Who has a Thompson Fisherman??

[skinny5382]

I really like the looks of the Thompson Fisherman and would like to hear from those who havwe fished from one. Looks like tons of fishing room and rail space for rod holders.

Is this a boat that I could trailer back and forth? I drive about 1 hour up to the lake.
Thanks, any other info about the boat would be appreciated.

[Bggeary]

I have a thompson 24' fisherman. It's a nice boat. Wish it had a wider beam. Mine is 4500lbs dry and trailer is 1800 +/=. I used to trailer it, but have a slip now. Had to buy a new truck to haul it with.

[DaFisherman]

I have a 24 ' Thompson 240 Fisherman(2nd one) . ABSOLUTELY love this boat. 1995 ,fish 4 guys NO problem. I use to trailer it 55 miles each way,but now have it in a slip. I am selling this boat ,only due to health reasons. Perfect Lake Erie boat My boat is listed on boat page on this site . Fully equipped $15,000 or best offer Add # 367

[skinny5382]

Mine is 4500lbs dry and trailer is 1800 +/=. I used to trailer it, but have a slip now. Had to buy a new truck to haul it with.

That's my biggest concern, not being able to trailer. I drive 62 miles one way and make about a dozen trips a year.

I love the way the boat looks and its fishability but am unsure if its not too big for my situation.

The prefect boat would keep you dry, ride well in the water and be light enough to trailer. Is that possible???

[skinny5382]

What kind of truck do you haul your Thompson fisherman 24' with?

[Russ Hunsaker]

I had a joint ownership of a 240 Fisherman hard top but sold out my half of the boat. It wasn't a bad boat and certainly not a high quality boat. I got lucky when I found it because it had been in inside storage for years so it didn't have any rot in the floor, transom, or stringers. It's been 6 seasons since I bought it so I am pretty sure the transom has issues and it's just a matter of time b4 the rot sets in. It's just the way Thompson's are.

The boat had a small V8 which was a little underpowered but it was good on gas. I know they made the same boat w/ a V6 which seems like it would be VERY underpowered. This boat had the extended hard top which really reduced the fishing room. We could fish 4 guys for walleye or perch but there was no extra room that's for sure. The guys had to be good casters or else you could end up w/ hooks in your back.

The boat had oversized trim tabs which I would say is a must. The boat will beat the hell out of you without tabs. When running w/ the tabs down there would be tons of water coming over the bow, that is when I was really glad it was a hard top. The boat had stress cracks all over the place and the original windows in the hard top had broken so we put plexiglass windows in the boat.

As was mentioned above it would have helped if the boat had an 8 1/2' beam instead of the 8' beam. Even w/ the stress cracks and everything else that was wrong w/ the boat I liked the boat for some reason. Probably because I thought of it as just an old beater fishing boat. Plus I practically stole the boat, I paid $3,200 w/ a tandem trailer!

There are a lot of them on the lake but I would guess the bulk have had repairs from rot problems. The guy that docked next to us had the same 240 Fisherman and it was 5 years newer and he had the floor, transom, and half of the stringers replaced. If you buy one be diligent and check for rot in these areas.

Russ

[skinny5382]

Thanks Russ for posting your experience. I agree, I think many boats have rot of some sort.

What do you think of the Aluminum boats like StarCraft Islander? Not sure how they would handle the Erie chop.

[fishin2]

I owned a 22' Islander for many years. It had a small 4 cylinder, I/O, trim tabs. It was a breeze to tow and launch, handled the big waves good but you had to not beat yourself up. Aluminum sounds like it's gonna pop if you hit some of those 4 footers too hard. Trolled Lake Ontario for salmon a lot too, overall, a very good starter boat as well as a trailering boat, could probably pull it with a 2 wheel drive 1/2 ton easily, Mike