Written and photographed by Edward A. Barber

Well, it is not really a sneakbox – it is not made of cedar, it has no oars and the bow is blunt. But it has the melon seed hull shape and the short mast. A friend in Barnegat Light knew I wanted an inexpensive small sailboat and sold it to me for $20 in the mid-1960s.

Hoisted it on top of my car, took it home and went to work on it. New white paint, someone told me the white was for the winter – to stay hidden from the geese. I never shot a bird in my life, but I learned to sail a boat.

We rented houses from Surf City, to North Beach and Loveladies, carrying my no name boat on top of the car. When we got our summer house in Beach Haven West, we had a permanent home, but we had to tow her out to open water.

Recommended Posts