Lovely on the Lake

At a busy boat shop anchored deep in the Adirondacks, the founder works steadily at keeping historic lake boats alive and thriving. “There are a lot of good shops that restore mahogany speedboats and do a great job, but Reuben Smith’s true love is launches. And he understands what the boat was.”

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Tumblehome Boatshop

Upon arrival, you will be instantly impressed with how Reuben and Cynde Smith have captured Adirondack chic by the sheer attractiveness of their building and the beautiful inviting gardens surrounding Tumblehome’s operation. Reuben Smith initiated Tumblehome in 1997, though he didn’t build a permanent structure till 2012, when he and a team of builders renovated a multi-purposed block building that was home to other industries and was once a town barn.

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Staging Historic Boats

Every boat has a story and a history. In restoring a vintage boat, we aim to be as original as possible, using traditional methods and materials. Similarly, I think staging the boat is an opportunity to capture its true history, to explore and express what it might have been like to ride in that boat when it was new.

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Torpedo Style

It was here — in the Adirondack Mountains about 200 miles north of New York City — that the story of the 1916 motor launch, Fanita Jr began. This Fay & Bowen torpedo stern launch was first owned by John Boulton Simpson, born in 1846, a veteran of the American Civil War, and a millionaire New York businessman.

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Fanita Jr, a 1916 Fay & Bowen, Returns to Lake George

Fanita, Jr, the 32-foot, 1916 Fay and Bowen torpedo stern launch once owned by Lake George Club commodore John Bolton Simpson, entered the waters of the lake for the first time in years last weekend, after a full structural restoration by Tumblehome Boatshop.

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Bolton Boats and Boating Festival Honors Craft of Another Era

The Bolton Landing Boats and Boating Festival is a day-long event featuring dozens of small boats powered by oar, paddle and sail, sponsored by the Bolton Historical Museum, with support from Tumblehome Boatshop and others.

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Bolton Landing Boats & Boating Festival News: Pilot Gigs Coming

Among the boats coming to next weekend’s Bolton Landing Boats and Boating Festival in Rogers Park are two 32-foot, six-oared rowing vessels from Lake Champlain.

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AILEEN: the Return of the Sound Inter Club

Two boats of the same design are a matched pair. Add a third, and you have a class. 

Credit for that quip belongs to Reuben Smith, the builder and restorer of wood boats who is among those responsible for reassembling a class of One Design sailboats on Lake George – the Sound Interclubs.

 

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“Stella Blue,” A Modern Take on a Gentleman’s Racer

Writer Art Paine talks with designer Bob Stephens of Stephens Waring Yacht Design and boat builder Reuben Smith of Tumblehome Boatshop about their collaboration on “Stella Blue,”  a custom speedboat with element of a Gentleman’s Racer but with features that make it practical for a family boating on a small Adirondack lake.
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Fanita Jr. Takes First Prize

The Fanita Jr, restored by Tumblehome Boatshop, is a Fay and Bowen that once belonged to John Boulton Simpson, and has always been on Lake George.

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Tumblehome Boatshop Receives Adirondack Preservation Award

The Sembrich, the opera museum and performance venue in Bolton Landing, and Reuben Smith’s Tumblehome Boatshop in Warrensburg, have been selected to receive Preservation Awards by Adirondack Architectural Heritage.

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A Homecoming for El Lagarto

Pick up a copy of this week’s Lake George Mirror and get all the news on El Lagarto and the Gold Cup Festival this September.

Tumblehome Builds a First: A Speedboat for the Entire Family

Reuben Smith opened his Tumblehome Boatshop in 2012, intending to build a business restoring antique wooden boats and, when able, constructing new boats based on historic designs. It was a successful gambit.

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CAPRICE and GHOST: the Unlikely Return of the Sound Interclub Class

The January/February issue of WoodenBoat Magazine (Number 242) includes a feature article by editor Matthey P. Murphy on the restoration and reintroduction of the Sound Inter Clubs, “Caprice” and “Ghost.” On sale at newstands and online at the WoodenBoatStore. 

Reintroducing the Sound Inter Club

Certain designs endure. If they’re beautiful, if they’re well built, if they are easy to own and easy to use, and if they have a history that resonates, then they become classics. The Sound Inter Club is one such boat.

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Tumblehome 24: Design Review

The November/December issue of WoodenBoat Magazine (Number 241) includes a design review by Brendan Riordan on the Tumblehome 24, the custom speedboat designed by Stephens Waring Yacht Design and under construction at Tumblehome Boatshop.  On sale online at the WoodenBoatStore. 

What Boating Meant to Women, What Women Meant to Boating

“The new woman needed a new kind of boat,” That’s what historian Hallie Bond suggested last week at Reuben Smith’s Tumblehome Boatshop, where she presented, ‘“Canoes Seem Made for Girls:’ A Century of Women in Boats.”

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Gadfly, Restored by Area Boatshop, Launched at Antique Boat Museum

The Gadfly is a 33-foot 1931 Hutchinson Island Commuter built specifically for folks living in the 1000 Islands area of the St. Lawrence River. 

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Stoddard’s Boats

 
For Reuben Smith, the owner of Tumblehome Boatshop in Warrensburg, Stoddard’s photographs are not merely of antiquarian or aesthetic interest.

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Lake George Sailboat Takes Restoration Award at Mystic Seaport

‘Ghost’, a 29-foot Sound Interclub restored by a crew led by Reuben Smith for Assembly Point resident John Kelly, won Honorable Mention for Best Professionally Restored Boat . . . .

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Tumblehome Boatshop: Reuben Smith’s Warrensburg Rehab Center

Talking with Reuben Smith about his thoughtful approach to wooden-boat restoration and visiting his Tumblehome Boatshop just north of Warrensburg . . . 

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Antique Boat Museum Chooses Local Craftsmen to Restore Famed Boat

Tumblehome Boatshop has been selected by the Antique Boat Museum to restore its 1931 Hutchinson Commuter.

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Restored Sail Boat Takes First Place at WoodenBoat Show

A 29-foot Sound Inter Club restored by Reuben Smith’s crew took first place in its category.

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Reuben Smith Opens Tumblehome Boatshop

Wood Boat Builder and Restorer Has Found the Perfect Place to Continue the Family Legacy

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Return of the Sound Interclub

A retired Lake George sailboat is making a comeback, and Mystic Seaport is following its progress.

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The Smith Rowboat

A Craft Perfectly Suited to Lake George

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