My father-in-law has had a 15' Thompson runabout hanging upside down in his garage since well before I first met him in the mid-1980s. In the spring of just about every year since I married his youngest daughter in 1990 I would ask him if we could get it down and fix it up. "Wouldn't you like to get out on the lake with it again, Dick?" "Maybe next year, Dennis." Shortly before he died in the spring of 2007, I got something along the lines of "Well, that might be nice" for an answer instead. The grand plan is for me to fix it up for the family to use whenever they want. A couple days before Thanksgiving 2007 I pulled the trailer out of the woods and dragged it home very slowly (the tires had frozen in a distinctly non-circular shape). It needs some help, but that was expected after at least 25 years sitting out in the weather. It is not clear what shape the hull is in with regard to leaks. At least it did not sit on the trailer with the outboard hanging off the back of it all that time -- the classic result of that kind of treatment is a hook in the keel which can be dangerous at speed. From what I can see the keel is fair and the sheer is basically flat just like in the family photos from 1957. There are some bits of damage here and there, and the chromed parts need some attention but at least there are not too many of those. All in all, I think it is fortunate it has been upside down all this time which prevented it from accumulating too much stuff. Time will tell.

trailer

needs

help

decal

1957

Dick

Sande

badge

profile

bow

interior

speedometer

Mercury outboard

October 2009 Update: The trailer has been sandblasted and painted -- many thanks to neighbor Andy who oversaw that process and also patiently explained what I needed to do to replace hubs and shocks and whatnot. With the trailer ready to accept the boat for the first time in over 30 years we lowered it down, turned it over, and pulled the trailer underneath. Only one semi-dramtic moment when the boat rotated somewhat farther than we anticipated. In a right-side-up orientation it is easier to see how things look. There appears to be water damage along the outer keel piece and the garboards (from what I have read so far, this is common and not too hard to fix) and some cracks in the windshield frame which are probably from rolling and storage incidents over the years. Other than a missing interior board by the transom, a missing piece to the outboard cowl, and a bench seatback that was added at some point, the boat seems to be complete and as originally built. The only really questionable part is the outer keel piece which ends a couple feet from the transom and it looks like a piece of heavily caulked aluminum covers the joint between the garboards. Anyway, I am pretty sure it is a 1956 Sea Coaster -- trying to get confirmation of that. The fun will come in Spring when, yes, I get to turn it back over to strip the paint from the hull and start the restoration.

trailer

got

help

down

over

upright again

washed

Alice