Steve Sanford
Well-known member
I spent most of last week on Long Island - designing a pilothouse, visiting with bunches of old duck hunters - replacing a kitchen faucet and a soffit for my Mom - and looking at some old duckboats. This one belongs to a friend of a friend and came most recently from Fire Island. The only info I have is that it was built by someone from the Babylon area whose name probably starts with Z. My role was to give advice on how to put her back in fighting trim.
I just had a few minutes, so I took no measurements, but she is roughly 12' LOA by 4' beam. She probably draws about 3 inches - and she is heavy for her size.
Her Grey color, lack of oarlock stanchions, and limited space for decoys suggests he was made to be tended by a bigger boat. Although we Long Islanders tend to call any gunning boat used in the open bay a "scooter" - she is more aptly called a flattie. Since she is designed for one gunner, a "single flattie" is a good description.
Her decks are gently crowned and her bottom is almost dead flat, both athwartships and lengthwise.
She was clearly made by a professional boatbuilder, with excellent woodworking and nice hardware throughout.
This view - over the stern - shows the backrest in what I believe is the wrong end of the cockpit. The "seat" can serve as a seat but also would keep the shotgun muzzle pointed up and away from the boat or boots. You can also make out the full-width floorboards in this picture.
The runners are not shod with brass or steel so she was not intended for anything but occasional dragging over the ice. I think their primary purpose is to stiffen the bottom lengthwise - as would normally be done by stringers on the inside of the boat. There are no transverse frames in the cockpit - and I think the bottom plywood may be 1/2 inch (which would account for the surprising weight).
This angle shows the flat hull sections - and also that the bottom plywood sits within the side boards. This is a good practice to cover the end-grain of the plywood - especially important on an un-glassed hull - but also prevents me from determining the thickness of the plywood. The lack of rocker tells me she would be a bear to tow - and may require the services of the U-boat Commander....
The removable seat sits in chock on each side of the coaming. Two brass pins engage in these holes, then...
This brass barrel bolt - on the underside of the seat - is slid into this single hole on the other coaming.
Here's the seat/muzzle rest in place - ready to gun.
Forward of the cockpit is a lead spray shield - to turn back any errant seas before they can hit the coaming and land on the gunner's neck.
All of the fasteners and hardware - like this bow fairlead - are either brass or bronze - nice stuff!
Here is a view of the framing up forward. That little oak frame is attached to the stem with a copper rivet.
Mostly, this boat just needs paint. But, there were a few places where the original scarphs in the plywood were peeling up - these will need special attention.
My overall recommendations are:
1) Sand the outside of the entire boat with 80-grit on a random orbit sander - just to remove and flaking and to expose a fresh surface, either to paint or epoxy. Hand sand in those areas that cannot be done with the orbital.
2) Then, fill any screwheads or open seams with linseed oil putty.
3) For the delaminating plywood, saturate the areas - 2 inches to either side - with marine epoxy resin (straight). Then, after a few hours, but while the epoxy is still tacky, put a 4-inch wide piece of 6-ounce 'glass cloth over the area and then saturate the cloth with more resin. The next day (or later), fair the cured area with the orbital, first with 50 grit then with 80 grit - being VERY careful not to grind through the cloth and lose all the benefit of the repair.
4) Then, paint the entire boat with Flat Marine Enamel (FME) from Lou Tisch at Lock, Stock & Barrell ( http://www.lockstockbarrell.com/ ) . Once the first coat of paint is thoroughly dry, it should be lightly sanded with 150-grit - then a second coat should be brushed on. Because fir plywood is so coarse-grained, it is likely that a third coat would be a good idea. One gallon should do the whole job.
I hope I get some photos of this vessel on Great South Bay later this fall.
And - if you have any ideas about the builder - please let me know.
All the best,
SJS
I just had a few minutes, so I took no measurements, but she is roughly 12' LOA by 4' beam. She probably draws about 3 inches - and she is heavy for her size.
Her Grey color, lack of oarlock stanchions, and limited space for decoys suggests he was made to be tended by a bigger boat. Although we Long Islanders tend to call any gunning boat used in the open bay a "scooter" - she is more aptly called a flattie. Since she is designed for one gunner, a "single flattie" is a good description.
Her decks are gently crowned and her bottom is almost dead flat, both athwartships and lengthwise.
She was clearly made by a professional boatbuilder, with excellent woodworking and nice hardware throughout.
This view - over the stern - shows the backrest in what I believe is the wrong end of the cockpit. The "seat" can serve as a seat but also would keep the shotgun muzzle pointed up and away from the boat or boots. You can also make out the full-width floorboards in this picture.
The runners are not shod with brass or steel so she was not intended for anything but occasional dragging over the ice. I think their primary purpose is to stiffen the bottom lengthwise - as would normally be done by stringers on the inside of the boat. There are no transverse frames in the cockpit - and I think the bottom plywood may be 1/2 inch (which would account for the surprising weight).
This angle shows the flat hull sections - and also that the bottom plywood sits within the side boards. This is a good practice to cover the end-grain of the plywood - especially important on an un-glassed hull - but also prevents me from determining the thickness of the plywood. The lack of rocker tells me she would be a bear to tow - and may require the services of the U-boat Commander....
The removable seat sits in chock on each side of the coaming. Two brass pins engage in these holes, then...
This brass barrel bolt - on the underside of the seat - is slid into this single hole on the other coaming.
Here's the seat/muzzle rest in place - ready to gun.
Forward of the cockpit is a lead spray shield - to turn back any errant seas before they can hit the coaming and land on the gunner's neck.
All of the fasteners and hardware - like this bow fairlead - are either brass or bronze - nice stuff!
Here is a view of the framing up forward. That little oak frame is attached to the stem with a copper rivet.
Mostly, this boat just needs paint. But, there were a few places where the original scarphs in the plywood were peeling up - these will need special attention.
My overall recommendations are:
1) Sand the outside of the entire boat with 80-grit on a random orbit sander - just to remove and flaking and to expose a fresh surface, either to paint or epoxy. Hand sand in those areas that cannot be done with the orbital.
2) Then, fill any screwheads or open seams with linseed oil putty.
3) For the delaminating plywood, saturate the areas - 2 inches to either side - with marine epoxy resin (straight). Then, after a few hours, but while the epoxy is still tacky, put a 4-inch wide piece of 6-ounce 'glass cloth over the area and then saturate the cloth with more resin. The next day (or later), fair the cured area with the orbital, first with 50 grit then with 80 grit - being VERY careful not to grind through the cloth and lose all the benefit of the repair.
4) Then, paint the entire boat with Flat Marine Enamel (FME) from Lou Tisch at Lock, Stock & Barrell ( http://www.lockstockbarrell.com/ ) . Once the first coat of paint is thoroughly dry, it should be lightly sanded with 150-grit - then a second coat should be brushed on. Because fir plywood is so coarse-grained, it is likely that a third coat would be a good idea. One gallon should do the whole job.
I hope I get some photos of this vessel on Great South Bay later this fall.
And - if you have any ideas about the builder - please let me know.
All the best,
SJS
.