The New Adirondack Boat

Source: Tom Bessette, Hornbeck Boat Little Tupper Lake

In the minds of many Adirondack boating enthusiasts and historians, the guideboat was the finest watercraft to come out of the region. It was perfectly suited to carry two people and all their gear, plus it was light enough to easily carry over impassible water. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries the Adirondack Park saw more use by the middle class, and the expensive guideboat was replaced by the cheap and durable canoe. The canoe has seen very little improvement since it became popular, other than the use of newer materials, but in 1975 Peter Hornbeck decided to make a boat better suited to the Adirondacks than the guideboat before it (McKibben 1996). The result was a small single person canoe paddled like a kayak, and light enough to carry almost anywhere. While the guideboat may have been well suited to its own time and clientele, the Hornbeck canoe is the true master of the current Adirondacks.

There’s no denying that in the 19^th century there would have been no substitute for the guideboat and the role it played in exploring the park. Few other boats could handle the tasks they were subjected to, but times have changed and its role no longer exists. People no longer hire guides to paddle themselves into the wilderness and do everything for them. People want to be involved now, and learn to do things for themselves. This is where the Hornbeck canoes fit in perfectly. The average weight of one of the canoes is 15 lbs and its shorter length makes it easily maneuverable like a kayak (McKibben 1996). It’s easy to learn to paddle one and as an open top canoe it has more storage room than a kayak, allowing individuals to pack plenty of gear for an excursion.

The other area where Hornbeck canoes really excel is when being carried to and from a body of water. Their light weight makes it possible to carry them to places that only float tubes could access before, which appealed to a lot of anglers in the early days (McKibben 1996). The lightweight boats also found another market in female and older paddlers. The beauty was that anyone could lift a short and lightweight canoe off their car, unlike the large 20 ft canoes which were popular in the region (Roberts 1979).

Hornbeck canoes aren’t just designed for the small lakes and ponds of the Adirondacks though. They have made their way across the country and have been used on larger lakes and even for running rivers. Like the guideboat before it the Hornbeck canoe is a jack of all trades, and the only thing it can’t do is carry two people. It may sound like a limitation but it’s what makes this boat so unique. It’s also what makes the Hornbeck canoe the perfect boat for the Adirondacks.

Sources:

McKibben, Bill. "The Bearable Lightness of Boating." Adirondack Life, March 1, 1996, 10-14.

Roberts, Harry. "Picking Your Boat." Adirondack Life, May 1, 1979, 20-24.