Carmine

The Dory Fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland has always been a dangerous business. Especially so, before the advent of modern navigation and boat building technology.

Grand Banks Fishermen had to rough some of the toughest seas in the world to harvest their living from the sea. They needed the strongest, most seaworthy boats known to man. They therefore came to rely on one boat. The Dory.

The dory is a small flat-bottomed fishing boat with high sides that is narrower aft then she is a front. Seamen swear by the dory's stability and maneuverability. The convenient shape of the dory made it easily stackable on the deck of schooners where they would be piled high during transport to and from the banks.

Once at the banks, fisherman would cast out in these dory's by the dozen to hand-line for cod fish. The Dory could cover many miles by oar and/or sail and survive the sudden gales that frequent that area. And the ability of these small vessels to carry the heaviest of loads and still maintain it's seaworthiness was astounding.

The Dory fulfilled its role in the Grand Banks Fishery until the 1940's. Today, you have to look hard to see a dory used in the fishery. Although they are still sometimes used as life rafts on some fishing vessels, the most common use today for the dory is simply as a pleasure craft. The dory makes an awesome row boat. It is light, yet very sturdy in the water. They can also be equipped with a small outboard motor for trolling. Depending on the size of the dory, various engine sizes can be used.

The Banker Dory, located in Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland, Canada is still carrying on with the great Grand Banks Dory building tradition. Although the days of hundreds of massed produced dory's each year is a thing of the past, they custom build dozens of dory's each and every year for customers all over North America. They build each dory, made to order, depending on what their varied customer base requires.

Their most popular dory is a 16 foot Grand Banks Dory. It measures 16' from stem to stern with a 12 foot bottom. Their dory's are carefully lapstreak planked with pine planks and have a spruce and birch stem and stern. Marine grade caulking and stainless steel screws are used to ensure complete water tightness. If required, the counter is widened and cut for a small outboard engine mount. They also have very popular 12 foot and 18 foot models. All models can be equipped with a center board, rudder and sail for sailing if desired.

The dory makes an awesome purchase and pleasure craft. It represents an era long gone and is simply wonderful to see moored in a quiet harbor or lake. Dory, you gotta love it.

Fraser Wheaton is founder and creator of the Dory Plan website at http://www.Doryplan.com and runs the Newfoundland Dory website at http://www.Dory.Netfirms.com

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