The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

[Jim Ledger]

There used to be three ways to acquire a tonging boat. You could buy an existing boat outright. If you were inclined you might build one from scratch. Another common way, a sort of combination of the foregoing two, was to buy an old boat and cut it down. The boatyards of the Seventies were just full of boats nearing the end of their useful lives. It was a gold mine of fasteners, engines and gear...and hulls. Many boats ended up half in the dumpster, half chainsawed closer to the waterline, decked over, and a cabin added aft, along with the customary bowsprit. Depending on who was doing the building you might end up with a handsome boat or something less. A favorite hull was a thirty-six foot wooden landing barge which made an excellent tongboat.

After the collapse of the clam fishery in the Eighties the boats fell on hard times. Values dropped. Highly specialized for a work that no longer existed, most just rotted away. A few prime examples were kept up for pleasure and part-time work. In a present-day reversal of custom, here is a purpose-built tongboat having bulwarks and wheelhouse added to make it into a pleasure tug. The boat once belonged to Karl Froelich, the work being performed by Charlie at South Bay Boat Works. The railway and shed shown have been demolished since this picture was taken to make room for some much-needed rack storage. The boat is now floating, and I'll try to get a picture.



Perhaps Roger could repost that picture of the Babylon garvey Half Shell from another thread. One of the lucky ones.

[holzbt]

[Rich Scheffer]

As far as a bow sprite goes. My anchor hung there all the time. As jim said it kept the boat straighter up into the wind, and made it a breezt to deploy or pull in. The line was tied to a cleat on the cabin top near the aft end. I could just idle forward, steer the tiller with my left foot and pull the rope in and feed it into a wooden fish box on deck just behind the wheel house. As to ww2 landing craft, the far boat,in the three boat picture,[Jerry Collins boat] was also a cut down 36 ft landing craft. Last but not least, the dark hulled tong boat Tied up near the ferry yard, used to be Tommy Van Essendelf's reedville built boat the 'Eight Vans" This was one of the earliest diesel powered tong boats. Tommy had a steering wheel mounted on the front of the cabin, Im sure to get away from the summer heat and noise of that big perkins diesel. Rich

[wiley van pelt]

i saw all the old clam boat pics, and was gonna add a few but for whatever reason i can only get them to come out this size. ??scan0017 (WinCE).jpg

[Paul Pless]

i saw all the old clam boat pics, and was gonna add a few but for whatever reason i can only get them to come out this size. ??scan0017 (WinCE).jpg

You need to upload your photos to a site like photobucket (which is free) then link your photos from there to here. . .

[wiley van pelt]

ah ha thank you

[wiley van pelt]

[wiley van pelt]

[Jim Ledger]

Welcome, Wiley, and thanks for posting the pictures. I'm guessing you're from Sayville.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the bottom picture is posed, I've never seen a digger in black leather shoes. I particularly like the picture of...is it Jorgensons...in 1961. No doubt Rich Scheffer will be along shortly to name the boats, builders and owners past and present. The first one looks like a hard chine Virginia boat. I see a landing barge second in...and could that black clipper bow belong to Man'O War?

[Rich Scheffer]

Great pictures! Wiley welcome to the site, we need some new blood, and pictures on this thread. As to the picture of the boats at the dock, I only recognize the first or nearest one. When I started out, this boat was owned by an old guy named Mike Embro. Mikes nephew was Danny Siebert, a boat carpenter at Lightners boatyard in Sayville. Danny eventually Quit his job at the Yard and worked with his uncle on this boat.In time Danny bought one of those Reedville, Va, built boats, the light blue one with the little cockpit behind the deckhouse. Danny treated clamming like a job, worked every day, rain or shine and kept his boat like a yacht. I talked to Danny last week, lives down here in Florida, Sebastian to be exact. Back to Mike Embro's boat, there was a twin to it. The twin was owned by Carl Froelich when he was a young guy, It had a much prettier wheel house and was sold to Babe Hummel when Carl had Rich Carleton build him his new v-8 Perkins diesel powered tong boat. Carls boat is the one that Charlie Balsalmo connverted into a pleasure tug in Jim Ledgers earlier post. These two boats, old Mikes and Carls had very definite Chesapeake, skipjack lines, the picture here doesnt do justice to the boat. Mickey Ritchie used to say that these boats were built by the Otto brothers I think they were from Babylon.When Mike retired he sold his boat to Tony Melito, When Tony bought a fish market, he sold it to a young guy in Bayshore. Danny Siebert told me this was one of the best laying boats he ever worked off, just slow as molasses, going out and coming home. I saw a postcard on Ebay with a picture of Mikes boat on it. Rich

[wiley van pelt]

those pics are taken in babylon, top pic is timmy o'donnell on my fathers landing craft when he first bought it, and no the bottom pic is not posed, that is my father, he can tong all day, never get wet, no mud on the boat or anything. those shoes were called "snap jacks" he still talks about them, you know "greatest shoes ever" i know danny seibert from florida, and his son gary. the landing craft in the middle pic was geoge kleins, and the big boat in the back belonged to adam, the guy who bought clams in babylon. this was my fathers landing craft about a year after he bought it

[wiley van pelt]

[wiley van pelt]

here's one from florida

[holzbt]

I took this at Oak Island this past Saturday. Looks like Kleins landing craft.

[wiley van pelt]

I took this at Oak Island this past Saturday. Looks like Kleins landing craft.

klein's was about a foot higher than that one, i've seen that one before, somewhere, (i live in nc, don't get up there too often) is that the lc with the real wide front??

[wiley van pelt]

the first boat belonged to mickey doxey.

[Jim Ledger]

Wiley, is that you in the Florida picture?

[wiley van pelt]

Wiley, is that you in the Florida picture?

that is my father, i'm taking the pic, my clams are on the port side, his on the starboard. yeah, he would beat me everyday.

[Jim Ledger]

It's always best to dig with a motivated partner.

Did you sell you clams to Seacoast...Bob Bennett?

[wiley van pelt]

we sold some there, sold a lot to rick shenna, spacecoast clams, and bob clams, he was from pa. here's a pic of my boat.

[wiley van pelt]

russell bucking

[wiley van pelt]

one of the rohl's boats

[wiley van pelt]

man-o-war 1930's

[Rich Scheffer]

Well, Jim Ledger, there she is "Man O War". I wonder if that is Harold Leach ? She sure was a pretty boat. Dont you wish a few more were preserved ? Like I said earlier harold told me he had Jorgensen build her in 37, That Dodge coupe with the pretty whitewalls would have been near new, same for that 36 ford sedan. Great shots Wiley and thanks again. Rich

[Rich Scheffer]

If thats White Cap in its early days, then thats just about the same spot that the "Prowler" is tied up. Wasnt the "Prowler" George Kings home afloat?

[wiley van pelt]

Well, Jim Ledger, there she is "Man O War". I wonder if that is Harold Leach ? She sure was a pretty boat. Dont you wish a few more were preserved ? Like I said earlier harold told me he had Jorgensen build her in 37, That Dodge coupe with the pretty whitewalls would have been near new, same for that 36 ford sedan. Great shots Wiley and thanks again. Rich

that is dick leech on the man-o-war

[wiley van pelt]

[wiley van pelt]

[wiley van pelt]

bayshore cove

[Rich Scheffer]

Wiley, awesome, keep em coming! I knew Dick leach pretty well, we were pretty close in age. I dont think either one of us were born when this Man O War picture was taken. I am pretty sure it was Dicks father Harold. Dick told me a good story about his dad once. Besides teaching him and his brothers about the water Harold always told the boys to take good care of their teeth and when they grew up they would have nice pretty white teeth like their dad. One morning Dick got up before his dad, and there they were, the old mans teeth soaking in a glass on the top of the toilet tank. Biggest letdown of his early years! Before he died Bill Leeming told me of a friend of his down in the Keys that had literally thousands of Great South Bay clamming pictures, I cant remember the guys name, I know he was from Babylon, Any Idea? Someone really needs to build this stuff into an organized collection, with info. Maybe this forum is the beginning. Rich

[wiley van pelt]

Wiley, awesome, keep em coming! I knew Dick leach pretty well, we were pretty close in age. I dont think either one of us were born when this Man O War picture was taken. I am pretty sure it was Dicks father Harold. Dick told me a good story about his dad once. Besides teaching him and his brothers about the water Harold always told the boys to take good care of their teeth and when they grew up they would have nice pretty white teeth like their dad. One morning Dick got up before his dad, and there they were, the old mans teeth soaking in a glass on the top of the toilet tank. Biggest letdown of his early years! Before he died Bill Leeming told me of a friend of his down in the Keys that had literally thousands of Great South Bay clamming pictures, I cant remember the guys name, I know he was from Babylon, Any Idea? Someone really needs to build this stuff into an organized collection, with info. Maybe this forum is the beginning. Rich

smokey mckinstrey (sp) he only answers to jack now, he drives the conch train, he is a little older than my father probably around 72-74. here is one of his pics my father off bayberry in '79.

[wiley van pelt]

how about this nightmare, glad i wasn't there, as a matter of fact i don't think i was even born when this was taken

[wiley van pelt]

[Jim Ledger]

Great stuff, Wiley. It's a good thing to have all these pictures scanned into digital form so they can be shared. Dick Carleton was a boatbuilder in Patchogue, and as Rich noted, built Karl Froelichs tongboat. I only have a bow-on shot of that boat and have to find it.

I had the good fortune to work with Dick for a year back in 1982. at Thomas Marine. Thomas built welded aluminum workboats. Dick was in his sixties, a kind of quiet guy with a good sense of humor, always wore a khaki work shirt, pants and hat.

I used to enjoy coffee breaks at Thomas. Tom Carney was the owner, and his wife used to make a pot of coffee in the morning in the office. Dick would stop by Dunkin donuts on his way in and buy four glazed donuts. The other guy was Graham Chapman, who was about my age. We'd eat the donuts and then smoke a couple of cigarettes each, filling the tiny office with a nice fug, except for Dick who didn't smoke...directly. Tom and Dick would swap stories while Graham and I were allowed to ask questions. As it turns out in 1950 you could have gotten men who knew how to work without being shown, and if your skiff got loose and blew up on the beach, the oars would still be sitting in it come next Spring, them poor guys on the Louis V. Plaice, that a farting horse never tires, the Japs had it coming, the time Tom Henry Duffy got thrown in jail for fighting...which time was that...haul seining and duck hunting, welding miracles, coal tar epoxy...and engines, these guys loved to talk engines.

While I worked there we finished up a small garvey, built a couple of tuna towers, built a decked-over dredge tender for Suffolk County. This was a nice craft of about thirty feet, garvey shaped hull with a wheelhouse and two big push knees on the bow powered by a 6-71. After that, another push boat for the Loveland corporation, a towing outfit. This boat had a 6-71 vee drive with a three-to-one reduction under a flush deck. It was made to be put on a special trailer that tipped it on its side so that the twelve foot beam could be taken down the road. The idea was to transport the boat by road to jobs. I never saw the trailer but that was the idea. After that we made two police boats for Suffolk County. These boats are still in daily use. They were thirty-six feet twin diesel boats, aft cockpit, arranged like a sportfisherman but without the flying bridge. Transom door, swim platform, tow bitts.

Dick Carleton designed all the boats and these two built them by eye.

Let me wrap this up with a shot of Froelichs tong boat, the one Dick Carleton built, in its present, as of yesterday, incarnation. I stood on shore for this shot, and the guy in the shades demanded to know what I was taking a picture of..."not much, heh heh ", Dick would have muttered.

[holzbt]

Taken this morning. I think this is the same house in the background and it's the landing barge that I thought might be Klein's.

[holzbt]

A couple of the Reedville boats still left.

[holzbt]

The boat in the background is BRUNHILDE which was built for Jacob Ockers and used as a oyster boat and ferry to Fire Island before being converted to power.

[Rich Scheffer]

Wiley, more great shots. In the nightmare picture post 182 I recognize two tong boats in the foreground. The big one on the left with two windows in the deckhouse was Stanley Schlager, this was a modern Virginia built boat. The older gray, round bilge boat on the right was Stanley Tuma from West Sayville. Stan told me his boat was built by Bishop in Patchogue. I believe Bishop owned South Bay Boatworks before Ed Wayne. Post 183, the red hulled boat on the trailer at Doug Westins boat shop was The same boat that Jim Ledger posted a picture of in Patchogue river This was Tommy Van Essendelf's "Eight Vans" another somewhat modern virginia built boat.Last but not least Stan Buys black hulled Rebel" with Stan and his brother Jack on it. At Stans funeral, two weeks ago, His brother was telling me about working summers with Stan while going to college in Gainesville Fl, One winter He got a medium sized box mailed to him from Stan, In it was a bunch of big rabbit ear oyster shells. Stan enclosed a note saying " Remember these?, Stay in school"! One of Stans favorite spots was in those heavy shells off Patchogue. By the way, his brother went on tho get his PHD and is now a retired educator Thanks again for the pictures Rich

[wiley van pelt]

I took this at Oak Island this past Saturday. Looks like Kleins landing craft.

i think that may have been lee beresoff's boat, but i could be wrong.

[wiley van pelt]

worked on that boat a couple years ago, excellent work boat.


danny seibert had one of thomas marines garvey's in fl.


it's nice to see some of the old stuff still around.

[wiley van pelt]

these two, and the last one jerry collins had were all the same builder

[wiley van pelt]

henchy rohl. 1937

[wiley van pelt]

[Jim Ledger]

Wiley...I see there's a lot of Rohls in Babylon. Did you ever hear of a guy named Moo-Moo Rohl?

[wiley van pelt]

Wiley...I see there's a lot of Rohls in Babylon. Did you ever hear of a guy named Moo-Moo Rohl?

yeah i have heard of him. i think he's in a pic somewhere..... i think he's in this pic, i don't know which one.

[wiley van pelt]

how recent is this, still around??

[Rich Scheffer]

Wiley, This is a significant collection, I am amazed. The names, the boats, so much is coming back and being recorded down in this thread. Are your pictures the ones Bill was telling me about? I printed the picture of the three Sayville tong boats, brought it to Stans funeral, Everyone enjoyed it and passed it around, Jerry collins grand daughter recognized his old landing craft right away. I like the old Henchy Rohl pic. those window panels made quite a wheelhouse. Back east in patchogue Herman Jansen had an old sloop around 35 to 38 ft [no sails of course] used two glass panels out of an old wooden storm door, for the sides of his wheelhouse, or should we call it greenhouse. It was about 6 ft from fromt to back. Your rake boat, reminds me of one of my favorite rake boats I built back in the sixties in my dads garage, in Bluepoint. It is the one running in to the west Sayville dock in the opening video that started this great thread. I still have a rake boat, its Bill Leemings old KL1 Totally redone, regularly catches dolphin, makerel cobia and an occasional sailfish.Once and a while we trailer it up to titusville and do a little sport clamming. Regards Rich

[holzbt]

how recent is this, still around??

Brunhilde made it way past 100 but was cut up about 5 years ago. That pic is probably from the 70's.

[wiley van pelt]

Wiley, This is a significant collection, I am amazed. The names, the boats, so much is coming back and being recorded down in this thread. Are your pictures the ones Bill was telling me about? I printed the picture of the three Sayville tong boats, brought it to Stans funeral, Everyone enjoyed it and passed it around, Jerry collins grand daughter recognized his old landing craft right away. I like the old Henchy Rohl pic. those window panels made quite a wheelhouse. Back east in patchogue Herman Jansen had an old sloop around 35 to 38 ft [no sails of course] used two glass panels out of an old wooden storm door, for the sides of his wheelhouse, or should we call it greenhouse. It was about 6 ft from fromt to back. Your rake boat, reminds me of one of my favorite rake boats I built back in the sixties in my dads garage, in Bluepoint. It is the one running in to the west Sayville dock in the opening video that started this great thread. I still have a rake boat, its Bill Leemings old KL1 Totally redone, regularly catches dolphin, makerel cobia and an occasional sailfish.Once and a while we trailer it up to titusville and do a little sport clamming. Regards Rich

no smokey has way more pics, this is part of my father's commection, and some i stole from russell in babylon (the boat i said i worked on a couple years ago). my father has a bunch more that need to be scanned. my rake boat is a jorgenson, (doesn't belong on wooden boat forum) i used to own the one tied up behind it to, it was a storm master (just a name of course) used to belong to kenny dibble, or rick madden in the 70's or early 80's. i heard there are a few clams back up in titusville, but then again i think anything can beat this god forsaken land know as north carolina. was there a boat in sayville named the selena or something like that?

[wiley van pelt]

don't know what year this is from, i have never seen phone numbers like that