John D Michne

Building an Adirondack Guideboat John D Michne

The Adirondack guideboat has survived for well over a century as a unique regional classic, first as a workboat in the rugged Adirondack mountain region of New York and later as a recreational craft. It is noted for its graceful lines, elegant curves, easy and speedy rowing, and for having a very high ooh-ahh value among casual observers. It may be easily built by accomplished amateur and professional woodworkers alike. In this book, John Michne explains, in his usual excruciating detail with wisps of wit here and there, how you can replicate a guideboat exactly as if it had just rolled out of an Adirondack boat shop a century ago. Built from laminated spruce ribs and covered in narrow edge-glued strips or traditionally planked in pine, it is a woodworker's dream challenge. Making every part of the boat (except the oarlocks) is detailed in 25 chapters, with over 270 shop photos and six appendices, including 16 pages of detailed dimensioned drawings by John Gardner, courtesy of Adirondack Experience. As an additional bonus, there are 12 full-size CAD drawings included at no extra cost via download. These drawings of ribs, seats, oars, and more eliminate the need for the builder to spend many hours doing tedious manual lofting even before starting construction.