LOCALadk Magazine

Class in the Adirondacks isn't measured by how large a house you can build or how impressive your stock portfolio is. In our 6-million- acre park, class is gauged by the competency of your specialty. Does what you do fit into the landscape of these beautiful woods and waters? Do your manmade efforts add to the perfection of nature? Is your expertise trusted by this mountain community whose weather alone presents numerous challenges? Does your Adirondack crasmanship showcase to the rest of the world something truly special? Tumblehome Boatshop answers all these questions with flying colors. But don't just take my word for it, see for yourself sometime this fall by visiting the Tumblehome Boatshop facility, open to the public on Route 28 in Warrensburg. 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. In 2015, this effort earned Tumblehome an award from Adirondack Architectural Heritage for restoration and preservation. Tumblehome's 6,000-square-foot building also was recognized by Warrensburgh Beautification Inc. and the Adirondack Mountain Garden Club. e inside, though, is even more impressive in the way the viewing areas allow visitors to look out onto the Boatshop through fire-resistant and sound-deadening picture windows. Upstairs is a conference room with comfortable accommodations for clients and their families to look out onto the shop floor and watch progress on their boats. Next door to the Boatshop is the Tumblehome Boathouse, which is an on-site museum-like display room. is place is open to the public and includes a showroom with a number of boats on exhibit and modern visual aids that connect the past to the present. During my recent visit, I literally cried when I viewed a beautiful antique guideboat that was restored to perfection. e back of the climate-controlled Boathouse is utilized for storing boats for future restoration. Visiting Tumblehome is truly a family- friendly atmosphere. It's obvious the Smith family is dedicated to passing on historic crasmanship to future generations by providing educational details on exhibits and by frequently rotating boats to be viewed. is production certainly didn't occur overnight. It has been a lifelong passion of Reuben Smith, who has been honing his expertise since childhood. Growing up in a boatbuilding family, Reuben worked for both his uncle at Everett Boatworks in Canton and his father at Adirondack Goodboat in Long Lake. He then embarked to the Boston area, where he was the boat shop director at Hull Lifesaving Museum. Continuing to grow Tumblehome, he toured up TUMBLEHOME BOATSHOP A B O A T L O A D O F A D I R O N D A C K C L A S S LOCALadk 46 Story by Frank Geremski & Photographs by Ethan Atwood

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