Evolution of our fleet

P

Pete Meyer jr

New member
I think its interesting the lengths we go to get out on the water in pursuit of our feathered quarry.

About 8 years ago a group of friends and I got into waterfowl hunting. Hunting deer and turkey our whole lives, it was strange we never took advantage of what was right in our back yard. Living on the south shore of Long Island, the large spans of marsh, creeks (cricks) and ponds are a waterfowler?s wet dream.

Starting with little money, equipment and experience, we had to learn on the fly. Luckily an old friend of my father, a point lookout native, used to be an avid gunner. Jeff taught us the ins and outs after a few years a gunning by ourselves. To this day, every season we continue learn together.

We started with a 13 ft 1967 sears aluminum boat. We would launch it out of the back of my 79 f350. Powered by an old evinrude 9hp, we learned the marshes of Reynolds channel.

After a few years we bought a 17 ft un branded aluminum row boat in Rye NY. Took it all the way home on top of my buddies mom?s suburban. That was a very interesting ride.

For some reason we always waited till the last minite to do work on the boats, this boat needed a hell of alot of repair work.
We gunned out of that boat for a few years until someone left it in the water too long and it filled with ice. Very frustrated and a little ticked off we wound up pulling it out of the water and up a jetty wall with the old jeep.

The following year it needed another makeover.

Last year Jeff brought his 17 ft homemade garvey down from upstate on the hudson. He told us ? guys, i like what youve done with the aluminum boat, but its time for an upgrade.?

Well again, right before the season we started work on the garvey.

Now we have an old sneak boat in the fleet and we are working on a sunfish conversion. Our group is growing, and so are the boat ideas.
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Hello Steve,im familiar with you gunboat/sunfish conversion. Its what inspired me to pick up the sunfish. Great work.

That sneak boat in the pics belongs to my buddy josh. It has an interesting story. It is in the other post from yesterday

Allegedly the boat belonged to someone that either owned or worked at a yacht building company.
That individual wanted to sail with his child so he had the boat made at the yacht company. Supposedly its a one of a kind mold. It?s completely made of fiberglass aside from the coming, bulkheads, knees and transom motor mount.

The boat made its way to a hunter at some point who made the conversions. It was sold a few times to hunters on the island.

Ill see if josh can fill the holes in the story.
 
Steve,

The sneak boat was originally built by the Owner or Ocean Yachts on the Mullica River in Atlantic County, NJ as a sailing/racing sneakbox for his grandchildren. I was told several were made several with this one acquired by a friend of the Owner ( I believe a police officer from Atlantic City) and converted from sail to oar power and repurposed as a duck boat. The exact dates are lost but the oar locks were lost and a motorboard added with the boat registered as homemade in 2014. My guess would be that she was sailing through the late 1980's and converted to a duck boat around 1997 - 2000 (the trailer was from 1997).

Great BBSB, as you can see from the one photo it disappears against the bank beautifully. I'm happy to see it being used as it was meant to be.
 
Frank~


Thanks very much. Perhaps I can see it in person sometime - maybe at the SSWa Duckboat Show next Fall?


All the best,


SJS

 
If all goes well, we might try to have three or four boats at the show. Maybe some newly crafted decoys as well. If busy lives permit that is..
 
John~


SSWA is the South Shore Waterfowlers Ass'n. For 40+ years they have run a Duckboat Show & Waterfowl Festival on Long Island. It actually predates - and maybe inspired? - the Tuckerton Gunning & Decoy Show (in NJ in late September). I ran it (SSWA Show) for about 10 years when I was still on LI.


It is a 1-day show - and MUCH more modest than Tuckerton. It is typically held on the last weekend in October. They had to change the venue to an inland spot this year because of Covid. Since the early 90s it has been held at Cedar Beach - which is right on Great South Bay - and the 'lantic Ocean is just across the Ocean Parkway.


I announce it here every Fall. I will do so again once the details are decided. Let's hope Hurricane Covid is gone and we can return to a Bay-side venue.


All the best,


SJS

 
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