Adirondack guideboats have been built since the early 1800s and have evolved from a hunting skiff to today's highly refined design. The Adirondack guideboat was originally designed to benefit the professional guide who carried the boat and provided all the propulsion for his paying passengers. It was in the guide's best interest to make his craft both lightweight and easy to carry over the typically unimproved roads and trails between the lakes and streams of the Adirondack region. The stability of the Adirondack Guideboat has often been described as merely adequate for the sporting purposes ( hunting and fishing) for which they were originally built. The New York craft were famous for their on-center tenderness.
Although these boats resemble canoes, they are not. They are built in the same manner as a skiff and rowed, not paddled, except for short distances with a "sneak" paddle. The boat is more stable than a canoe because the occupants are sitting lower, almost on the bottom of the boat. The oars are pinned and aligned so that if the rower stops rowing and lets go of the oars they will stay with the boat and trail behind such that they do not change the direction of the boat. Adirondack guideboats have won open water rowing races in some very challenging conditions.
Adirondack guideboat hulls are made of fiberglass or wood strips. Some hulls use both materials, with a wood interior and a fiberglass laminate applied to the outer surface for greater durability. The boat can be fitted with either a fixed or a sliding seat and outriggers for racing. Carrying capacity and speed are both related to hull length: the longer the hull the faster the boat.
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