replacement Pictorial" This will give you an idea of what you will have to do.
And start working!!
Karl.

p.s. Jeff.
I am thinking for your forum name that you are a Harley guy.
If so, you should know what end of a tool to use.
Karl.

THANKS KARL FOR YOUR HELP, YES I RESTORED A 1959 PAN BACK IN 1985, STILL HAVE HER, I'LL KEEP IN TOUCH.

HAVE A GREAT DAY
JEFF

Be careful buying old gas tanks. Check them close inside for any rust or any other build up of residue from old gas, ect. I squeezed 2 12 gallon plastic tanks under the rear seat of my '59 Sea Lancer and have a valve to switch from one tank to the other. With my '63 Merc 85 h.p. being as thirsty as it is, it is nice to have plenty of fuel along.
Bill