Chadwick sneakbox

M

Mark Kilmister

New member
Greetings. I have a sneakbox built in 1963 by Alan Chadwick at his shop in Barnegat - no school like old school! It acquired a layer of fiberglass in the late 70's but other than that it is in its original configuration. My plan is a "floating restoration" over this summer - perhaps the next few summers? I would be interested in exchanging information with others who might have a similar vintage sneakbox and would be happy to share what I have learned about my boat and Mr. Chadwick. I'm looking sand and repair the resin on the deck glass and get a coat of paint on. Also I want the to replace the spray skirt with a grass rail of some kind. I will try share the project's progress and would love to hear any thoughts on how to do the job right!
 
Good morning, Mark~

Great vessel! I, too, await some photos.

I am hoping you have Peter Guthorn's book - for its section on Sneakboxes. Here are a few key pages - for you or others on this site:

Guthorn%20cover%20001_zpsuz8fxb6p.jpg


Here is a Chadwick boat - is it similar to yours ?


Guthorn%20p.%20161%20Chadwick%20Sneakbox%20001_zpsqv7xhgyk.jpg



Below is a Perrine boat, of course, but Guthorn says, on page 151: "The last named [Allan Chadwick of Barnegat], who learned his skills working for J. H. Perrine, constructs a fine gunning skiff nearly identical with those of the 1875 era."


Page%20160%20Guthorn%20re%20Perrine%20Sneakbox%20001_zpslfieq1s4.jpg



I am excited about your restoration. Sitting here in the Peanut Gallery, I have one thought - to discard as you see fit - regarding your plans to add Thatch Rails. Bear in mind that I am a Long Island boy by birth and upbringing - so I am not the expert on Jersey craft that others on this site are.

My understanding is that Sneakboxes did not traditionally have Thatch Rails. Instead, their relatively flat (little crown ) decks had Toe Rails. Rather than thatching their boats before the season - as we have done for a long time on Long Island - Sneakbox gunners typically "festooned" their decks with grass and seaweed once they got to their gunning spot each day. So, the question is: How traditional do you plan your restoration?

Behind my barn right now sits Jamie Woods' Sneakbox built by Van Sant - probably in the 1950s. He bought it from Bill Simonsen at Tuckerton this past September. No Thatch rails - just Toe Rails.

VS%2001_zpskebqprdz.jpg



Having said that, I put Thatch Rails on my own 'glass Sneakbox - AND many (most ?) of the new 'Boxes at this year's Tuckerton Show had Thatch Rails. What we are planning for the Van Sant is to cut one or two pieces of heavy (stiff) plastic netting (like construction site fencing) to the appropriate shape(s) and thatching the fencing (lashing bundles of Salt Hay with jute twine). The thatched netting would travel rolled up and then be set on the decks at the gunning spot - or maybe at the dock since hull speeds will be modest.

If you do add Thatch Rails, my advice is:

1) Use wood - not plastic - because you want them stiff. I have used White Oak, White Ash, Philippine Mahogany and even Cypress. Before installation, I would seal them with spar varnish then give them 2 coats of your duckboat paint. I prefer to use machine screws (backed with washers and nuts) but wood screws will suffice. In any event, I set them in 3M 5200.

2) Glue on square/rectangular wood spacers. I prefer them to round nylon spacers because I think they hold the grass a bit better. And, routing the spacers from a single piece of lumber is very time-consuming and wastes lots of wood IMO.

3) Make your spacers as thin as they can be to hold your species of "grass". No sense carrying all of the extra weight of unneeded grass. For Salt Hay (Spartina patens) or Cordgrass (S. alterniflora) I have found 3/16-inch to be optimal. My "gaps" are 8 or 9 inches long with spacers 1.5 or 2 inches long.

BTW: True to my heritage, I think EVERY DUCKBOAT LOOKS BETTER WITH THATCH RAILS!

I am also wondering what you are planning re Storm Curtain/Breakwater/Spray Shield/Dodger.

Finally, one job I am doing (built but not yet installed) on Jamie's Van Sant is a new motor board. The old one needed replacing AND we are putting some rake in it so the thrust of the outboard will have more "forward" and less "downward" (causing squat).

Hope this helps - I look forward to your progress.

SJS



 
Thanks very much for your reply. My boat is very similar if not identical. Thanks for the note on the toe rail - that would explain the row of copper nails I see right in the place where it would have been. My boat was built for and owned by decoy maker/artist/engineer Charles Murphy. It was gunned out of for many years from Plum Island MA to Kittery ME. I will get some pictures up as soon as i can figure a way to make them less than 100KB.
 
Mark~

I use my Photobucket account to COPY IMAGE right into my duckboats.net posts without reducing the filesize.

All the best,

SJS
 
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/mkilmister/media/IMG_1608_zpsieafjmim.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh515/mkilmister/IMG_1608_zpsieafjmim.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1608_zpsieafjmim.jpg"/></a>
 
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OK folks I think I'm getting the hang of this... Thanks for the photo bucket tip. These are photos of the boat as I purchased it and the boat and trailer on my trailer upon return to my home. I do have many other photos of the folding oar locks, cockpit and decoy rack. I'm happy to share anything folks are interested in. At the moment the boat is tucked away in my shed for the winter. I'm a school teacher so in June I'll get cracking on the project - and let me add that I am thrilled to have found this forum. I've been carving decoys and fooling around with decking my jonboat for many years. Nice to find others with a similar blood type!
 
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