Adirondack Guide Boat Itch.

[Adam W.]

This is going to be a slow thread, but I'll be attempting to build a rowboat for pike fishing on the local lake and rivers.

I've chosen the Adirondack guide boat, as I think that I will be able to build it quite cheaply, although it is going to take a little research and a bit of digging around in the woods.

Here's some ideas of how the thing is made to start with.

All photos ©Adirondack Experience.


Having the necessary gear to cut the flitches for the ribs, I'll be doing it old school and start with one of these....

But first, anyone know how to loft ribs from a plan in a book ?

 

[Inspector]

There is a Wooden Boat Forum that would likely have a lot of information as would the magazines back issues. Lots on the web to dig through. This one might have something you can glean from. Building a Traditional Adirondack Guideboat - Adirondack-Guideboat
I'll enjoy reading this thread as I do all your others.

As to your question as best I understand you scale the plans up to full size by lofting the design on the floor or work table for smaller boats and fair the lines as necessary.

Pete

 

[Jameshow]

I think you will need to loft each station.

Half breadths and heights of datum.

Subtract the rib thickness.

Then cut out into MDF / chipboard before steaming oak??? Ribs and then planking? Larch??

Been a while...!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Classic-Small-Craft-Instructions/dp/007142797X
Really good book.

 

[Adam W.]

I have two books The Adirondack Guideboat - Durant and Building an Adirondack Guideboat - Michne, I'll use those for reference and plan to build it as a historical exploration, as is my want.

I guess lofting is a boaty term for scaling up from a plan and making accurate templates, no?

 

[Inspector]

Lofting = Scaling. Aircraft are lofted too using the same terminology. Waterlines, buttock lines etc. Makes sense when you get used to it.

Pete

 

[Lorenzl]

Post was off topic and can't delete

 

[John Brown]

Looks like a interesting project, bit like your other stuff, but upside down.

There's a reason we call that part of a church the nave.

 

[Jameshow]

I have two books The Adirondack Guideboat - Durant and Building an Adirondack Guideboat - Michne, I'll use those for reference and plan to build it as a historical exploration, as is my want.

I guess lofting is a boaty term for scaling up from a plan and making accurate templates, no?

Quite often they are lofted from a set of offsets just a table of numbers which define the shape of the boat.

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.stevereynoldsinstrument...A table of offsets is,and in all three views.

 

[Jameshow]

I have two books The Adirondack Guideboat - Durant and Building an Adirondack Guideboat - Michne, I'll use those for reference and plan to build it as a historical exploration, as is my want.

I guess lofting is a boaty term for scaling up from a plan and making accurate templates, no?

I'll send you the Gardner chapters on
Guideboats during the week

 

[Adam W.]

I'll send you the Gardner chapters on
Guideboats during the week

Thanks very much.

The learning curve is steep with this one as it all means very little at the moment.

 

[Jones]

If you have offsets you draw them on a board with x and y axes then join the dots to get the shape of the outer hull so you then need to account for planking and rib thickness. Steamed ribs will want to spring back so you need to overbend them, there's probably a formula for how much.

 

[Adam W.]

I won't be steam bending the ribs, as I plan to dig for spruce. Luckily I know a man with some big spruce, who also happens to have a tractor.

 

[TRITON]

Following with great interest

 

[Adam W.]

Looks like a interesting project, bit like your other stuff, but upside down.

There's a reason we call that part of a church the nave.

There is a loose direction to to most of the things I've been thinking about over the last 20 years or so and the projects get more complicated and sculptural as I go along. I wouldn't have been able to contemplate starting a boat like this without having done all the research on the geometry of the vault.

I think I've got enough knowledge now to be able to go to the woods to get what I want for this one, but I'm sure there are going to be plenty of mistakes made as I go along.

The technical boating stuff is new to me, but it looks like I'm going to get plenty of help from this parish, so it should be a fun project with plenty of new learning.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Adam - you may have seen if already but a member did a great thread on building a cedar strip canoe a couple of months into lockdown.

Thread 'Cedar strip canoe - moving swiftly on'
Cedar strip canoe - moving swiftly on

It stuck in my mind as a highlight amongst all the bickering over COVID. While perhaps not quite the same as your project it may be helpful,

 

[heimlaga]

To me a guide boat with those half lap seams look very difficult to build. You cannot fine tune the lay of each plank by lifting and lowering one end of it until you trim the lower edge to shape once everything else is right.
If I were you I would go for a traditional lapstrake design instead. For instance a traditional Finnish lake boat. Sharing many of the characteristics of the guide boat and intended for the same use though much less gentrified and thus way easier to build.

I am not a boatbuilder but I have done some repairs now and then and like traditional boatbuilding. A good way of getting a good boat out ofcheap materials.

 

[Adam W.]

@heimlaga

Weight and form are at the top of the list for this one, the average 14' guideboat weighs about 28kg. Plus they are fast craft.

I initially wanted one of these.........You can probably guess that I'm a bit of a tart.

 

[toolsntat]

@heimlaga

Weight and form are at the top of the list for this one, the average 14' guideboat weighs about 28kg. Plus they are fast craft.

I initially wanted one of these.........You can probably guess that I'm a bit of a tart.

View attachment 139337

Not quite sure if you are in England next weekend Adam or even if this "floats your boat" but the TRAD BOAT FESTIVAL is on at Henley.
Cheers, Andy
https://www.tradboatfestival.com/

 

[Stevekane]

All boats are lovely, esp old style wooden ones, your original photos at the top look like they show a lot of wood in storage, would these be crooks to cut the ribs and knees from rather than bending?
Steve