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"There is nothing-
absolutely nothing-
half so much worth doing
as simply messing
about in boats."
from
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Messing About In Boats
Shirts & Tote Bags
An
evolution . . . The development of the Adirondack Guide-Boat began
in the early 1800s and evolved from a crude hunting skiff
to today's refined design. Typical of most traditional small craft the
guide-boat's development was based on necessity. The guides of the
Adirondack region of New York required a craft capable of carrying the
guide, his sport, their camping and hunting equipment, perhaps a dog or
two, and hopefully a deer. The boat needed to handle
the wind and waves dished out by mountain lakes, be fast, and be easily handled
for many hours by one man. The guide sought a durable boat, able to take
the punishment of these conditions. Finally the boat needed to be light
enough that the guide could carry it on his back over long portages. The
builders of these craft, often the guides themselves, spent the
winter months working on this puzzle of requirements and advancing the evolution
of the guide-boat. The essence of the guide-boat
was well noted by Henry Van Dyke in his Little
Rivers, A Book Of Essays In Profitable Idleness (1895). "A Saranac
boat is one of the finest things that the skill of man has ever produced
under the inspiration of the wilderness. It is a frail shell, so light
that a guide can carry it on his shoulders with ease, but so dexterously
fashioned that it rides the heaviest waves like a duck, and slips through
the water as if by magic. You can travel in it along the shallowest rivers
and across the broadest lakes, and make forty or fifty miles a day, if
you have a good guide." Peculiarities . . .Nice canoe and why are those
paddles so long? These are the two comments most often heard by guide-boat
enthusiasts. It's
no accident that the guide-boat looks like a canoe, the guides
had plenty of experience with canoes and their efficient shape. On the
other hand a paddle could never fulfill the demanding requirements
of the guides. Consequently, rowing was the chosen means of propulsion
with a little help now and then by the sneak paddle. The leverage of long oars produced a powerful rowing
stroke and this length combined with the narrow beam
of the boats necessitated the adoption of a cross-armed rowing stance.
To the uninitiated, cross arm rowing seems awkward at first, however it
is easily mastered and the rower is rewarded with a less tiring stance. Another peculiarity of the
oars is their use of pinned rowlocks. The oars are in a fixed attitude
and are not feathered on the return stroke. Pinning the oars allowed the
guide to stop rowing and leave the oars trailing in the water while he
tended to his hunting, fishing, or the needs of his client. Learn more . . .
The entire story of the Adirondack
Guide-Boat and it's evolution is far too long to be adequately covered
on this web site. In fact it is the subject of several fine reference
books and articles. To learn more, explore
the pages of this web site and be sure to visit the Links
page where you'll find links to articles, books, and other web sites.
