Toms River Maritime Museum Plans New Boats & Exhibits in 2012

The new year will be an active one for the Toms River Seaport Society & Maritime Museum, as the Hooper Avenue building's gallery will see additional exhibitions displayed.

“Expect to see some more boats here in the gallery, and we’ll possibly suspend them from the rafters,” said Dan Crabbe, president and treasurer of the Museum. “As far as the boats being displayed, we’d like to keep it to those indigenous from the local area and which were built here.”

At the present time, the new gallery contains boats of just that nature. Having been opened to the public for almost three months, the new building currently houses a trio of boats on display. One of these watercraft is a Barnegat Bay A-Cat boat named “Spy”.

“It was originally built in the 1920’s, and has been rebuilt four times – the most recent occasion of which was to put it on display,” Crabbe said.

The “Spy” was designed by naval architect Charles D. Mower, and built by Bay Head’s Morton Johnson of the Johnson Brothers Boat Works, and indicative of the style of A-Cat boats that were raced in the local area throughout much of the 20th century.

“A-Cats are still raced actively, and 12 are found in the local area. They are raced from the beginning of June until about the end of September,” Crabbe said, though the “Spy” was retired from active racing at the dawn of the 21st century.

A tall sailboat in the gallery, named the “Jet 14,” was designed and built in Island Heights by Howard Siddons and Harry Sindle in the early to mid-1950s – they did this by combining components from Snipe and International Class boats to create a hybrid model more seaworthy than either of the new boat’s figurative “parents.”

“The third boat in the new building is the Sailing Skiff,” Crabbe said. “It was built by Charlie Hankins of Lavallette in 1977. Most skiffs are built for sailing or individual rowing, but this boat was built to be run by two individuals.”

Another watercraft is housed for the moment in the museum’s workshop, the Toms River Pram – which was donated by a couple who formerly resided in Beachwood, but who now live in Maryland. Not knowing what else to do with the boat, they donated it to the museum prior to their move.

The Toms River Pram is now in the process of being restored in the museum’s workshop. Crabbe mentioned that he himself sailed a Pram in his younger days.

Museum volunteer Joe Lappin, in describing the tools and apparatus found in the workshop, said that every tool was connected to a vacuum system, and that the building was heated – which has come in handy during this wintertime. “The workshop has been here since the late 1980s to early 1990s,” Lappin commented.

In a tour of the facility, Crabbe also pointed out a sneakbox, a smaller-size boat which is native to the Barnegat Bay area. Created in the 1830s by Capt. Hazelton Seaman, it was named the “sneakbox” due to its unique ability to assist hunters in catching wild fowl and other prey off-guard.

“They were primarily used in local duck hunting,” Crabbe clarified.

Elsewhere on the museum's grounds are exhibits and model boats which tell the formative history of watercraft piloting on the Barnegat Bay for 200 years.

Crabbe said that the museum is fortunate in certain respects; first, to have 300 members who assist with upkeep of the museum through donations and volunteer work, and that Ocean County allows the museum to operate on its property.

“With our new building and sign (on Hooper Avenue), we get more awareness and recognition from the public,” Crabbe noted. “Our museum and members are staffed all with volunteers, and we’re always seeking them,” said Crabbe.

The Seaport Society and Maritime Museum is located on the corner of Hooper Avenue and Water Street, in the downtown area of Toms River. Its visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It may be reached by telephone at 732-349-9209, or at www.tomsriverseaport.org.