OK so it took a loooong while, but now I have seen it, and it is truly an odd duck. Here's what I know; it was bought at an auction, on the NJ side of the Delaware somewhere north of Frenchtown. No provenance supplied. The construction seem in some ways well done and in other ways a bit haphazard. it is 13" LOA, 11'5 ft tip to tip of the decks. It has a bottom board like in Guideboat construction, 5.5" wide, feathered laps with the smallest tacks I have yet seen. The planking seems to be on of the random aspects, for while it is feather lapped, it is also gore planked like a w/c canoe (see pictures). The interior is set up like a guideboat, with bow and stern cleats, for the seats and the lower position in the center for a movable seat (missing). The stern seat is also missing. It appears to be set up to row from the front seat, but if you row from the center you must turn the boat around and use the same set of straps. It has a squarish brass stemband that flattens out like a guideboat and the put side stem has a rounded protrusion above the deck that is where the stemband is flat. The boat has an oversized keel and the brass continues full length. The ribs are steam bent, rounded ones like you might find in a all wood canadian canoe, on 5" centers. The stems themselves are very wide like a guidboat, but the last third at the to is spliced in.
Another odd part is the decks, which are made of 1" planks, crossways. There is a very severe bent to the sheer at the decks.
Continuing with the oddities, are the rials, as I would not call them outwales. There are two pieces on each side, separated by about na inch running down the sheer and an inch below, made of the same wood as the ribs. I do not know for sure but the ribs look ashish. When the top 'gunnel' gets to the strap for the oars, it is tapered onto the blocks shaped to hold the straps, the bottom one runs below the block. There is a piece of the 'gunnel' stock on the inside as well, just below the rib tops, with a break where the yoke cleats ar mounted. it ends short of the decks.
I cannot see the inside stems as there are bulkheads at the end of the 20" decks. I know this is a lot of detail, but it is a pretty strange bird.
I am posting pictures here, more may follow as I took 37 between yesterday before loading it on, and today at the shop. Repairs needed are minimal but it is getting the outside redone as it is all blistered, and the inside will get cleaned a refinishing in low luster varnish. Two seat are missing and need to be replaced, with cherry frames like the one left, and all will be recanned.
All in all I would classify this as a small guideboat with the rounded hull shape of a canoe. Any other help will be greatly appreciated. It will be in the shop for a while, as the are other boats ahead of it in line.