Boat Books: Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks
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The Adirondacks have always been one of those places that sticks with me, not just for the deep memories I've made there, but for the wonderfully oddball, deeply rooted boating culture that’s grown there for centuries. Few places capture the relationship between people, water, and craft quite like this corner of the Northeast.
Hallie Bond’s Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks has transported me back every time I cracked it open. Bond, a longtime curator at the Adirondack Experience, unpacks the evolution of regional boatbuilding through stories of iconic (and sometimes obscure) vessels: Rushton canoes, slender St. Lawrence River skiffs, guide boats, early kayaks, historic sailing craft, and a handful of designs I had never heard of until reading.
What makes the book so compelling is the way it blends maritime history with the culture, terrain, and characters who relied on these boats to navigate, explore, and ultimately shape the Adirondack wilderness. It’s part design study, part human story, and part love letter to a place defined by water and craftsmanship.
If you’re drawn to handmade wooden boats, niche regional watercraft, or the lore of the Adirondacks, this one’s a gem. It’s the kind of book you can savor cover to cover or flip through on a winter afternoon to pick up a story, a photo, or a hull shape that sparks something. Perfect for boat nerds, Adirondack devotees, and anyone who appreciates how small craft connect people to wild places.