16' X 39" Rushton Guide Boat 5/12/67 Wooden Canoe Blue Print Drawing Off Set

It is what is in the pictures here's a little history about this blue print This is an extremely rare guide-boat. It is one of only two known to exist showing a transition between Rushtons' first and second design phases. It is commonly thought that he began experimenting with new designs for his Saranac Laker model in 1891. During 1892 and 1893 he eventually arrived at the final new design for this model that began full production in 1894. This boat contains elements of both the 'new' and the old.1888 saw Rushton’s entry into Adirondack Guide-boat production.

This example of his craftsmanship has significant historical import as it represents the first round of technical improvements from his original efforts and began the widespread acceptance by both genuine guides and ‘sports’ for his boat output. In 1892 the old guard Adirondack guides were declining due to age and a shift in boat use from the carriage of people and their gear destined for remote camps, to more ‘sporting’ purposes like day trips and hunting. The detail exhibited in the scrolled solid brass oarlocks of our boat attest to it being built for gentrified camp use rather than haulage. Unfortunately (for the deer) these hunts consisted mainly of ‘jack lighting’ whereby a makeshift lantern, lit with bundled spruce twigs and projected onto the shore via a rudimentary tin reflector, was employed to make them easy night prey for a rifleman straddling the bow seat. This boat retains a round hole in the original bow deck to accommodate the lantern stanchion.While Rushton generally shipped his guide-boats with a natural cedar finish on the exterior hull, the vast majority of camp owners painted them immediately upon delivery; either with their camp colors or predominately black, to make them less conspicuous for night hunting.

By the end of the 1890’s these guide-boats were widely known as the ‘Black Snakes of the Adirondacks’.