Rare 1870s Rushton Guideboat
This is not the Rushton guideboat more commonly seen and known as the Saranac Laker. Those are highly valued guideboats, but this one predates them. It does not have the strip-built decks that Rushton transferred from his pleasure rowboats to his guideboats later on. These are the classic decks that the early guideboat builders he hired would have known.
This boat was brought to me to restore in the 1990s and has had the most through restoration I could do, copying Rushton’s methods and materials closely, with new nickel plating on all the appropriate hardware including the builder’s plate shown. It has scarcely been used since then though it is in perfect order for use. Handle with care but not fear.
The asking price is, at $12,800, is less than half of replacement cost even though it’s a rare antique.
