| Dories are one of the few hundreds of year old boat | | | | for launching through the surf, fishing in the open |
| designs to have survived into the 21st century, and | | | | ocean, drifting down whitewater rivers, water skiing |
| for good reason. Their sea keeping abilities, slippery | | | | in lakes, as work boats hauling heavy loads of traps |
| shapes, extreme versatility, and ease of construction | | | | or divers, sailing along on a light breeze, just about |
| make them one of the best choices for a first-time | | | | any use you can imagine. They also do it with far less |
| or veteran boat builder looking for a great boat able | | | | effort than many other kinds of boats. Imagine going |
| to be built on a budget. | | | | 25 mph using only 25 horsepower in a 20 foot boat - |
| Dories began appearing over 200 years ago as small, | | | | a dory can do it. Imagine a 20 foot row boat that |
| light, versatile work boats ideal for fishing. They were | | | | one person can row up to the hull speed of 6 knots |
| easy to construct, easy to launch from the beach, | | | | with ease over long distances - a dory can do it. |
| easy to row or sail, and could haul a huge load of | | | | Imagine loading 8 tons of cargo on a 27 foot boat |
| gear and fish. No one knows exactly where the | | | | and powering it in the open ocean - a dory can do it. |
| design came from but many builders started | | | | Modern dories are surprisingly easy to build. All of the |
| constructing these boats on both sides of the | | | | frame elements are straight. You can literally go to |
| Atlantic. In Europe dories were popular in Portugal, | | | | any lumber yard, buy pre-milled construction grade |
| and in the US, Nova Scotia was the center of dory | | | | lumber, screw and glue it together, cover it with |
| construction. Dories were used extensively to fish | | | | plywood, and viola - you have a dory. No exotic |
| the Grand Banks, one of the most important cod | | | | materials, no specialized tools, no special techniques |
| fishing locales in the world at that time. | | | | are required. If you can build a sawhorse, you can |
| Many people think that flat bottomed boats, as most | | | | build a dory. Most modest sized dories can be built in |
| dories are, are somehow less seaworthy than boats | | | | a few dozen hours for a few hundred dollars. All you |
| of some other bottom shape. Nothing could be | | | | need to do is to ensure the designer of the dory you |
| farther from the truth. When you load a dory down, | | | | select has designed his boat to be made from |
| with its flared sides, the boat gets more and more | | | | standard sized lumber. Some of the old fashioned |
| stable. As an example of how seaworthy dories are, | | | | designs call for unusual sizes you have to spend |
| in 1876 a man named Alfred Johnson took a dare in a | | | | many hours sizing down the lumber before you can |
| Gloucester, Massachusetts bar to single handedly sail | | | | start building. |
| across the Atlantic in an open dory. He chose a 20 | | | | With modern epoxy, and the new polyurethane |
| foot dory which he named Centennial to | | | | "Gorilla Glue" type glues, you can build strong, safe |
| commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the | | | | dories, even if you're not an expert wood craftsman. |
| United States that year. He fitted with sails and a | | | | These glues fill gaps well, so there is no need to |
| centerboard, and on June 15th set off from | | | | carefully fit and expertly clamp each joint in the hull |
| Gloucester for England. He arrived in Liverpool on | | | | framing. With fiberglass and epoxy, you can even use |
| August 21st 1876 after crossing one of the most | | | | non-marine grades of plywood also. The flexible and |
| treacherous stretches of water in the world, the | | | | exceptionally strong coating of epoxy and fiberglass |
| North Atlantic. He survived a major gale and some | | | | on the outside seals the hull as well as adding |
| horrid seas in a flat bottomed, open boat with no | | | | strength and abrasion resistance. Unlike older |
| flotation or self bailing decks! | | | | polyester resin based fiberglass, with epoxy, there is |
| Modern dories come in a number of variants. There | | | | no specialized application techniques needed for boat |
| are those optimized for rowing, sail, power, high | | | | building. You just lay the cloth on the plywood then |
| power, wild white water, and more. Almost every | | | | wet it down with resin applied with a brush or roller. |
| possible boating use or preference can be | | | | It's simple. |
| accommodated in some kind of dory. Dories are used | | | | |