Starting Oct. 2010

Stretching the bow. Inside bow stem and inside gunnels.

Shimming up to meet the splashrail and keel.

Steaming white oak ribs Nov. '10

Bow Ribs jigged inplace.

Easy part done. Now it gets tricky.

 Mahogany transom on Dec.'10, - 9 coats already on it.

Dec.'10-Two planks on - bow view.

Two planks on -starting at the splash rail.

Glue and screw on white cedar planks.

Enough planks on to remove the old mold boat. We lifted both boats in the slings. Moved out the strongback and put the trailer under, lowered both, and then lifted up the new boat and rolled out the old boat.

New hull in the slings - Jan.'11. The strongback work bench is back in place.

Old boat back on it's trailer. The shims are removed, holes patched up, painted, and back in the water. Feb.'11

Closing up the bottom, May,'11.

Steam bending the splashrails. May,'11.

May,'11 - the bottom is on; no keel or bowstem yet.

Shaping the bow stem. June, '11

Bowstem attached and shaped, keel and splashrails

bolted and glued on, fairing compound on,

fiberglassing the keel. June, 2011

Fiberglassing the transom to the waterline. June,'11.

Planking the sides.

Chipping the excess epoxy glue.

Sanding and Duracoating the insides.

Installing rubrail

Caprails on July, 2011

Foredeck being epoxied - July, 2011

 Transom Blocks

Painted splash rails, seat rails in, coats of finish going on

Seats in, on trailer.

First Sea Trial - breaking in the engine - Aug.12, 2011

Cruising Blackwater Sound - Aug.'2011

R-Grampa's Boat was decommisioned

and is now a storage shelf at R-Camp

R-Grampa's Boat decommisioned

stern half - now a storage unit at

R-Camp, Sunrise Lake, FL

Photo credit: The Real Runabouts IV, By Bob Speltz ©1982.

Page 18 shows a Thompson Zephyr but the photo was flipped.

Note that the stern seat extension should be starboard side

since the outboard tiller is on the port side. This one also shows

2 sets of oarlocks and seat braces.

Photo credit: The Real Runabouts IV, By Bob Speltz ©1982.

Photo credit: The Real Runabouts IV, By Bob Speltz ©1982.

This is a Thompson model similar to what we have now built with a small forward deck and covered gunnels.

The new Rex-Craft with white oak ribs, cypress bottom, and Key Largo (Sweetenia Mahogoni)

Mahogany sides, seats, and deck.

R-Grampa's Boat was originally pale yellow with a white bottom and a light varnished interior. The sun-yellow "fleet color" was added after the rotton bottom was replaced upon arrival in Florida in 1992, after H. Andrew. The green color was added to the sides in honor of Grampa Reg Green and The Evergreens, which place is now called R-Place, St Germain, WI. The dark walnut stain was added to the interior to cover a multitude of repairs, including 26 sister ribs, and big loads of epoxy / sawdust mixture that was holding the transom together.

The original boat had no title; upon arrival in Florida we took a guess that it was a 1955 and so it was registered in Florida. Upon later remodeling, I found the hull number, D532175 engraved in the transom. I read somewhere, that the D was the first initial of the guy who planked it (Dave, Doug, or Dick?) and that the next two numbers would be the year '53, and the following 4 numbers are the serial number of the boat that year ( at least 2175 were made). Good luck getting Florida to change the registration ! The bow has an engraved metal plate that said "Thompson Brothers - Peshtigo, WI" which got lost in the sawdust of the second rebuilding.

When you buy a new motor at Markey's Marine, they give you a

private labeled bottle of wine, a Mercury hat, and a Mercury t-shirt;

an excellent choice for the 1st voyage ! Voted Best of the Keys!

It's no wonder the bottom flexed up and down

while underway; it was held together by canvas

and paint. I saved this boat 3 times, then I built

the new model.

Eventually all the original zinc plated screws

turned into balls of iron oxide rust and made

visible bumps in the paint. When the transom

went bad 17 years later, I gave up and started

the new version.