Wikipedia: "A sneakbox is a small boat that can be sailed, rowed, poled or sculled. It is predominantly associated with the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, just as the canoe-like Delaware Ducker is associated with the New Jersey marshes along the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

As with most American small craft, its origin is not well-documented. It is generally accepted that Captain Hazelton Seaman invented the first sneakbox about 1836, in West Creek, New Jersey.

It was usually built of white cedar which was once plentiful throughout the mid-Atlantic states.

It was conceived as a low-profile, lightweight, seaworthy hunting craft that one man could easily handle in any of the weather conditions likely to be encountered in the Jersey marshes.

The first printed description appeared in Forest and Stream on April 3, 1874 in a short letter from Robert B. White. White included a rough dimensional drawing that is recognizably a sneakbox.

Railbird skiffs and garvey-like sneakboxes are other American hunting-boat types. Typically, they were all used for hunting waterfowl and marsh birds but also have been used by trappers."

	Photo: Barry Long