Another Newbie...
Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 3:28 am
Nice to meet you all. My name is Doug and I am a newbie to Thompson Boats.
I fell into this pond quite by chance… particularly given that I live in Ontario, Canada and in the last six months, I have acquired not one but, two Thompson Boats!
About 30 years ago, I bought old locally-made Peterborough Boats and would work on them as a hobby (built white oak transoms, steam bent Stems, etc.).
On a whim in August this year I bought a 1954 Thompson Sea Skiff (Open Model) that had been restored by a man living on the east end of the province. The burn numbers were C48886. I wanted it because it was in great shape and would be a good fishing boat for small nearby lakes. The boat came with a 1963 Johnson 18HP outboard that I am in the process of selling off. It also had a custom built cover. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a 1955 Mercury Mark 7, 7 ½ HP – the model my dad used when I was a kid. It has good compression – wondering if it might just run…
At the time of buying that boat, oddly enough, another Thompson was on offer – a 1957 Runabout. It looked to be in great condition with a 1990’s 30HP Evinrude motor I could sell to defray costs. The owner said this boat was a Sea Skiff – it measures 15’3” (Miles has suggested it will likely measure 15’2”). The pictures looked good, but, I wasn’t sure how the layout would work for fishing on my own; it was a long way away on the western end of the province; etc.
The 1957 stayed on the market for quite a while and periodically, I would look at it. Then a couple of weeks back, I had reason to go to the area and see it (I was picking up an antique barn trolley for my timber frame building). Further, the owner of the 1957 had another guy interested in the motor. It took little time reviewing the transom, stem, etc. for me to confirm the boat was solid. He had kept the original Johnson shifter/cables in a shed and left the wiring harness intact in the boat with switch plates, etc. Crazy… crazy… I bought the second boat and trailer with the provision I could pick it up in the spring.
With the length being 15’2”, I am wondering if this is a Model 473 Sea Coaster or a Model 463 Sea Skiff?
I am on a run up north today to pick up a 1958 Johnson 18HP with electric start and a mounting bracket for a trolling motor. The bracket is actually missing its polypropylene mount pad (which I will replace with mahogany). I have also located a 1958 Johnson JW 3HP to put on that mount.
The ’57 comes with the molded plastic wind screen – I would like to replace it with a mahogany one – if anyone has a similar model, I would like to get some dimensions and build one (I’m an engineer so, I will CAD up some drawings for these, until I get it right).
I read some of Miles’ notes about the fact that boats were bought by dealers stripped and then they would add hardware later. I think this is the case with the ’57. One of the cool pieces is a deck mount rotating search light. It is actuated by a small chromed captains wheel on the dash.
Looking forward to getting this all up and running!
I fell into this pond quite by chance… particularly given that I live in Ontario, Canada and in the last six months, I have acquired not one but, two Thompson Boats!
About 30 years ago, I bought old locally-made Peterborough Boats and would work on them as a hobby (built white oak transoms, steam bent Stems, etc.).
On a whim in August this year I bought a 1954 Thompson Sea Skiff (Open Model) that had been restored by a man living on the east end of the province. The burn numbers were C48886. I wanted it because it was in great shape and would be a good fishing boat for small nearby lakes. The boat came with a 1963 Johnson 18HP outboard that I am in the process of selling off. It also had a custom built cover. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a 1955 Mercury Mark 7, 7 ½ HP – the model my dad used when I was a kid. It has good compression – wondering if it might just run…
At the time of buying that boat, oddly enough, another Thompson was on offer – a 1957 Runabout. It looked to be in great condition with a 1990’s 30HP Evinrude motor I could sell to defray costs. The owner said this boat was a Sea Skiff – it measures 15’3” (Miles has suggested it will likely measure 15’2”). The pictures looked good, but, I wasn’t sure how the layout would work for fishing on my own; it was a long way away on the western end of the province; etc.
The 1957 stayed on the market for quite a while and periodically, I would look at it. Then a couple of weeks back, I had reason to go to the area and see it (I was picking up an antique barn trolley for my timber frame building). Further, the owner of the 1957 had another guy interested in the motor. It took little time reviewing the transom, stem, etc. for me to confirm the boat was solid. He had kept the original Johnson shifter/cables in a shed and left the wiring harness intact in the boat with switch plates, etc. Crazy… crazy… I bought the second boat and trailer with the provision I could pick it up in the spring.
With the length being 15’2”, I am wondering if this is a Model 473 Sea Coaster or a Model 463 Sea Skiff?
I am on a run up north today to pick up a 1958 Johnson 18HP with electric start and a mounting bracket for a trolling motor. The bracket is actually missing its polypropylene mount pad (which I will replace with mahogany). I have also located a 1958 Johnson JW 3HP to put on that mount.
The ’57 comes with the molded plastic wind screen – I would like to replace it with a mahogany one – if anyone has a similar model, I would like to get some dimensions and build one (I’m an engineer so, I will CAD up some drawings for these, until I get it right).
I read some of Miles’ notes about the fact that boats were bought by dealers stripped and then they would add hardware later. I think this is the case with the ’57. One of the cool pieces is a deck mount rotating search light. It is actuated by a small chromed captains wheel on the dash.
Looking forward to getting this all up and running!
