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