| by Andy Anderson - New Jersey
- USA |
Being from New Jersey and being interested in local species of traditional small craft, I have done a lot of reading, looking, and daydreaming about Barnegat Bay sneakboxes, garveys, and melonseeds (I already own a Seabright Skiff). So when I saw that Jim Michalak had drawn up a taped-seam plywood interpretation of the garvey box from Howard Chapelle’s American Small Sailing Craft, I had to have a set of the plans for the Michalak Sneakerbox.
 |
I have done a lot of reading, looking, and daydreaming about Barnegat Bay sneakboxes, garveys, and melonseeds
(click images for larger views) |
|
I’m still daydreaming about building a full size one, but did get around to building a model. Jim’s plans are at a scale of 1.5 inch = 1 foot. Therefore, the easy way was to build a model to that scale. Aircraft plywood is available from hobby shops in 1/32 inch thickness, which translates to ¼ inch full size. Perfect! I cut out the sides per the plan, stuck them on a few molds and glued on the bottom with a combination of superglue followed by 5-minute epoxy glue. After application of a few other bits of mini-plywood, mini-lumber, and paint (duckboat drab, of course), a model emerged.
| Jim’s plans are at a scale of 1.5 inch = 1 foot. Therefore, the easy way was to build a model to that scale. |
|
|
I made a couple of modifications to Jim’s design that give the model a more traditional look. I substituted a sneakbox-type crowned deck for Jim’s arrangement of longitudinal deck beams and hatches. I provided a spritsail (traditional on most small gunning skiffs) in lieu of Jim’s lateen. I have a spritsail on my Seabright Skiff and on another small boat and enjoy the combination of good performance, short spars, and ease with which the rig can be raised, struck, and stowed out of the way. Most other rigs leave you with spars and/or sails sticking up in the air or in your way for rowing. Phil Bolger opines that spritsails “can have the shortest spars for the power of the sail of all rigs” in his treatise 100 Small Boat Rigs. For a detailed description of the construction and use of a spritsail rig, see Cap’n Pete Culler’s Skiffs and Schooners.
 |
Phil Bolger opines that spritsails “can have the shortest spars for the power of the sail of all rigs” in his treatise 100 Small Boat Rigs.
|
|
I believe that a full size Sneakerbox would row and sail very well. Jim took care to match the curves of the sides and the bottom, which should result in minimum eddying at the chines. I had the pleasure to row a garvey and a Pete Culler-designed sampan at Small Craft Workshops at Mystic Seaport and was surprised how well those “square-toed frigates” pulled. The deck would certainly be effective in keeping water on the outside of the boat, which Roger Taylor defines as the first law of seamanship in his book entitled The Elements of Seamanship. Performance might not be quite on par with the arc-bottom sneakbox, but the flat-bottom boat would sure go together quicker with plywood and taped chines.
More articles about models:
|
