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 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 bits need some attention. 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