Meeting new beach buggy friends from other towns raved about Sandy Neck. I was now a seasoned Beach Buggier , so I thought! It was time to Explore other beaches. Sandy Neck, (S.N.) was about an hour away.
A note here for the boomers, there was no S.E.Expressway or divided Rte 6 Highway, It was Rte 3-A to the Cape Cod Canal, then the now Rte 6-A to S.N. A 40 mile trip in a vehicle now designed for off road travel, no picknick, not yet anyway!
I was pleased upon our arrival with the formality. Signs with rules & regulations, a check-in station, and directional signs. Sandy Neck seemed to have it’s act together.
It was a bit intimidating entering the trail through the dunes, they were 12 to 20 feet high ! Then up and down, the likes I had never seen. The going was slow, mostly first gear, that was a worry due to the small fuel tank, an extra five gallon can was wise.
As you can see, we were early beach goers, a late spring snow flurry didn’t stop us.
The old International only made a few trips to Sandy Neck, It was showing her age and needed to be retired, she had been in service on the beach for 5 years, the salt was eating away and mechanical work was needed.
A 1956 Chevy Carryall was the much needed replacement.
The Chevy was a joy to drive on the highway and did well on the beaches. A stronger engine, a better geared transmission and a tight rear enclosure.
Our friends that lived close to the beach only needed a day buggy, so the least expensive car in the lot became a candidate .
Willys Aero Sedan. The sleeping quarters on top was called a “Dog House”
Sandy Neck is a ten mile stretch of peninsular and barrier beach terminating at the Barnstable Harbor mouth, At its South end is a light house and small community.
The south end of Sandy Neck looking south at the mouth of Barnstable Harbor.
‘YO STRIPER !
My wife was pretty good at swinging my 12’ Striper rod !
Jimmy got one, those were the days when 16″ was legal !
Mountains of sand dunes the length of Sandy Neck.
Leftover oyster shells from Native Americans of many many years ago.
Sandy Neck was a place of interest and wonderment at every stop.
An evening campfire was always a must.
B.E.A.C.H. BEST ESCAPE ANYONE CAN HAVE. unknown.
W. Ray Freden, Seaview, Marshfield, 70 years, nearly 20 on the beaches.
Many weekends were spent on Duxbury Beach resulting in many, many stories. The first five years were with the old 1936 International, a two-wheel drive over-sand vehicle. However, being a 1936 truck, it rode like a truck! It was under-powered, hard to steer, had poor brakes, and a gear ratio not suited for off-road driving! So why in hell did I use it? It was free. My Dad gave it to me and the cost to convert it was not much money…..a good thing, because I didn’t make much. So with the above con’s, a short trip to Duxbury Beach was in my favor.
In the early days I simply drove to and over the half-mile wooden Powder Point Bridge….then made a right turn onto the “Back Trail” on the Bay-side. Powder Point Bridge, Duxbury, Mass. (upper L), To Duxbury Beach…a right turn to High Pines, 1.7 mi., another 2 mi. to the Gurnet, now Plymouth. Then 2 mi’s to the Western Point of Saquish.
At a low tide, the beach side was the easiest route to your destination. However, at a high tide, the back road was your only choice, even though the water filled many low areas. It was a slow trip weaving in and out… trying to stay above the salt water. Back then, there were dunes ten feet high …maybe more. There were numerous coves within these dunes that would accommodate 4 or 5 rigs, so you could join your friends or they would join you.
In my early days, it was just my girlfriend and me. Most of our friends then were single.
Interests varied from hiking, swimming, camping, striped bass fishing and shell-fishing. Beer drinking was a requirement! Camping gear was primitive. Cooking was usually done over a campfire and campfire wood was scarce.
I was in the woodworking business so my scrap wood was always bagged up and dragged along using up much of the truck-bed space.
Any driftwood was a welcome addition. If it contained any metal or copper, it made for pretty colors and the smell of salt water driftwood is like no other.
Compliments of Grace “Dee Dee” Dunn.
A little more than half way down the beach was a high point called High Pines that had a hunting camp on it. It was nearly covered with wind blown sand dunes, along with beach plum bushes. Poison ivy had a foothold there too. I understand a waterfowl hunter from Duxbury named Burt Hunt built or owned this camp as a duck hunting lodge in the 20’s & 30’s. It was also used in my time, and Google Earth shows that it’s still there, although no longer a shack!
A short distance south brought you to the Gurnet & Gurnet Point…a high ledge at the mouth of Plymouth Harbor. A lighthouse is at it’s highest point, a Coast Guard installation, numerous camps and year around homes are now there. The east and south sides are cliffs to the ocean. The west side is attached to Saquish beach, the head & west end with many camps within the sand dunes. It’s quite private and little room for visitors or camping. It’s a beautiful spot with Plymouth, Kingston, & Duxbury Bay nearly surrounding the spit.
Clark’s Island is just off-shore to the northwest. It’s an historic area with records of the Pilgrims being anchored nearby in November, 1620, waiting to explore the upland to establish a settlement.
The area mud flats are a shell-fishing mecca. I have dug steamers, Quahogs , (cherrystones & littlenecks), razor clams & sea clams.
Getting back to the beach approaching the Gurnet, we set up camp so I could go skin-diving off the rocky ledge that runs out from the Gurnet. A spear gun always provided us with a flounder or tautog… a favorite fish to cook on the open fire.
Returning from a catch.
A low tide was required to dive the rocks in search of lobsters.
Any catch of lobsters, plus a few steamers, made a happy day for a clam bake. This was a good day….. 2 lobsters & 2 crabs.
We would dig a pit in the sand, line it with stones, then a fire was built within to get the rocks hot enough for cooking. A pile of seaweed was placed over the hot rocks. Then lobsters and corn were placed on top, followed by clams and seaweed. A tarp, covered with sand, was placed over the whole pit.
Loading up the firewood
Covering the catch with rockweed
I always had some dread of the cooking results,
Done? Not done? Overdone?
I will admit, we never had a disaster. If anything was over cooked, it was the littlenecks. They have to be removed from the heat when they pop open or they get rubbery!
Another happy day for all.
An hour’s wait & a few beers later, we would open the pit. That was an exciting and rewarding experience every time we had that opportunity.
“The Good Ole Days”.
Oh how I long for days like that again.
My girlfriend of 5 years and wife of 60 years (the same wonderful person), often reminisce of our days on the beach.
“The only B.S. I want is the ”Beach and Sunshine”. And, once there, followed by more B.S.S., “Beer, Sunshine and the Surf”.
“Life, the way it should be.”
Next; Our early days on Sandy Neck Beach, Barnstable Ma.
I will cover some history of over-sand vehicles. Driving on beaches goes back to the horse and buggy days. Every photo of vintage ship-wrecks along our Cape Cod beaches has horse & wagons or buggies on the sand. I would expect soft sand gave them trouble but that would be expected on any beach.
So wheeled vehicles were used to spectate, to haul survivors or remove wreckage.
A gathering of friends on the beach in the early 1900’s.
When the motor vehicle arrived, it was used exactly the same way for the same purposes on the sandy beaches. The biggest problem was the motor vehicles’ power came from a rear drive-wheel with little traction, and a wagon is being pulled by outside power.
A 1925 Ford Model T Sandmobile
Early auto tires needed high pressure to keep the tires on the rims, and this also contributed to poor traction. As the years went on, the tires got wider which helped some. Henry Fords Model T became a popular over-sand vehicle which was fitted with various additions to the wheels both for sand and snow.
The big cars used larger tires to support its weight. These tires were quickly adapted for use on the light Ford “T” bone cars & pickup trucks.
1930 Model A Ford Coupe
Hunting and fishing camps out on remote sand dunes needed an over- sand vehicle to transport people and supplies. A beach buggy proved to be an asset. And thanks to Henry Ford, his later Model A & B ‘s proved to be an even better vehicle for use over the sand with a more powerful engine and a 3-speed transmission, with wider rims & tires.
Lowering the air pressure allowed the tires’ contact area to pooch out creating a larger footprint giving more traction.
Remember, these were two-wheel drive vehicles going places where only four- wheel drive go today. With a two wheel drive vehicle, only one wheel drives, usually the right rear in forward and the left rear in reverse.
I’m not going to get into four-wheel drives & posi-trac differentials.
The biggest problem was the tube tire. At a lower pressure, it allowed sand particles to seep past the tire bead. These particles got between the inside of the tire and tube, causing an irritation to the tube and eventually creating tiny holes, resulting in a flat tire and an undrivable vehicle. I can tell you all about that aggravating experience which happened over and over!
The next problem was pumping up a deflated tire to drive home on a paved road. Some innovating mechanics took an old refrigerator pump and attached it to a belt driven by the engine. This compressor was a fast way to pump up. I was in envy of these contraptions.
A company, Enginair, came up with a tiny compressor that screwed into a spark plug hole and was operated by the engine compression. It was slow, but it worked for those of us without a real compressor. The sand creeping into a tire was solved by the tubeless tires, which were first used as a standard item on Chrysler vehicles about 1946. I was one of the first to use them and was told by old-time beach drivers that they wouldn’t work because the tire would come off the rim at low pressure. Any one that changed tubeless tires, knew that it was a real task to break down a tubeless safety rim without a special machine.
A 1936 Ford woody, two wheel drive, wagon, and with balloon tires, giving dune tours in Provincetown .
The late 40’s & early 50’s became a boom of various over-sand vehicles and Beach Buggies along our Cape Cod beaches, along with dune buggies, used on the mid-west dunes and sand rails used on the west coast for racing on sand.
Model A Ford dune buggys
The Myers Manx fiberglass body on a VW chassis became very poplar in the ’60’s
Surf-fishing became a very popular sport along both the East Coast and the West Coast. All along the East Coast, Striped Bass were sought-after by many surf-fishermen, along with other species of fish.
My first over-sand experience, about 1957, was with a friend from Scituate in his 1948 Chevy convertible. He made wide rims and installed large tires to drive on sand. He took me over the sand cliffs of the Boston Sand and Gravel pits off the Driftway in Scituate. It was an experience I’ll never forget…….Jim, driving up and over sand hills with ease….it was a real thrill!
RIGHT OFF I GOT THE BUG………. THE BEACH BUGGY BUG!
My Dad had the perfect truck to be converted to a beach buggy. It was old, but tough. In the 50’s there was little to no camping gear to add for creature conveniences. This would include cooking gear, water…enough for a weekend, a sleeping area and other comforts. But most important was getting this old truck over the sand and learning how to drive on sand.
This is what my 1936 International “C” looked like new. It was purchased by Lloyd Frisbie for his plumbing business from 1937 to 1950. Then replaced by a ’50 Ford pickup.
My Dad then used it to carry & store his small tractor. I obtained it in 1958.
The first area addressed were the tires. Off to the local garages to find large worn tires that were still usable. The big cars ran 8:20 X 15″ tires….perfect for most beach buggies. Most of the time these were free.
Next was a collection of accessories for getting yourself unstuck.
Bumper-jacks worked best, plywood jack pads, shovels, rope or chain, and an air-gauge for accurate low tire pressure.
15-gallon keg for water, dog house for sleeping, a Jerry can for washing water, awning fly, 8:20′ x15 tires on 10″ rims.
READY FOR A TRIAL RUN?
The closest remote beach was a barrier beach of a few miles. Duxbury Beach could be accessed two ways….one from Green Harbor through a private parking lot overlooking the ocean and the other was over a half-mile wooden bridge from Powder Point in Duxbury.
In the early days there were no fees or permits needed. An over-sand vehicle could. drive the beach to the Gurnet and Saquish beach.
On a nice spring Sunday, I got my friend from Scituate to accompany me to Duxbury Beach via the long wooden bridge off Powder Point to the inside trail, south along the bay. A stop was required to lower the tires’ air pressure of 20 pounds. This pressure allowed driving on the road back to the St. George Street garage to pump-up.
We drove to High Pines a two-mile run. We crossed over to the beach and returned on the beach side……all without a hitch—- WHOOPIE!
We pumped up the tires at the garage and drove back home to plan the next addition.
To shorten this up a bit, the additions came slowly and as needed….Jerry cans for extra water, a kitchenette I custom made, a 15-gallon keg on top to carry water, a dog-house on top with a mattress for a comfortable night’s sleep, a large cooler, an awning, folding table & chairs, and many other creature comforts.
Part 2. will consist of some adventures on beaches from Humarock to Provincetown.
Compliments of Grace “Dee Dee” Dunn.
Returning from a catch.
Loading up the firewood
I always had some dread of the cooking results,
Another happy day for all.
This is what my 1936 International “C” looked like new. It was purchased by Lloyd Frisbie for his plumbing business from 1937 to 1950. Then replaced by a ’50 Ford pickup.