long boat of the type. Scale of model 1 % inch to the 

 foot. 



Given by Cornwall and Weston, boatbuilders, 

 Alexandria Bay, New York. 



NEW JERSEY SNEAKBOX, 1890 

 Rigged Model, usnm 26623 



This type of hunting skiff was developed by com- 

 mercial duck hunters, during the 19th century, on 

 Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and was intended to be 

 rowed or sailed. The boat carried a single gunner 

 and his gear, including a large-bore gun, ammunition, 

 decoys and supplies for at least a day. The boats, 

 built of white cedar, w-ere about 12 or 13 feet long 

 and were light enough to be dragged over the mud 

 flats. 



The sneakbox was a fast sailer, having many of the 

 characteristics of a racing "scow," and has continued 

 in use, not only as a gunning skiff but also (in modified 

 form) as a racing sailboat and afternoon sailer on 

 Barnegat Bay. Some are rigged as jib-and-mainsail 

 sloops. Like the melon seed, the sneakbox steered 

 with a yoke and steering lines. Folding oarlocks were 

 employed. The rig was a single boomed spritsail, 

 the mast stepped well forward in the boat. 



The model shows a square-sterned caravel-planked 

 skiff, fitted with a dagger-type centerboard and docked 

 except for a small cockpit about amidships. The 

 sheer is nearly straight and the deck much crowned, 

 the keel is rockered, and there is a small skeg, the 

 rudder being hung outboard. The stem is formed by 

 the keel being brought up in a sweep to meet the 

 sheer. The transom is upright and flat. In appear- 

 ance the entrance is somewhat like the end of a tea- 

 spoon; the run is easy and flat. The midsection, 

 which shows a moderate rise in the floor, a very slack 

 round bilge, and much flare in the topside, may be 

 described as "dish-shaped." Washboards are shown 

 fitted along the gunwale aft to hold decoys from falling 

 overboard. The spray cloth for the cockpit and its 

 hatches are shown. 



The model represents a skiff about 1 1 feet 9 inches 

 long, about 4 feet 3 inches beam, and nearly 13 inches 

 depth to crown of deck. Scale of model is probably 

 1 J4 inch to the foot. 



Given by J. D. Gilford. Tuckerton, New Jersey. 



AU SABLE RIVER SKIFF, 1877 

 Rigged Model, usnm 25899 



This model represents a fishing skiff" of a type once 

 used in the Au Sable River region in Michioan for 



trout and grayling fishing in rapid streams. The boat 

 was related in form to the lumbermen's drive boat, 

 or lumbermen's bateau. It is described in Forest and 

 Stream (vol. 3, August 1877, p. 33) by Thaddeus Nor- 

 ris, author of The American Anglers' Book. 



The model is of an open, double-ended, flat-bot- 

 tomed skiff or plank canoe which was made of white 

 pine; the bottom in profile is somewhat rockered; the 

 sheer is moderate and the stem and stern are strongly 

 raked; the sides have marked flare. The bottom is 

 flat athwartships. A small live-well, usually about 2 

 feet long, was built about one-third the length from 

 the bow; the model shows widely spaced floor timbers, 

 one at a semibulkhead abaft the well and two at the 

 well bulkheads. Breasthooks are fitted bow and stem 

 at the gunwale, and inboard of these at the gunwale 

 hand grips are cut through the sides, port and star- 

 board, bow and stern. The bottom is planked fore- 

 and-aft. The sides are each of a single plank and the 

 bottom of two or three planks. No side frames are 

 shown nor are there gunwale stringers or chine 

 timbers. 



The boats usually had two or three thwarts. When 

 used on lakes these boats were sometimes fitted with 

 oarlocks or tholes and some were fitted to sail with a 

 small spritsail and a shifting leeboard. The construc- 

 tion was that of the "drive boat," or dory, and was 

 quite light; these boats could usually carry a fisherman 

 and guide and about 200 pounds of baggage or gear. 

 Normally the boats were paddled or poled. 



The scale of the model is 2 inches to the foot, so 

 that the skiff represented was 18 feet 6 inches long at 

 gunwale, 3 feet 6 inches extreme beam, and 1 foot 1 % 

 inches deep amidships. 



Given by D. A. Fitzhugh, Jr. 



EGG HARBOR MELON SEED, 1885 

 Rigged Model, usnm 25658 



The Egg Harbor melon seed, a name apparently 

 suggested by the shape of the hull, was a type of wild- 

 fowl hunting boat developed at Egg Harbor, New 

 Jersey, for use on lower Barnegat Bay. This form of 

 sailing-rowing skiff, particularly designed for use in 

 rough-water shooting, was developed by professional 

 duck hunters who sold game to commercial markets 

 during the last half of the 19th century. Designed 

 to be manned by a single gunner, the melon seed 

 gunning skiffs were excellent sailing boats and rowed 

 well; they were lightly I)uilt of cedar, and tiie rudder 



99 



