TOPIC: Thompson Question

We had a Thompson wooden boat with a 58 Lark 35 when I was a kid. It was narrow, 14, maybe even 13 ft long. Fairly primitive, smooth - non lapstrake sides. I remember the rear seatback was latched in the upright position with a nailcatch type latch (funny the things that stay in our minds). It was a front steer, single deck open runabout. My guess would be late 40s - early 50s vintage. Dad traded it in when I was 4 in 1961 for a new 14 ft Thunderbird because he thought it was unsafe (he probably found out what was really unsafe when I got him in my Switzer with a 235 Evinrude decades later). Anyone have an idea what model it could have been, or have any pics? I remember it was a cool looking old boat.

Sorry Paul can't say that I can help on this one but I'm sure Thompsonboat "Andreas" can help.

Andreas, over to you.

Bob

Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co had dozens of different models. In 1952, for example, they had over 50 models. Really no means to determine what you had from the description. Even with photos it will be nearly impossible to determine the exact model. They typically built 5,000 boats annually. 8,000 in one year was their peak at the Peshtigo factory plus whatever was made at the branch plant in Cortland, NY.

The seat you describe is what Thompson called "Lazy-Back". The smooth hull was most likely cedar strip hull construction.

The old brochures have been scanned and placed on CD or flash drive. It can be obtained at www.wcha.org

I hope this helps.

Andreas

Thank you both for the help. Much appreciated.