Thompson Hiawatha

[Carlton]

Hi All,
Just brought home a Thompson canoe from a friend in Rhinelander, WI. . Not too bad of shape, but 4-5 ribs need to be replaced. One curiosity is the mount on the floor and the brackets on the back stem. It appears to be set up with a sail and rudder, but don't know if Thompson Bros. ever made such a canoe. Any thoughts and ideas will be appreciated. Thanks! Carlton

 

[Dave Osborn]

Carleton,
You Hiawatha was set up for sailing. The bracket on the stern stem held the rudder and the block on the floor is a mast step.
I’ve seen many Thompson canoes, and have never recognized one to have a factory sail rig. I have seen home made sail rigs on a few.
From the rib/half rib configuration I think your canoe was built after 1938. I arrived at that conclusion because the artwork in the 1939 catalog shows the narrower ribs and half ribs.
Prior to that the ribs and half ribs were wider, giving the illusion of a solid floor with no spaces between the ribs and half ribs.
Dating Thompson’s definitively is difficult.
Congratulations on gettin the Hiawatha...my favorite canoe!

 

[Carlton]

Thanks Dave.
Any idea were I could find a rudder, or how to set one up?

 

[Benson Gray]

Thompson offered sail rigs as shown below from their 1942 catalog. The rudder gudgeons on your canoe appear to be the same style as Old Town used so you may be able to find one used on eBay or craigslist. Reproduction pintles are available from http://www.wcha.org/content/springfield-fan-centerboard-company and others if you decide to make one. There is a lot of information here and the book at http://www.wcha.org/store/canoe-rig-essence-and-art has more details. See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/10672/ for some pictures of how these are often rigged. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Dave Osborn]

The gudgeons on the stern stem look the same as Old Town used. You could look for an Old Town sail rig. They come up for sale(no pun) on this website’s classifieds sometimes, eBay, and Craigslist on occasion.
I believe there some listed on eBay currently.

 

[Carlton]

Hi Dave,
It's been a while, nearly 3 years since I brought the Thompson canoe home. I had a few other canoe projects to complete and can now focus on the Thompson.
The canvas is off, and see I only have 3-4 ribs that need replacing. After purchasing Todd Bradshaw's book, I definitely want this project to have a sail.
I've contacted V&L Stipping in Appleton, and plan taking it there soon.
I have seen a couple ebay sites having the sailing components that could work. The sites are asking $1,100-$1,200. I'm skeptical buying off ebay, because the prices seem high, and the sellers are no where near SW Wisconsin.
Do you have any idea, or know of anyone who may know of any other sources?
If I could find plans, I could make the wooden components, but I have no idea wear the find the hardware.
Thanks,
Carlton

 

[Benson Gray]

A good source for reproduction hardware is Bob Lavertue at the Springfield Fan Centerboard Company. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/builders-suppliers/springfield-fan-centerboard-company for his contact information. The other option is to watch eBay, craigslist, and the classifieds here to see if a sailing canoe comes up for a reasonable price. Often you can buy a canoe with a sail rig to get what you need and then sell the canoe alone for most of the original price. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Dave Osborn]

Carleton,
I’m no help when it comes to finding a sail rig. Restored a few, but outside what’s been stated, I know of no affordable choices.
I haven’t read Todd’s book, but it may have designs that you may be able to build yourself.
What I do have, and you are welcome to them, is a pair of Old Town lee boards. The bottoms are a little rotten and would need some repair or shortening to be rid of the rot. I also have a mast ring thwart that may or may not help you. I’ll never use it.

 

[John Sand]

I've acquired bits and pieces of vintage canoe or kayak rigs by watching Craigslist, Ebay and FB Marketplace. I don't mind mixing and matching, I certainly haven't paid $1000. Two resources for new sailing gear are SailBoatsToGo and Balogh Sail Designs (BSD).

 

[Carlton]

Thanks Dave, I'll be up in the Rhinelander area sometime this summer and I'll reach out to you.
I did find a complete set of Old Town sailing components on eBay ($800) on the east coast. The gentleman is willing to ship $200-300, bring the total near $1,200.
I like building canoes and bring them back to life but this endeavor will be costly which I'm not sure I'm willing to take on.
I bought the canoe for $400. I'm taking it to V&L stripping Friday, another $400-$500. Repairing the seat, canvas, varnish and paint approximately another $300.
Add $1,200 for the mast, leeboards, rudder etc. Let's not forget $400 for a sail. So I'm approaching total cost of $3,000, and I haven't even considered my time.
I can't imagine the completed canoe would be worth the $$$$ I put in to it. As I said, I like bringing canoes back to life, but I don't own a money tree.
I guess by listing the various costs I've making a decision to abandon the sailing idea and go to a simple, less costly restoration.
Hobbies can be expensive.

 

[Carlton]

Dave,
I thought I'd give it a shot by having the canoe professionally strip. Friday, I drove to V&L Stripping (Appleton WI). Craig had my canoe done in 3 hours ($410) and it looked great. What a great time saver! I told Craig I from his business from one of your posts. He said your a frequent customer. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I try to promote the value in having a canoe professionally stripped. it was a time saver for me. I used to bring him as many as 5-6 at a time and stay overnight. You just can’t do as good a job as V&L Stripping does with a couple cans of stripper and a bale of steel wool.
Glad it worked out for you!