Many areas that are famous for
their waterways are equally famous for the vehicles that transport people
around them. These vessels often can become as much a part of the rivers
scenery as reeds fish and birds. The Mississippi River has its big wheel steamboats,
Boston has swan boats, and Long Island has Commuter boats. The same is true
with the Adirondacks. To understand how the Adirondack guide boat was created,
we have to understand the men who lent their name to this boat. Adirondack
Guides are famous still as frontiers men. They are a rare group of people who
you would really want beside you if you were ever lost in the wilderness. They
are as tough as the terrain they live in, and know the park well.
Mitchell Sabattis likely created
the guide boat around 1849. Sabattis needed a boat that boat that was light
enough to carry over long portages, while still seaworthy enough to carry two
people and all the gear they might need for a trip. The boat itself looks like
a variant of a canoe, due to its double end style. The hull was made out of
either spruce or tamarack, and then cedar or pine would be used as planks in
the bottom of the boat. Guide boats are still made today, although the
materials have changed slightly. The Adirondack Guide Boat Company, founded by Steve Kaulback has been making modern guide boats for the past 25 years.They make the boats out of
cedar instead of spruce. They also
construct the same familiar frame out of Kevlar. Kevlar allows the boats to be
even lighter and stronger than the wooden ones, although regular people, not
guides, now use many of the boats for recreation. The Kevlar Boat Company even
makes a sail boat variant for those who wish their boat to be wind powered
instead of man powered. The guide boat will likely stay a staple of the
Adirondack scenery; do to its history beauty and presence on the modern day
lakes and rivers of the park.
Sources:
Kaulback, Steve.
"Kevlar Rowing Boats." Kevlar Rowing Boats. Adirondack
Guideboats. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.adirondack-guide-boat.com/category/kevlar-boats>.
Schneider, Paul. The
Adirondacks: A History of America's First Wilderness. New York: H. Holt,
1997. 175-253. Print.
I actually built a wood and canvas canoe in high school in a similar style as some of these guide boats. I used cedar for both ribs and planks just as the Adirondack Guide Boat Company did, since cedar has some amazing properties that make it the absolute best option for boat construction. First of all, it is incredibly light, so boats are easily carried. It is also very resistant to rot, smells good and can be (somewhat) easily steam bent into form fitting planks. The newer Kevlar boats, while lighter and potentially longer lasting, can in no way rival the beautiful wooden boats created by these craftsmen.
ReplyDelete