The Collection
The Finger Lakes Boating Museum collects boats that were built within the 14-county Finger Lakes region of New York State. The boat must have been built by an individual or firm engaged in commercial boatbuilding (as opposed to a hobbyist) to qualify for inclusion in the Collection. We have grouped the boats in various generic categories.
Canoes
Canoes were produced by several Finger Lakes builders, including Bowdish & Co., Skaneateles Boat & Canoe Co., and the Penn Yan Boat Company. They were built in a wide variety of lengths and shapes, to serve various recreational needs. Some were set up for sailing, or could be altered for that purpose. Others came with a transom to accommodate a small outboard motor. Still others were designed for easy lifting by one person, and could be transported on top of a car. This 16 ft. molded plywood canoe was built by the Dundee Boats Co. in the late 1940s. Prior to it’s donation to the Museum in 2008, the boat was owned by the donors’ family for nearly 60 years. It was used extensively on the waterways of the Adirondacks. It came to us in pristine condition, having been well maintained and carefully stored when not in use.
Dundee Molded Plywood Canoe
Rowboats
We define a rowboat as a boat originally built to be powered primarily by oars. Most of the rowboats in the Museum’s Collection were built in small boatshops. Each builder developed his own design, incorporating features he believed would best serve the needs of his local customers. Boats typically ranged in length from 11 ½ - 16 feet, and were fitted out with cedar, pine or cypress planks fastened to steam-bent white oak ribs with clinch nails. These boats are usually round bottomed, decked fore and aft, with fine entry lines and low freeboard. In recent years they have become known locally as “troutboats”. They are generally a delight to row.
Penn Yan Rowing Dinghy (JX)
Penn Yan introduced the Rowing Dinghy model in 1939. Built in Light Composite form, these boats weighed only 53 – 61 lbs, depending on length (7, 8 or 9ft), which was about half the weight of their counterparts in the Yachtsman series. The boat shown here is the 7 ft JX model, listed in Penn Yan catalogs from 1939 – 1947.
Row Outboards
The Row Outboard category is used to designate boats built to be powered by an outboard motor, while capable of being rowed when necessary. Typically used for fishing or all-around recreation, these boats were built in large numbers by both production builders (Thompson and Penn Yan), and smaller shops. Relatively inexpensive to purchase and easy to handle, they enabled the working man and his family to take to the water.
Harley Hill
Harley Hill, a well known Ithaca jeweler, built and sold several boats from his Cayuga Lake cottage during the 1940s and 1950s. Employing a jeweler’s skill for fine detail, Hill incorporated several interesting features in his boats. Notable among these are a groove cut into the top of the keel to facilitate drainage and prevent entrapment of water between the ribs (a frequent source of rot), and a leather pad affixed to the outside transom face to reduce motor vibration and scarring. The boat is a 14 ft, strip-planked, with a bright finish interior and painted exterior. The spray rails suggest a strong Thompson influence (which makes sense given the proximity to Cortland).
Outboard Runabouts
The Outboard Runabout category comprises boats built to be powered by an outboard motor, and equipped with a steering wheel. Typically larger than the Row O/B variety, most were built by the large volume builders (Penn Yan and Thompson).
The Playmate
The Playmate appeared in Penn Yan’s catalogs from 1929 thru 1953, and thus was one of their longest running models. This 15 ft V-bottom outboard runabout was produced with “Composite” construction (canvas covering) throughout its history, and was also briefly offered in “Monowood” construction in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The 1953 catalog specifies a maximum motor size of 33hp, which would push this relatively light weight (275 lb) boat along at great speed for its day.
Inboards
The Inboard category contains boats that are powered by an inboard engine. Typically more expensive to build than an outboard-driven boat, these generally represent the “high-end” of the boating spectrum.
Morehouse Inboard Utility
This 18 ft Inboard Utility is one of 28 built by the Morehouse Boat Company between 1947 and 1957. Custom built in 1952 for a gentleman on Seneca Lake, where she spent her entire life until being donated to the Museum, she is mahogany planked and decked over oak frames. The boat is powered with a 60 HP 4 cylinder Chris Craft Model "B" engine
Sailboats
The Finger Lakes offer marvelous opportunities for sailing. A wide variety of sailboats was produced by many firms in the Finger Lakes region. Several of the larger builders offered one-design boats such as the Comet and Lightning, while others produced sailboats of their own design.
Thompson Snipe
In 1931 William Crosby, Naval architect and editor of The Rudder magazine, introduced the Snipe sailboat. Crosby designed the 15 ½ ft. boat to be affordable for the average family, suitable for racing and easily conveyed by trailer for dry sailing or towing to distant events. The small sailboat quickly caught on, and by the late 1930s had become one of the most popular one-design sailboats in the world.
Thompson Brothers began building Snipe sailboats in 1933, and continued to do so into the early 1950s. Shipped from Thompson’s Cortland plant in 1941, the boat was restored several years ago and now sports an oval cockpit with dagger board instead of pivoting centerboard, and a varnished wooden deck in place of the original canvas covered version.
New Aquisitions
1952 Dundee Cottage Sportsman
Keuka Lake Rowboat
Thompson Snipe
Penn Yan Swift (CZT)
Penn Yan Flier Trailboat
1963 Nomad Hardtop Model NIH
Skaneateles Boat and Canoe Camp Model Row/Outboard
Penn Yan Coquette (JVO)
Penn Yan Challenger (DSD)
Campbell Runabout