Followed me home.

[Dave Wermuth]

This followed me home in a big snow storm. It is, i think, a Thompson Hiawatha. I have not measured it but 16' seems right. The rails have been off for a couple years i think. It has opened up some. I added the thwart and temp short 'wales just to get it home and hold it together.

I have a question about the decks. Has any one seen decks like this before? The ribs seem to extend into mortises cut into the deck. I have most, if not all of the deck beam parts. The decks are very thin and appear to be plywood. So you suppose the decks may not be original? It certainly appears to be stock to me. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I know that Thompson offered long decks as an option in their catalog, but I have never examined one. I seem to recall that Paul Miller has a Long Deck Thompson. Hopefully he will chime in.

 

[Paul Miller]

Hello Dave and Dave,

Those don't look original to me.

I have attached pictures of the long decks I have. They are solid Philippine Mahogany.

Hope that helps,

Paul

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Thanks.

Thanks for the info. The combings look identical to mine. I have a bundle of sticks that also very possibly are the same as the deck beams as shown. I am puzzled as to why someone would go to all the trouble to mortise the deck edges, especially given the tendency of them to rip out. AND, the rib tops don't seem to extend as one would expect. Paul, I am going to save your photos to my Thompson file for refernce. Thanks...

I am going to take a much closer look at what I've got, I could be missing something by not looking real close.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Hi Paul,

One other question: How long are those decks?