Recent content by Steve Sanford

Good morning, Anthony! Truly amazing - all around! Of course, it makes me feel like an absolute slug..... I remember those Eltros. I believe they were built in Islip. However, I believe they were long gone before the Age of Galvanized Boat Trailers. For verisimilitude he needs to show...

Good morning, Keith~ What a sweet vessel - and an intriguing mystery! Having studied duckboats my entire life I can say that I have never encountered anything quite like it. The craftsmanship and condition are exquisite - but the purpose is a bit perplexing. That oblong "port" through the...

Good morning, Richard~ Excellent work! I can think of a number of reasons why you masked the mating surfaces of the deck framing. What material will you be using for the decking? All the best, SJS

Cody~ Roy is right on the money. Use open-weave burlap and tile mastic. I have not burlapped lots of birds (I actually hope I have done my last....) - but I have always wet the burlap before embedding it in the mastic. I force the mastic into the weave with both a chip brush and my gloved...

Richard and Calaam~ An important distinction between true (traditional) BBSBs and traditional Long Island/Great South Bay gunning vessels is the length of the cockpit. Cockpits on the latter are about the length of a man (supine). I have a difficult time getting in/out of a BBSB - the cockpits...

Calaam~ Gorgeous vessel! Your plight is similar to that faced by those who hunt from canoes. I solved it this way - with my Sweet Gherkin. Notice how I kept the aft coaming flush with the deck - so I can sit on the deck whilst paddling. The sharp-eyed viewer will note that I put a hole...

RM~ One of my favorite waterfowl books is Successful Waterfowling by Zack Taylor (Boating Editor of Sports Afield when I was a kid.) He assumes that the reader has the interest and skills to make his own equipment - including a bunch of nice gunning vessels. By and large, that ship has sailed...