New Sneakbox

Craig F

Craig F

Well-known member
I had the opportunity to purchase an unused Bob Fricke sneakbox a few weeks ago and I could not pass it up. This boat was on display since June of 2000 in a restaurant in Waretown, NJ and was never used or painted. The restaurant was sold and thus the boat was put up for sale. Bob now builds his boats with marine plywood decking but this was the last he made of his newer design that is 100% cedar.

Here are some pictures of it when I got it 3 weeks ago:
get-attachment-11.jpg


get-attachment-9.jpg


And here is it now, almost a shame to have to paint it:

PC230059.jpg


PC230058.jpg


PC230061.jpg


PC230062.jpg


I primarily shoot off the bow so this last shot is it set up as it would be when I am hunting, throw a sheet of fastgrass over the carriage top and it makes it easy to take all our birds at 10 yards.

Bob did a little work on this boat after I picked it up as the gentleman who had it prior just let it sit in his yard uncovered... it is in good hands now.
 
It's a shame to Not hunt boat. You rescued it from a sure death of boredom. I must say that was pretty when it was naked.
 
Nice looking boat! Give us some more details...running lights, motor size, and the approx weight of the boat and speed your getting. Also the blind around the cockpit..homemade or purchased? I have a widgon that I may be interested in get something similar to that. Again great looking boat! Thanks
 
i noticed one exactly like that one on ebay a little while ago, i was tempted, you did the right thing by painting it up, i hope you get duck blood all over it too.
 
This is the Ebay boat.

Story behind it is that Bob Fricke will build a boat for display when commissioned to do so. These boats are 100% cedar instead of his normal cedar bottom/marine ply deck boat. This boat was built in the summer of 2000 and put on display in a south jersey restaurant. The guy that was selling it on Ebay did not really know what he had, did not hunt, and thus did not take care of the boat in the 6 months he had it. These fiberglass over cedar sneakboxes really should be stored inside or at the very least covered up. He did neither with it. When I got it instead of it being in 'perfect' condition as it was described it needed a little TLC.

It was obvious that it had been stored on its side with water about 10 in deep in it. It also had a few small screw holes in the bottom, presumably because it was screwed into some kind of display in its past life. Nothing major aside from the fiberglass on the transom had some delamination due to it being stored out in the heat of the summer uncovered with the cockpit sealed. These boats will cook from the inside out if left in the sun unpainted, uncovered, and with the cockpit cover on. The day I picked the box up I brought it right to Bob Fricke's house and he very graciously fixed everything that needed to be fixed and 'made it like new' I picked it up this Saturday morning and had it registered and ready to hunt by the afternoon, which it did.

The specs:

12ft
White Jersey cedar with fiberglass over it
Stainless steel screws
Aluminum half round over the ice runners, keel, and on the tip of the bow, the first to break ice and protect the bottom, the latter to protect the wood from the trailer.

15hp Yamaha 2 stroke
about 150-175lbs without motor

I don't know about speed but with a 3 gallon gas tank up in front of the cockpit it gets up on plane and moves pretty good and is seaworthy as heck.

The canvas was done by a fellow in Tuckerton, NJ from 1000D Cordura. It is a box canvas that is reversible to shoot off the bow or stern. The 'carriage' top is on there to protect you from the wind and birds overhead. It has stainless tubing throughout.

I left the wood cockpit cover unpainted so I still have some of the original look left over.
 
Craig ,
Where did you get the spray shield with the folding roof?? I need one for my highlands box, like in your avatar, since I have my decoy racks on the bow. PLs let me know , I am anxious for a new one Thanks
Charlie
 
Nice boat! That wood is beautiful. Glad to see it will be getting put to use. I'll have to look it up in my Bible, but I'm pretty sure you sinned by painting it. ;-)
 
Being on the coast, local canvas/dodger maker was able to craft whatever I wanted with either fiberglass wands or stainless tubing and canvas for my barnegat. Cut it down after the first try, and was willing to tweek it as I used it...might be an idea, rather than trying to find a pre fab solution?
 
Thanks for all the nice comments.

When I first started hunting my dad had hull number 17 built by Mr. Fricke and he sold it when I got too big to hunt out of it with him, we went to a southbay until I was done with college and we both went back to sneakboxes. I always wanted a Fricke box like his and while this is the newer, deeper, style that Bob started making since then, it has only improved the design. My dad had Hull 17 and now I have hull 50, it's nice to keep the tradition alive.
 
I bet your open face pbj sandwitch ALWAYS falls Jelly Side Up Too. Ok its a coveting type situaion..

I'll get over it.

SWEET ride. Enjoy it.
 
Beautiful Craig.Nice story,nice tradition in your family.Does the Fricke designed hull have less rocker aft,alowing it to easily plane?
 
Last edited:
Love these stories on this site.

Good work Craig.

BTW, nothin' like hunting the Jersey shore... an incredible place. How're the brant opportunities down there?

Best, A.
 
Craig, wasn't your old box a Frick? What made you get rid of it? That new one is SWEEEET!!! I think that Ken R has your old box. I hunted Ocean City with him last week. That is also a really nice boat. Good luck with it. Kevin
 
You are right Kevin, I have Craig's old Fricke. The craftmanship is excellent. His boats are a little flatter in the aft section which allow them to get up and plane some. That also makes them very stable with very little roll. Looking forward to years of hunting with mine.
Good luck Craig, very sweet rig!!
 
You are right Kevin, I have Craig's old Fricke. The craftmanship is excellent. His boats are a little flatter in the aft section which allow them to get up and plane some. That also makes them very stable with very little roll. Looking forward to years of hunting with mine.
Good luck Craig, very sweet rig!!
Click to expand...
Thanks Ken.That's what I thought.Good design,that will give you more speed without sacrificing stability.
 
Exactly, the hull is just rounded enough to make it very seaworthy and stable but also be able to get up on plane and run along pretty well.

#1: We are covered in brant all season on the Jersey shore, I primarily stick to targeting puddle ducks but I'll take a brant or two from time to time.

#2: I sold the Fricke box that Ken R has now because I had bought a fiberglass highlands sneakbox last season in another 'can't let this one get away' situation. I used the money from selling what is now Ken's sneakbox to purchase the highlands box in my avatar. This season my father got another lab and did not have the room in his sneakbox (a fully-restored original [Gus Sr.] Heinrichs) for the dog, thus he had to use my highlands box. I was using his Heinrichs box for a while until this one came available so now we have 3 sneakboxes between the two of us, but all are stored in garages so for right now we're fine.

A little confusing I'm sure, but this time of year it is hard not to look at what is available in the area. This Fricke is one I could not let get away.

FYI I'm 23 years old (which if some of you are even more jealous I understand) and yes, I work hard and buy everything myself ;-)
 
Andrew, the Brandt are in abundance at the shore. However for some reason they seem much more wary this season. I've hunted Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor and they are everywhere in large numbers. My buddy told me there are thousands of them in the Edwin B. Forsithe Refuge off of Great Bay.
 
Thanks K.

We went after them on Saturday here in RI... but it was a (full moon) high tide when we got out there. Saw very little brant in the distance - unmistakable flight patterns... turns out we were probably in a roosting area - that's what happens when scouting opps are nil.

We're loaded up on blacks though... huge flocks, instead of the onesies, threesies, we're seeing 10sees, blah. With a limit of one, we're letting a lot of the birds come in and go.

We don't shoot buffies or mergs so we use them for live deeks ; )

Have a great season.

A.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top