The Adirondack Guide Boat team has done it again! Four days ago I mentioned that “I’ve been anticipating the arrival of two handsome additions to our people powered fleet, and more precisely an expansion of our Adirondack Guide Boat fleet.” Tomorrow, Wednesday, they were supposed to deliver the new vessels to Rosslyn. Today they arrived a day early with a custom canoe rehabilitation AND a custom Adirondack guideboat rehab. Two showroom rebuilds with green Kevlar hulls and a banquet of beautiful cherry hardwood. Today I offer you a recap of this astounding adventure. But first a huge thank you to Ian Martin and Justin Martin for once again adding breathtakingly beautiful form and function to our lake life. Can’t wait to paddle and row these boats!
Let’s begin this little story at the beginning. Or near the beginning.
Following the June 28, 2023 delivery of our new Vermont dory, I sent Justin Martin, co-owner of Adirondack Guide Boat, the following note.
Thanks again, Justin. This morning marked my second excursion in the new dory. I’m loving it! It’s swift and stable, comfortably and ergonomically efficient. Well done!
I also enjoyed meeting Steve Kaulback during delivery. Interesting founder (and fellow, in general!) He will have delivered our sad old artifact of a canoe for your review. Hopefully you can figure out a second chapter for this vessel. I believe that I can still order replacement wood kit (gunnel rails, etc.) directly from the manufacturer if that would be preferable. Or maybe an in-house winter project converting to wood of your choice? I look forward to hearing what you think. Thanks. — Geo, June 30, 2023
I’d told Justin and Ian during earlier discussions (and I had reiterated to Steve during dory delivery and canoe pickup) that my timeline was totally flexible. I understood that plenty of priorities — *Adirondack Guide Boat priorities* like fulfilling orders for guideboats and dories — preceded my quixotic quest to rehabilitate an old, broken-down canoe. And I knew that they were busy. Busy building boats. Busy marketing and managing their business. Busy answering questions from guys like me! So I was prepared to cut them plenty of slack in the hopes that they’d eventually be able to transform our no-longer-viable vessel into a better-than-new Mad River Canoe. A clear plan hadn’t been devised, but given Justin and Ian’s remarkable track record with their own boats I felt optimistic.
What I’ve neglected to mention, and what figured prominently in my confidence, was that the Martin brothers had informed me the first time I met them that they’d both started out building canoes for Mad River Canoe. The coincidence struck me as uncanny and auspicious. While I’m not prescient, I imagined a sort of hybrid vessel fusing the heritage and expertise of both Adirondack Guide Boat and Mad River Canoe.
Needless to say, my lack of urgency and their busy agenda allowed for a fair bit of time to swoosh past. I reached out from time-to-time to check in and to keep the canoe rehabilitation project on their radar. I was patient. Mostly. Okay, sometimes I probably badgered them a little more than they appreciated, but a little less than three months ago I reached out with an idea.
I’m following up on the red Old Town canoe that’s been kicking around your workshop for a couple of years. We had originally agreed that you would replace all of the wooden parts during your off-season. (Previous emails below for refresh.) I know it’s not a top priority on your end, and I’ve been OK with that. But I’m hoping to bump it up on your to do list. I’ve just received some emails from you with off-season promotions, and I have an idea. If you’re still willing to rehab the canoe with your beautiful woodwork – and I hope you are! – it occurs to me that you can estimate the cost, and I’ll pay your deposit now to incentivize forward motion. Heck, I would even pay the whole thing in advance if that’s what it would take?! Tell me what you think of my idea. And feel free to call my mobile (below) if that’s more convenient. — George, November 13, 2024
Not sure if I caught Justin on a slow day, if he was just ready to tackle the canoe, or if the mistake I made in my first sentence startled him. Red Old Town canoe?!
Justin called me right away. I realized and corrected the mistake. We had long stored a red Old Town canoe, but it belonged to my sister-in-law and had been returned a couple summers ago. Our boat was a green Mad River Canoe (Destiny model), and sure enough he was able to de-confuse matters by verifying that they had our canoe stored. They’d also be tackling the custom canoe rehabilitation project soon. Hurrah!
Now there’s another little wrinkle that I’ll follow up on later, but that I’ll introduce here. The email I’d received with off-season Adirondack Guide Boat promotions included a handsome green (yes, the same green our Vermont dory) 15′ Adirondack guideboat. It had been bought back from a previous customer or taken on trade, and they’d rebuilt it, completely replacing all of the cherry hardwood. During our phone call I let Justin know that I was keenly interested in purchasing the rehab’ed guideboat despite my guideboat vs. dory decision a couple of years prior. And the notion of a total rebuild prompted my curiosity. What if, instead of simply replacing the rotten elements of the old canoe, we replaced ALL of the wood with cherry? Visions of our Mad River Canoe fully trimmed in cherry danced in my imagination. Doable, he said. He’d get back to me with an estimate. Soon I learned that it’d be $700 to 1) remove all rotten (ash? oak?) wood, 2) template everything, CNC replacements out of cherry, prefabricate the boat, oil, and deliver. Eureka!
Can’t accurately explain how your boats affect me, but there’s something about the meticulous marriage of form and function that beguiles me every time. Beautiful boats.
I have a weakness for green, though I do see that the green guideboat has some pretty notable scratches. I assume that they’re just cosmetic, right? No structural concerns? Is there a way to refinish the exterior? I recall that you actually color the resin for the kevlar hulls (rather thank using gelcoat), but I’m not sure what that means in terms of refinishing. I suspect that there’s not much that can be done with surface scratches, but then again it occurs to me that super fine wet sanding (or compounding) and then polishing might be an option? In any event, not a huge issue since I have already earned some scratches on my green dory.
I’d like to purchase the green guideboat, and let’s add the oars with cherry tips if you’re still making those. And can we add the waterproof cover with “tent pole” setup like I use for the dory?
Now, on to the canoe. I think that old canoe with cherry trim would be stunning. And unique! So, to understand you, would you be replacing all of the existing wood including seats, yoke, etc? And, if so, how would you manage the seats? I’m open to options other than cane if that’s a better route. — Geo, November 13, 2024
The truth is I’d begun to fantasize about an *all cherry* canoe to complete our family of three green kevlar, human powered vessels, all three with beautifully fabricated cherry woodwork.
I can try and get some of the scratches out by buffing them, but we do use a pigmented resin with fiberglass cloth. It’s more durable than gel-coat, but it’s not as easy to fix cosmetically. There is nothing structurally wrong with it and we warranty everything. We can paint the hull, but I hate doing that until it’s really needed. I can though if you want? I can add the cherry tipped spruce oars and cover to the invoice as well.
We have webbed seats that will last longer than cane. The seats are made of cherry so they’ll match the new trim. — Geo, November 13, 2024
Needless to say, I declined painting the hull, settled the invoice, and tried to distract myself while waiting. One week later I received pulse accelerating news and a photo.
Working on it now. I’ll have the gunnels made for your canoe by Wednesday of next week! — Justin, November 22, 2024
Wow! It was happening. At long last, my daydream fusion of Mad River Canoe and Adirondack Guide Boat was becoming a reality.
Can’t wait to see the new-to-me “old” guideboat and the cherry trimmed canoe. — Geo, November 22, 2024
I had to wait, of course, but my enthusiasm percolated just below the surface for weeks.
I’m going to see if we can clean the seats and reinstall them since they fit specifically to your boat. We can re-cane, sand and apply new finish. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll make new ones. — Justin, November 22, 2024
How about brand new seats to match the other boats and better ensure that they’d withstand the test of time, I wondered.
I’m also OK with the strap seats instead of the cane. Might last longer. Although less pretty, I suppose. It occurs to me that the repairs you are already making (and intend to make) just involve the gunnels. Is that correct?
And if so, would you be willing to consider replacing all of the existing wood (including the seats) with cherry replacements? Somehow, in my head, that’s what I had pictured, not a mix of ash and cherry. Obviously I should’ve done a better job of clarifying, but if that’s the case, would you be willing to give me an estimate for doing all replacement? Or would you be concerned that the cherry is not strong enough for the seats? — Geo, November 22, 2024
I waited for a response. Fortunately it arrived swiftly.
We can replace the seats and make the thwarts and yoke out of cherry as well. — Justin, November 22, 2024
Once again, he’d made my day. Hurrah!
Our woodshop is replicating all the wooden parts on our CNC machine for the interior, so everything is cherry. The gunnels and decks should all be replaced and finished by next week. — Justin, December 14, 2024
Too good to be true? Heck no! After all, nobody ever died of optimism…
Soon this photo and note arrived.
All done with the canoe! — Justin, January 2, 2025
Joy! They added this update to their Facebook page.
We started building boats at Mad River Canoe, seeing one come in for repair brings back great memories! Our customer wanted all the wood replaced with cherry. If you have an old canoe that needs some TLC, let us know! (Source: Adirondack Guide Boat via Facebook.com)
I was over the metaphorical moon. No exaggeration. This was adaptive reuse. This is the daydream. I have been kindling for months. For years!
We can wait no longer, so Susan and I made a special trip to the understated boat building facility right off Route 7 in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont.
We were spellbound. We couldn’t have been more satisfied. No, I’d better correct that. Clunking both boats in the water for a test paddle/row would’ve been more satisfying. But… January. Snowstorm. Ice. Bitter cold.
Good morning, Justin.
A belated thank you for showing the boats. What a thrill! The work is beautiful, and I’m looking forward to showcasing both boats on the Rosslyn Redux website and in real life on our waterfront during the summertime.
I’d like to coordinate delivery of the boats, oars, racks, cover(s), etc. when it’s convenient for you.
Thanks again for everything, Justin. It’s been a great adventure so far! — Geo, January 28, 2025
Quick response with good news.
I’m glad you guys liked the boats! I can deliver them next week.
That turned out to be today. What a privilege to welcome these boats to their new home!
As you likely already know, I’m a little bit obsessed with the idea of adaptive reuse, repurposing, upcycling, etc.
The circular beauty of Justin and Ian’s experience building canoes when they were starting out at Meadow River Canoe is just too perfect to pass up. Full circle. A bit like the life of our canoe.
Thank you, Justin. Thank you, Ian. Can’t wait to get these in the water!
What do you think?