This is Not a Canoe
While weaving between the glass and metal boating structures resting on kevlar and fiberglass hulls at the Miami International Boat Show, you'll stop in your tracks when you happen upon a series of the stunning boats made almost entirely from wood. They are the Adirondack Guide Boats, made from water sealed cedar, cherry, pine, butternut, mahogany, and spruce woods (to name a few) from the American Northeast. The only vendor of his kind at the Miami International Boat Show, Vermont-based boat designer Steve Kaulback has produced about 3,000 of these custom hand-crafted vessels over the past decades.
"It runs about five miles to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Kaulback jokes. At first glance these
© Andrea Barrack / RumBum.comguide boat Adirondack Guide Boats look exactly like canoes, but subtle differences characterize the guide boats. In guide boats you face your boating buddy, while in canoes one has his back to the other. You row with oars as opposed to paddle, and choose your direction regardless of weather instead of resting at the mercy of the wind.
The boat's sleek and light design (the largest, a 15-footer, is only 70lbs) stems from the first guide boats in the Adirondacks in the 1830's, and with a few of Kaulback's updates remains a highly popular vintage boutique option for boating enthusiasts and competitive rowes alike. Martha Stewart purchased one of his products and featured him on her show. Rowers using his boats have won competitions across the country, including Pugent Sound five years in a row. So yes, they're pretty fast. Rather, they're pretty and fast.
Kaulback is now known as the most prolific guide boat builder in history and is simply a pleasure to talk to. Take a few minutes away from all the motorboats to chat with this expert, smell the cedar, and take a seat in these hand crafted masterpieces. Better yet, ask him how you can order your own kit and build a guideboat yourself. Just don't call it a canoe.
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