thompsondockside.com

I installed the ribs right into the boat with the keelson and the sister keel in place. I have about six ribs in a row on the port side that needed to be replaced so that's why I only did three . Every other one. Left the others in place to mantain hull shape. Two person operation. One in the boat o...

Just finished steam bending and installing the first 3 of 12 ribs that I need to replace on my Thompson Off Shore. Only broke 1 rib. 3 out of 4 is not a bad average.
Soaked ribs for a couple of days then steamed for 35 min exactly. On to the next 3.
Karl.

Brian. A. You apply CPES first to bare wood. The solvents in CPES will react to a painted surface and make the paint crawl or look wrinkely. Almost like a paint stripper. B. Stain the transom before appling CPES. CPES is a two part epoxy sealer that is the consistency of water. It is designed to pen...

Brad.
If you go back through the restoration section of this forum you will find many posts in regards to steam bending ribs. Also u-tube has some good videos of the process as well.
If I could post pics I would show you the steamer that I built.
Karl.

Just a friendly reminder to those using CPES.
Be sure to wear a good quality respirator style mask and have plenty of ventilation. This product produce some nasty fumes.
Also consider using the cold weather formula as it seems to emit less vapors.
Saftey First.
Karl.

Great tutorial.
The pics sure help to make the steps involved much clearer.
I am getting ready to steam bend about a dozen replacement ribs for my Offshore. I will post later and let everyone know how it went.
Karl.

The really great thing is that this boat is what I refer to as a legacy boat. Most of us spent a lot of time trying to find out the history (prior ownership,original equipment,etc) of our boats. You know most of yours already. Also I would encourage you do think about doing the work yourself. Andrea...

Don't be discouraged. I've seen bigger yard art than what you have. The bottom may well have just been coated with a two part epoxy of some sort. Many unsuspecting wooden boat owners of that time were sold this process as a way to take care of all "problems" of owning a wooden boat. Depend...

Seeing unused factory sites like this remind me of growing up in the Detroit area. I always wanted to sneak into the old Packard plant just to have a look around. Would be nice to see someone find a new use for the Thompson plant.

A Happy and Safe Holiday from here in Northen Michigan to everyone at the Thompson Dockside. Hope to see you all in June at the Rally.
Karl.

All the trim in my former home was southern yellow pine (1900's era) The wood was so hard you could barely drive a finish nail into it without the nail bending. I helped restore a train caboose that was sided in yellow pine and one of the issue's was getting the paint to stick to the replacement boa...

I am running twin 57 johnsons on my Thompson. My transom is about 19 1/2" where the motor mounts. My 35's are the long shaft which leaves me about 15" of lower unit hanging below the hull. Plus the added depth of the hull dispalcement in the water. Is there any water marks (Pond scum) on y...

Great Pics.
We have a boat parade like that where I live. But it is in July.
Of course the temps and wind are about the same as you had(lol)
We have had about 16" of snow here already and the ten day forecast shows
more of the same.
Happy and safe Holidays to all.
Karl.

Andreas,
You are my hero for the day.
The pic of the boat with the inboard has the exact seat that mine has. Who ever did mine added drawers and a cheesy door. Thanks for saving me a huge amount of work.
Karl

I am currently working on a 1955 Off Shore with twim 1957 35 HP. Johnsons. Does anyone have any real life pictures of this model of Thompson. The front seat of mine was modified at some point and I would like to get back to it's original design. Or at least as close as possible.. The main area of co...