Sneakboat Dilemma

[william gaynor]

check out the marsh boat in the classified section

 

[Anthony Babich]

Noah if you like gunning out of a classic barnegat if you could find one my fiberglass 12' would be great
best Bill

That looks awesome, what brand is that?

 

[Noah Shaver]

Sorry for no updates on this fellas, and thank you for all of the posts on this thread.

I never did end up purchasing a boat. I'm still building our house so that has been where all of the funds have been diverted.

What I "decided" on was to save up my money as possible and eventually purchase a new 4 rivers Duck Boss 13 with flapper boards. It will likely be next summer before this purchase is made.

I explored the options of 2 BBSB hulls thoroughly and did come across some great options for double decker trailers or double wide jetski trailers. We drive from NC to NJ to hunt, and the double wide jetski trailer isn't legal technically with the width. Looked like most guys had to go beyond legal width to get two of them on the trailer. Didn't want to be taking it through toll booths or dealing with NJ troopers. Came across an awesome double decker trailer for sale but I wasn't sure I trusted it to make the long trips and be reliable in the salt/cold conditions. So that's how I came full circle back to wanting just one boat big enough to hunt 2 guys.

I still keep my eye out on Facebook marketplace and it does appear that the price of used rigs has decreased some. I will have my "perfect rig" it just may be a little while

 

[William Mills]

Great info, thank you William!

Just a heads up the tuckerton decoy show is this coming weekend and there are usually a bunch of boats on display and some vendors there selling boats. A great opportunity to see them in person and talk to people that own those boats

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning all,

New member here, brand new to the sneakboat world. I have joined some Facebook groups and talked to a couple guys already that I believe may be members here. My most sincere thanks to all that have helped me so far!

A friend and myself are in the market for a sneakboat, or possibly two. We are hunting the salt marsh of coastal NJ and our current equipment (jon boat and layout blinds) just isn't cutting it. We spend more time fighting the conditions than hunting.

I'd like to get some insight on one larger sneak boat vs. two. A boat like the South Bay duck boat seems perfect for the conditions we hunt, short coastal grasses and shallow water, but I'm not sure that it would house both of us while hunting. We are both 200-225 pound guys, and I have a great dog that I love having tag along.

I know a boat such as the TDB classic would fit both of us and the dog, but I think it would stick out like a sore thumb with its tall profile in the short grasses. We are mainly hunting the outgoing tide in the afternoons, so when we set up the water is typically pretty high.

Is there such a boat that could hunt both of us and hide well, or should we look at getting Two BBSB style boats? We travel a good ways to hunt so we would need to have some sort of double decker trailer if that were the case so we could take one truck.

Thanks in advance,
Noah

Noah~

Great thread! Lots of good advice here. First question - as I see it - is: How do you want to hide the 2-gunners+dog? As a Great South Bay gunner, I always preferred the traditional laying on back/sitting up to shoot mode - to be able to hide in or near saltmarsh. Also, I want a vessel that is seaworthy, truly shallow draft (~ 3 inches) and light enough to manhandle when the tide runs out.

I built my second gunning boat as a 2-man "sneakbox" because I wanted to take others along who did not have their own vessel. The 2 Sneakboxes for 2 gunners is in many ways ideal - but usually requires 2 boats, 2 trailers, 2 outboards, 2 tow vehicles.

I have not yet scanned the few photos I have of the build. I took an old Herters 'glass cartopper - cut off the transom, split the stem, and widened the hull to 5'2" or so. The design had 2 gunners laying next to each other, facing the bow. We never used a dog but one could certainly find ample room at our feet. We covered the forward half of the cockpit with a canvas lap cover - and such could be "ported" to allow for a dog to enjoy the hunt and earn his keep.

Here is my Dad. He was in his 60s in this photo - and sat up when "hiding" - so could could enjoy his coffee and his cigarette throughout the hunt. I recall him folding a nice high Mallard drake over his right shoulder on this afternoon hunt. When I hunted it by myself, I always lay all the way down with only my head and shoulders on the padded backrest.



Here she is with 2 other friends - after I added the "cowl" to hide their heads. None of us had discovered face masks back then.



She drew the requisite 3 or 4-inches. One mistake I made in building her, though, was molding 2 runners/strakes on her bottom. They helped when launching with wooden beach rollers and for dragging over ice, but....they absolutely grabbed the bottom when the tide ran out. My next vessel was smooth-bottomed.



She was a planing hull and my 15-horse Johnson was plenty.



Having said all that, I have gunned out of and customized numerous boats that meet most of these criteria. All shoot 2 gunners over the side, however. I am especially impressed with the Duck Invader 13 in this regard (well-built vessel all around). I will be customizing an Arthur Armstrong Blackjack soon - so it can be hunted either 1-man - over the stern - or 2-man - over the side.

I have also gunned sitting up seats in some boats - with great success. This is my sneakbox RED-LEG - but with the removable blind I built so I could bring a partner. Among other things, it reinforces Josh's idea that any vessel needs to be fully thatched to fool most saltmarsh puddle ducks.


Hope this helps - and best of luck in your quest for the Perfect Gunning Vessel!

SJS

 

[Eric Patterson]

Steve, what a wonderful photo-essay. Somehow you had the foresight to capture those hunts on film. Who knew all these years later they'd be educational. Great stuff.

 

[Noah Shaver]

Steve, those pictures are amazing, I greatly appreciate you sharing with us. I hadn't really even considered gunning over the bow. I'm not sure I am handy enough to trust myself to cut a boat down the center and "add on," but I have a deep respect for those that are. Definitely something else to consider! Thanks again sir.