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just a couple of items if anyone can help. on my '57 sea coaster, there is a piece of wood which runs almost the entire length of the boat and sits on top of the frames. what is it called? more importantly, of what is it made? at the lumber store, they identified it as mahogany. so, i bought a piece. but i just want to make sure - so, here i am. well, just one more thing (i know i said just two). on top of the piece to which i'm refering, there is another piece of wood which only runs about one third the length of the boat. what is that called? top side keel thanks for any help.

Where is this piece located? Is i in the center of the boat in the bilge? or is it up at the gunwales? up high, down low?

You might be refering to the keelson. If so, it should be white oak. Make sure it is all heartwood. You do not want any sapwood.

Structural framing in Thompson et.al. boats is typically white oak.

Andreas

thanks andreas. good point. the piece to which i was referring runs along the bottom of the boat (the bilge ?). as i mentioned, it sits directly on top of the the frames - from the stern to the stem. then, on top of it there is another piece from the stern to about one third the length of the boat. that piece was identified as white oak. but the long piece was very light in weight - which led the salesman to identify it as mahogany (he even scratched it with a knife). BUT, I'll be more than happy to take your word for it. looks like i'm off to the lumber store once more. thanks again...

andre,

If you could post some photos of your boat and the item you are talking about it might be helpful to identify the wood used.
Mahagony and red cedar were used in many boats as well as white oak. What type wood was being used depended on the particular boat manufacturer and what area of the boat the piece were being used in.

Light weight car top type boats used a lot of the lighter wood like cedar, mahagony and spruce. High wear areas on these light weight boats like the keel were oak.

Good Luck,

Phill

thanks phil. if my kids lived in town i'd be able to put some pictures up. i had to send miles photographs in order for him to identify my thompson. but the wood in question was badly deteriorated oak. when i picked up the boat it was literally sitting in the burn pile. the decking had been burned, but most of the hull was still intact. however, after sitting for a L O N G time outdoors, the frames and some structural members were badly damaged. i know that this story is not unfamiliar. thanks again...

andre,

Sound like a good long time project to me. On Thoimpson's all ribs, keelsons, stingers and keel were Quarter sawn White Oak on most models. On lapstake hull planking was fir plywood with a outer layer of a paper type product, like our current MDF, to give it a flat surface for paint. This was done so the finish would not show the wood grain. Fiberglass was just coming out at this time peroid and Thompson did not want to change so they tried to imitate the flat look of fiberglass. On strip bult boats the planking was western red cedar. On some models of the seats were red wood.

What model boat do you have? Was Miles able to tell you that? If we knew which model you had it would give use a better idea of what the hull and decks were made of. If you go back to the main page of this site and look under the "What Do I Have" tab and give use the info asked for there we can most likely determine which model you have.
If you can email phots you are welcome to send them directly to myself at "pblank@new.rr.com".

Allway happy to help out were ever I can.

Good Luck,

Phill

'57 Sea Coaster is mentioned in Andre's first posting. Does not indicate if Peshtgo or Cortland built.

She should be something like 15'-2" ceterline length.

Planking will be Douglas fir plywood (NO paper face on the 1950s boats). The upper most plank (shearstrake) will be Philippine mahogany. Plywood deck is Philippine mahogany. Windshield frame and transom and seats and deck toe rail (if there is one) are solid Philippine mahogany. Ribs, keelson, stringers, keel, and stem are white oak.

Andreas

you guys are great! 71068CC was identified by miles to be a '57 sea coaster. also, i mentioned to him that there is a P burned into the transom to the right and below the number. miles also thought it might be the deluxe model because there are two cockpits, and i found pieces of what look like red vinyl in the rear cockpit. as i stripped the hull, i found that it may have originally been painted a salmon color (according to my wife). it certainly didn't look like a manly hue to me it was PINK! i purchased quarter sawn white oak for the ribs. we are working on those now. this weekend we discovered the bottom half of the transom has rotten wood. i'd like to save the top half (with the serial number) and somehow have it joined to a new bottom half. but that issue is for later. i'm glad you told me about the windshield. as for the decks, all i was left with was the kingplank (?), which a friend of mine did identify as Philippine mahogany. there was a similar plank immediately after the rear seat. this must be the same material. AGAIN, thank you very much. i am learning so much.

If and only if this is a Peshtigo built boat, hull ID "71068CC" with a possible "P" indicatesthis is either a 1947, 1957 or 1967 model year boat, the 1,068th boat of all models made that year. The "CC" and "P" are codes fo the guys in the factory that were in charge of getting this particular boat out the door. It was not their initial of their name.

To tell the difference betwwen 1947, 1957 and 1967 dimenions and details must be utilized.

The 1957 Sea Coaster model 477 had double cockpits with a mid deck between the front and rear. It should also have decking around the motor cut out at the stern.

Are you aware that the Thompson Boat et.al. brochures are available for purchase on a CD-ROM? www.wcha.org and www.dragonflycanoe.com are the sources.

Andreas

a while back i did get to borrow the cd from a friend for a couple of days. according to the cd, i believe it is the model 477 you mentioned. all the decking had been removed, but the structural members (some of them) were left intact including the frame around the motor where a deck would have been attached. there were also remnants of a deck just behind the front seat - frame and a piece of what was probably a deck on top of it. the dimensions are not exact because of damage to the starboard side. but i told miles it is approximately 15' 2'' from stem to stern, and the beam is about 5' 6". i'm hoping to get the cd for a birthday or christmas gift - i have left plenty of HINTS!! thanks again...