Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, All~
I thought I had begun a post on this vessel last Winter - but I can find nothing. Happily, I have found my edited photos and have been wrapping things up of late.
I do not know where this scull (aka sneak boat) was built - or who built her. She is now owned by a friend who purchased her from the estate of a well-to-do gunner who hunted the lower Hudson Valley. We do not know if this boat was hunted on the Hudson River itself or on one of the larger lakes in that vicinity. It is likely from the early 1900s. She appears to be white cedar over sawn (cedar?) frames and was 'glassed long ago.
Here is how she arrived in February.
View attachment Intake 01A - parked outside.JPG
And here she is inside - out of the cold.
View attachment Intake 04 - inside on floor.JPG
She came with her specially curved sculling oar. The owner hung onto it - rather than risk losing 'midst all the clutter at Pencil Brook Boatworks.
View attachment Intake - Oar on floor.JPG
As with all sneak boats I have seen, the gunner lays on his or her back and works the scull through the port in the transom.
View attachment Intake - Cockpit from fwd.JPG
The bow is held down - so the rafting birds up to which the gunner is sculling/sneaking - do not see or hear the bow slapping by a substantial weight in the bow.
View attachment Intake 08 B - Bow weight 55 lbs.JPG
The boat without its ballast (or oar) weighs 172 pounds.
View attachment Intake 06 - Weight 172 - minus oar and fender.JPG
She is 14' 9" LOA.
View attachment Intake 24 - LOA 14-9.JPG
A skinny craft - skinnier than many canoes.
View attachment Intake 25 - Beam 34.JPG
A typical depth for traditional duckboats - where the gunner lays flat to hide.
View attachment Intake 26 - Depth 14 inches.JPG
More "intake" details ahead....
SJS
I thought I had begun a post on this vessel last Winter - but I can find nothing. Happily, I have found my edited photos and have been wrapping things up of late.
I do not know where this scull (aka sneak boat) was built - or who built her. She is now owned by a friend who purchased her from the estate of a well-to-do gunner who hunted the lower Hudson Valley. We do not know if this boat was hunted on the Hudson River itself or on one of the larger lakes in that vicinity. It is likely from the early 1900s. She appears to be white cedar over sawn (cedar?) frames and was 'glassed long ago.
Here is how she arrived in February.
View attachment Intake 01A - parked outside.JPG
And here she is inside - out of the cold.
View attachment Intake 04 - inside on floor.JPG
She came with her specially curved sculling oar. The owner hung onto it - rather than risk losing 'midst all the clutter at Pencil Brook Boatworks.
View attachment Intake - Oar on floor.JPG
As with all sneak boats I have seen, the gunner lays on his or her back and works the scull through the port in the transom.
View attachment Intake - Cockpit from fwd.JPG
The bow is held down - so the rafting birds up to which the gunner is sculling/sneaking - do not see or hear the bow slapping by a substantial weight in the bow.
View attachment Intake 08 B - Bow weight 55 lbs.JPG
The boat without its ballast (or oar) weighs 172 pounds.
View attachment Intake 06 - Weight 172 - minus oar and fender.JPG
She is 14' 9" LOA.
View attachment Intake 24 - LOA 14-9.JPG
A skinny craft - skinnier than many canoes.
View attachment Intake 25 - Beam 34.JPG
A typical depth for traditional duckboats - where the gunner lays flat to hide.
View attachment Intake 26 - Depth 14 inches.JPG
More "intake" details ahead....
SJS