The boat has been sold
(please click “contact me” link at the bottom of this page to send me an email with any questions, or leave me a message at 410-627-7021.)
Boat features:
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Clear cedar strip hull
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Laminated spruce ribs
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Book-matched cherry decks
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Birds-eye maple accent strips
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Cherry gunwales, stems and floors
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Ash oars*
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Hand-carved poplar carry yoke
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Hand-caned natural cane seats and seat back
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Historically accurate brass oarlocks and plates
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Sheathed in epoxy/fiberglass for durability and low maintenance
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*also includes a second (spare) pair of ash oars and oarlocks*
Critical dimensions:
- Length overall – 16′
- Beam – 40″
- Approximate weight – 65 lbs (exclusive of oars and floorboards).
The Adirondack guideboat is an exquisitely functional craft, perfectly suited to the waters of the Adirondacks. Ideal for fishing, camping, or simply recreational rowing. It rows with an easy, smooth motion that will beguile you if you’ve never experienced one before. The beam of 40 inches demands a cross-handed (overlapping) rowing stroke that takes a few minutes to master, but then will reward the rower with a graceful, smooth stroke that results in a powerful pull and an extended glide through the water between strokes. This boat has been meticulously built and is an aesthetic pleasure to row or simply to view. It would be a wonderful addition to hang from the rafters of your Adirondack camp, but that would be a shame as you’d miss the joy of rowing this graceful craft.
This boat is built to the lines of the Virginia, a guideboat built by Lewis and Floyd Grant in their shop in Boonville, NY in 1905. The Virginia is in the collection of The Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. She was carefully documented in detail by small boat historian John Gardner in 1964, allowing future generations of boat builders to craft copies of the boat to exacting detail. While a few adaptations (laminated frames, cedar strip hull, and fiberglass/epoxy sheathing) have been made to increase durability and take advantage of modern materials and construction methods, the design of the boat for sale here is true to the 113 year-old original.
The story of guideboats in general, and the documentation of the Virginia in particular can be found in Kenneth and Helen Durant’s marvelous book “The Adirondack Guide-Boat” published by The Adirondack Museum in 1980, and still generally available.
Click on any of the images below to see them enlarged and in slide show format.
Adirondack Guideboat for sale 