A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
FUTCHCAIRO wrote:I WILL HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THOMPSONBOAT, THE THOMPSON BOAT WE BOUGHT NEW, I BELIEVE IN 1954 OR 5 HAD PLYWOOD SIDES, BOTTOM, AND TRANSOM, IT CAME WITH A 40 H.P. EVINRUDE ELE. START ENGINE. THE BOAT WAS NOT TOO HEAVY AND THE LITTLE 40 HORSE WOULD PUSH IT ALONG AB OUT 25 TO 30 MPH, DEPENDING HOW MUCH WEIGHT WAS IN THE BOAT AND THE RIPPLE ON THE RIVER. WE COULD TROLL ALL DAY LONG ON 6 GAL. OF GAS, BACK THEN WE MIXED 8 OZ. OF OIL PER GAL . OF GAS. ON COLD WINTER MORNINGS WHEN WE WERE TROLLIING FOR SPECKLE PERCH THAT THING WOULD PUT OUT A COMPLETE FOG OVER THE WHOLE LAKE AFTER WE HAD BEEN TROLLING FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS.
PA
SEMPER FI
The first Evinrude or Johnson 40 HP motor came out in 1960. In 1954-55 the biggest HP by OMC (Evinrude, Johnson, Gale) was 25 HP. In 1956 they bumped that up to 30 HP and again to 35 HP in 1957. That was the highest HP they had. In 1959 they had a 50 HP and by 1960 75 HP was their biggest. Mercury was always ahead of OMC in the race for the largest HP.
FHC wrote:i have a thomson skiff in good shape i am going to redo it one day . it's 14 fi. long 4ft. wide a real neat boat
That's good. Start off small and work your way up. Let me know when you finish and you're ready for this one.
That would be a fun project. Thompsons and the Lymans Rocket grew up with are all very cool. Perfect craft to cruise down the river or across the lake flying the burgee while sipping a cold brew or mint julep. And of course, you'd need a restored 1960 Ford pickup to tow it around to complete the look.
FHC wrote:t. Thompsons and the Lymans Rocket grew up with are all very cool. Perfect craft to cruise down the river or across the lake flying the burgee while sipping a cold brew or mint julep. And of course, you'd need a restored 1960 Ford pickup to tow it around to complete the look.
Too bad my Dad towed it with a Plymouth Valare station wagon When he bought it from Walter Blount for $1700 it had twin 25hp Evinrude's on it. Mr Blount said it was because he fished the St Marks area, and he told my Dad a sea boat needed 2 motors in case of engine failure so you could get back in. As a kid I used to think "wow, he used this boat in the ocean, that would be cool!". However we only took to Lake Jackson to ski. The Evinrude's failed soon after and my dad bought a used 70hp Merc. When he would launch it we would get water intrusion for a good while until the wood swelled and then the leaking stopped. I pumped that hand bilge on many occasions! One summer we were tasked with scraping the hull paint so he could refinish it. A heat gun followed by scraping the paint by hand was for the birds but it was what we did. The boat got too far gone after the Merc seized. It still sits on his property, but has become totally rotten over the years, and I think the transom finally fell off.
Rocket, you'll like this. 1957 Thompson 16'-7" Sea Lancer (plywood lapstrake hull) with twin 1957 Johnson 35 HP outboard motors. One of my boats.
Andreas
When he bought it from Walter Blount for $1700 it had twin 25hp Evinrude's on it. Mr Blount said it was because he fished the St Marks area, and he told my Dad a sea boat needed 2 motors in case of engine failure so you could get back in. As a kid I used to think "wow, he used this boat in the ocean, that would be cool!". However we only took to Lake Jackson to ski. The Evinrude's failed soon after and my dad bought a used 70hp Merc. When he would launch it we would get water intrusion for a good while until the wood swelled and then the leaking stopped. I pumped that hand bilge on many occasions! One summer we were tasked with scraping the hull paint so he could refinish it. A heat gun followed by scraping the paint by hand was for the birds but it was what we did. The boat got too far gone after the Merc seized. It still sits on his property, but has become totally rotten over the years, and I think the transom finally fell off.