Gentry Gentleman's Runabout by Neel Thompson

Gentry Gentleman's Runabout by Neel Thompson

Posted by Gayle Brantuk on Mar 15th 2013

Neel Thompson has been at the Glen-L Boatbuilder Gathering in Tennessee the past couple of years and this time, brought his almost-finished Gentry. Neel's boat is truly a work of craftsmanship even at this point in the construction. He added a couple of unique features. First, he changed the deck so that's it's all on one level--the design details a raised area from the transom to about two thirds of the way forward as shown in the line drawings below. He also added when he called a "mother-in-law" seat forward of the cockpit. I never saw the seat opened because there was an issue with the mechanism for opening it. Neel did mention that it is quite small and doesn't have a lot of room for larger people. I think he mentioned the word "coffin" at some point... The decking doesn't have the caulking applied yet in this video. Neel was debating on what color to use, white or even black or somewhere in between. Also, the droplets on the wood that you see in the video are from the rain--not some special effect or defect! You'll have to watch the video to the end to find out about his "beer delivery system"... Neel's interview was a lot of fun as he always have several friends that comprise somewhat of a "peanut gallery" standing by to mock him at random moments. They all seem to enjoy each others company and it's sure nice to have them at our Gatherings. Anyway, enjoy the video and please leave a comment to encourage Neel. And Neel--thanks so much for letting us do this video and for being such a great sport. Oh yes, and thank you for taking our Gentry and bringing it to life in such a beautiful form! dsn-genla Gentry Line Drawing   Gentry Runabout