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