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Adirondack Guide Boat, mini

4/28/2015

10 Comments

 
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Of all the things I build, Adirondack Guide Boat is by far the most beautiful.  Constructed in skin-on-frame that natural lines are even more mesmerizing.  Far from the simple construction of a kayak, I like to joke that guide boats are "dangerously close to real boat building."   The work is precise and time consuming, and even though there isn't really a way to make them in a way that pays me what I need, I still build a few every year.  Sometimes it's not about money, sometimes it's just about love.  There is the pride of just lusting over the finished product, and then there is the superb experience of using something that has long since been refined to perfection.   Every time I drag a guideboat over the edge of a dock on it's flat armored bottom I think:  Why isn't every small boat built like this?  Anyone who has ever rowed a guide boat will tell you there is just something sweet, something more than the sum of it's parts.

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This year I received a commission from a smaller gentleman out of San Francisco who is a little older and is starting to have some back problems.  We hatched a plan to see just how light we could go, paring everything down to the absolute minimum.  I love pushing the limits, so we decided to go 11'8" long.  The decks were shortened, the oars shortened, the sheer dropped, the end seats omitted, even two of the floor slats left absent.   When I was finally done the little boat weighed 30lbs.   I worried about getting the trim and freeboard right in such a short version, but no so much that it stopped me from loading the boat without a test paddle and heading down for a hand delivery in San Francisco.

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Unlike the Oregon coast, San Francisco has this mysterious phenomenon called Traffic.  I'm not sure how people endure this daily torment, but aside from a very scary wind gust on the bay bridge, I made it to my destination unscathed and we headed out for a test row at sunset.  Fu-Ping settled the guideboat perfectly on it's lines, and with a lot of pride I watched the little guideboat dance like a water-strider, swift, graceful, elegant.

10 Comments
Ginger Travis
4/28/2015 04:15:42 am

Man, that's lovely! And I am so glad you're building, Brian, for the good of your soull

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Michael Noordijk
7/26/2016 07:51:11 pm

Hear, hear! Great to see you doing new stuff!

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Ty Oldenburg
4/28/2015 05:59:24 am

Beautiful. thanks for sharing.

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Stephen Miller
4/28/2015 11:21:24 am

Brian, you are truly an artist with your woodworking and boat building. I'm honored to have been one of your students for my wonderful F1.

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Hennie W.
5/13/2015 06:06:32 pm

Hi Brian, The detailphotos are very interesting on your website.
In April 2015, I rowed in Fu-pings boat, really good and so very light. I wish you a lot of success!

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gregory currie
7/26/2016 11:05:25 pm

A beautiful boat and your description of it as a water strider, is right on.

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Peter Birkett
5/26/2017 04:55:29 am

Yet another beautifully crafted masterpiece! Just never stop your quest for quality in our business.

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mike link
9/14/2017 07:34:04 am

Your'e a crafty one ! Thanks for sharing

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Lawrence Hargis
1/7/2019 06:53:24 pm

Hello Brian...just a fan who likes to send some encouragement once in a while. And an airline pilot, which brought me to San Francisco today. Took a long walk from the hotel down to Coyote Point, where I spotted a small man rowing an even smaller Adirondack Guide Boat. And it was SOF! Anxious to check it out, I met him at the dock where he began putting the boat away, next to an F-1 kayak! I’m sure you know it was Fu Ping (I heard it as Fu Pi...I hope I didn’t insult him or anything). We talked about boats, and kayaks, and you and your adventures for close to an hour, a vey enjoyable meeting. He was very pleased with both boats, I was glad to get to see them both in person, after years of following your website (but somehow missing this page) Good work, good service, and as always, wishing you good health.

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Tampa Dock Builders Plus link
2/16/2022 09:53:52 pm

Another exquisitely crafted masterpiece! Just don't give up on your quest for quality in our industry.

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    Brian Schulz

    Cape Falcon Kayak, where ancient technology meets modern design.  An avid paddler, builder, and teacher, I'm passionate about sharing the strength, lightweight, and beauty of skin-on-frame boat building.

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