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Hampton Sports
Adirondack Guideboats Revive Classic Performance and Style
by John Capone
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Looking at the boat, in this case a 16-ft cedar
Adirondack guideboat, all you want to do it touch it. But you can’t know
how wonderful the boat is until you’ve stepped into the boat, sat at the
oars and given them a pull. Whether the conditions are rough and choppy
or serene and glassy, Adirondack Guideboats are known to out-perform any
other fixed seat rowing boat. An ideal boat for our waters? It seemed so
to me, on a fair day on Mecox Bay.
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Originally designed by guides in 1830’s to show
tourists a good time, the boat should fit right in on the East End. An
Adirondack guide wanted his customers (often wealthy businessmen from
New York City or Boston out for a hunting or fishing expedition) to be
comfortable, catch fish and feel secure. |
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Also, in the scattered waters of
the Adirondacks, the guide had to carry his boat over portages, from lake to
lake. With those demands, they designed boats that were fast, light and
seaworthy. The boats are triumphs of form following function in an elegant
and stunning manner. The center of gravity is low in the boat, as opposed to
the canoe, where the center is actually above the gunwales
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Presenting a low profile to the wind, these
boats want to go straight,. The design pulls off a rare trick: being beamy
and stable but with lively performance. You can load these boats with packs
or fishing gear or a spouse and a dog and they will perform beautifully,
your guests ever enjoying the ride and begging for me.
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Caned seats add to the boat’s style,
something the boat has in abundance. Steve Kaulback, who founded the company
and designed these boats, was first an instructor at Pratt Institute. He
then headed off to Vermont, where he became a boatbuilder. Building his
first boat in 1979, Steve set about to revive this wonderful boat and, from
all measures, he has succeeded. The plans are based on the original boats
but Steve employs modern techniques and materials, all of which help the
boats perform and endure. He and his partner, David Rosen, are growing their
company organically, having refused outside investment on several occasions.
"The situations just weren’t right," says Rosen. Still, in eight years,
they’ve gone from $42,000 in sales to nearly $900,000. When asked what
accounts for the company’s remarkable growth, Rosen says, "I think we did
one thing incredibly right…..we picked the right boat."
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Take one out for a row and you’ll be hooked
too. |