mason smith
New Member
I'm restoring a rowboat which I was told was a Thompson, ordered in 1948 from L L Bean. I have studied the Thompson catalogs on Dan Miller and Benson Gray's CDs. It is not a Thompson. L L Bean archivists have found the boat in the Bean 1956 catalog as Round Bottom Boat. The Bean catalog says that it was made for Bean by the Old Town Canoe Company.
One odd thing is that Old Town catalogs do not seem to be included in the Dragonfly CDs, even though Benson Gray is, I think, of the long-time Old Town owning family.
In searching for this boat among the catalogs, the closest match I found was with rowboats from Skowhegan Boat and Canoe Company. Length and beam specs never matched but construction details were close: wooden seat knees, cove and bead strip planking, wooden oarlock pads on top of gunwales, a vee bottom all the way to transom.
I expected this boat I have to come from the 40s and to derive from the 30s, because it is a transitional boat, a rowboat first and outboard second. It wouldn't be any good with much power. Similar boats in the thirties were for about 4 hp.
Now here's this boat so late, 1956, in Bean, made by Old Town, an anachronism. It's advertised as good for up to 10 hp but I do not believe it should have that much power, because it has too little beam aft. It's still really a displacement boat. I believe 10hp would plane it and it would be dangerously unstable on a plane.
It would be a sweet if heavy rowboat, 185 lbs but with a relatively narrow waterline, low wetted surface, especially good for tandem rowing, great for a pair of kids to get all around the lake without gas.
But here's my question: is it at all possible that Old Town took this boat up from the recently deceased Skowhegan Boat and Canoe Company?
And secondly, does anyone know how one can get the whole history of Old Town catalogs? I would for many reasons love to see the entire sequence, every boat Old Town ever offered. Is such a complete story available, anywhere?
One odd thing is that Old Town catalogs do not seem to be included in the Dragonfly CDs, even though Benson Gray is, I think, of the long-time Old Town owning family.
In searching for this boat among the catalogs, the closest match I found was with rowboats from Skowhegan Boat and Canoe Company. Length and beam specs never matched but construction details were close: wooden seat knees, cove and bead strip planking, wooden oarlock pads on top of gunwales, a vee bottom all the way to transom.
I expected this boat I have to come from the 40s and to derive from the 30s, because it is a transitional boat, a rowboat first and outboard second. It wouldn't be any good with much power. Similar boats in the thirties were for about 4 hp.
Now here's this boat so late, 1956, in Bean, made by Old Town, an anachronism. It's advertised as good for up to 10 hp but I do not believe it should have that much power, because it has too little beam aft. It's still really a displacement boat. I believe 10hp would plane it and it would be dangerously unstable on a plane.
It would be a sweet if heavy rowboat, 185 lbs but with a relatively narrow waterline, low wetted surface, especially good for tandem rowing, great for a pair of kids to get all around the lake without gas.
But here's my question: is it at all possible that Old Town took this boat up from the recently deceased Skowhegan Boat and Canoe Company?
And secondly, does anyone know how one can get the whole history of Old Town catalogs? I would for many reasons love to see the entire sequence, every boat Old Town ever offered. Is such a complete story available, anywhere?
