Kyte's sneak box boat a labor of love

La Crosse Tribune September 25, 2005

By JERRY DAVIS / Freelance outdoors writer

Jerry Davis can be reached at (608) 924-1112 or at sivadjam@mhtc.net

Richard Kyte was searching for a project to help pass along the carpentry skills he learned from his father on to his two sons, Ian, 14, and Evan, 9. Kyte was also looking for ways to improve his own duck hunting success by finding ways to get into shallow water more easily and better camouflage his boat, so ducks would decoy closer.

Building a 12-foot sneak box boat turned out to be just what Kyte needed.

"I got interested in boat building as a child, before I could hunt ducks," he said. "My dad and his buddy built a duck boat and passed on some of that interest to me."

Kyte built a skiff and then a kayak before turning to plans he found on the internet at www.devlinboat.com. He chose to build a Bluebill Sneak Box boat, a small craft, made from marine plywood panels stitched together with wire and held in place with epoxy and fiberglass.

"When it's done, the boat is rigid and waterproof," Kyte said. "To build a boat using wood forms and to bend wood would have taken me years."

Kyte completed his project recently, just in time to take Ian duck hunting during Wisconsin's youth waterfowl hunt last weekend.

Ian is a student at Logan High School, while Evan attends Emerson Elementary School in La Crosse. Ian's friend, Nick Stingl, a student at Aquinas High School, also helped with the project. "I started in March and worked an hour or so three to four evenings a week and some weekends," Kyte said. "It probably took me five months. I suppose someone who is retired could do it in a month."

Kyte's sneak box will accommodate another hunter and a small duck hunting dog. The other hunter is likely to be Ian much of the time. Kyte's dog is Wisconsin's state dog, a young American water spaniel, named Mickey. Even though Evan is too young to hunt, he'll get his turn this fall, when Ian doesn't go along.

Kyte's duck hunting boat allows hunters to lie down and shoot ducks overhead. The deck slopes down close to the water, so the ducks are less likely to see the boat, compared to boats that float higher in the water.

"The camouflage is all horizontal, not vertical, too," Kyte said. "It's completely different and easier to decoy ducks. I should be able to get closer shots."

Kyte knows his boat has limitations during rough water conditions, but he says it will withstand moderate white caps and waves better than his 14-foot johnboat.

"I can be going full throttle with my 20-horse motor and turn right or left and the boat doesn't slide sideways. It's more stable," he said.

Even though Kyte's sneak box boat is small, he also plans to use it on fishing outings because he can pull it into shallow areas and still cross the main channel of the river.

"This boat has a good platform to cast from," he said.

Kyte didn't keep exact receipts on costs, but he estimated he spent about $1,000 on materials. That's a lot cheaper than buying a sneak box, he said.

The Bluebill weighs 155 pounds, based on the plans, but Kyte believes he's put a little more weight into his craft. He trailers the boat to his hunting locations, but it could be hauled in the back of a pickup.

Kyte, director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics and Leadership at Viterbo University, knows he'll have to make a decision in a few years when both his sons want to go duck hunting the same day, because the boat will accommodate two hunters, not three. However, he has a plan.

"My sons do better if only one is along with me at one time," Kyte said. "Things may change when they get older, but for now it's one or the other going along."

Contact Richard Kyte