Fox (boat)
surfboat built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Fox was a specially built surfboat to be rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.
Fox was custom built in 1896 by William A. Seaman at Seaman Sea Skiffs of Branchport, New Jersey for Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo of Highlands, New Jersey. The boat was named Fox for the financial backer Richard Kyle Fox (1846-1922) owner of the "pink tabloid", Police Gazette.
William A. Seaman was well known for building the seaworthy Nauvoo surf boat. He built the Fox with watertight compartments and hand rails on the keel, for righting the boat if capsized at sea. This feature would be used at least once in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during heavy seas.
The original Fox is lost, but in 1975 a replica of the Fox was built by the Long Branch Ice Boat and Yacht Club (LBIBYC) of New Jersey with the participation of Harold L. Seaman, son of the boat builder. As a youngster, Harold Seaman backed-up most of the rivets during construction of the original Fox. At age 91, he provided a full set of plans reconstructed "from old photographs, shop records and memory, lines and measurements, correct within a fraction of an inch" .
The public source identifies “Fox (boat)” as surfboat built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around boat, surfboat and built.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Fox (boat)”, the useful work is to connect “surfboat built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5476564. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1896, 1846, 1922 and 1975.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Fox (boat)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Fox (boat) primary sources, Fox (boat) archive and boat research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fox (boat)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Fox (boat)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.