Work boats for play

With a name like The Dory Shop, it’s not hard to figure out our specialty. But of course our shop builds much more than the iconic Banks dories that have been our bread and butter for more than 90 years. There are semi-dories and transom dories – both of them styles of wooden power skiffs. And then sometimes we build boats that aren’t dories at all – like the recent Nutshell Prams.

But prams aside, most of what we build can be classified as work boats – strong, sturdy, seaworthy craft that were designed as stable platforms from which to fish, tend traps, haul nets, carry gear and catches and people. As many have discovered, these same boats are great for play too! None moreso than the high-sided skiff that Jay is building now.

Based on the lines of an old work skiff that ended up in the boatyard years ago, she’s 16 feet overall and very heavily built so that she can withstand a variety of sea conditions. Another great Dory Shop boat!

Dory Plug

Finishing the prams

It’s blowing half a gale here today and so Jay is back inside (see picture from Friday below), working to add a handsome finish to these two Nutshell Prams he’s been working on. Just look at that gunwale!

Seeing double

Dory Plug has been away on vacation (and even Jay took a week off to sail aboard the stunning schooner Mistral!), so that explains why there haven’t been any posts here lately.

However we did have the lovely Miss B taking some photos for us as Jay continued to build not one, but two lovely Nutshell Prams with the assistance of Miss B’s beau, Arran.

Miss B also pinch-hit on a tour of The Dory Shop and the Twin Schooner build for young sailors visiting Lunenburg aboard the sail training ship Spirit of Bermuda last week. She reports that, as always, these bright young Bermudians had lots of interest and great questions about our activities.

Dory Plug

Quality control

Schooner builder Dave Westergard’s son checks out the progress on this latest rowing pram that Jay is building.

Planking a pram

We have lots of tourists in Lunenburg these days and so lots of folks dropping in to see what Jay is working on in the shop. Right now it’s a little Nutshell rowing pram, seen here.

First Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion a big success!

We’re delighted to report that the first-ever Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion held over the weekend was a great success. Two very full days of activity including the Heritage Cup schooner race, sloop, small boat, even putt-putt-powered boat races, displays and demos by boat builders, oarmakers and sailors, shop tours, musical entertainment and much oogling of beautiful wooden boats, wrapped up last evening. Phew!

Capt. Dan and Dory Plug manned the shop for most of the weekend, as Jay was sailing aboard the handsome schooner Mistral, and Dave and Bub were aboard Dave’s Sea Change. Literally hundreds of people dropped by to view the twin schooners underway in the boatyard and the lovely pram Jay is building inside.

A particular highlight of the weekend occurred late Sunday afternoon when shanty singers, the Dory Bungholes, who had been performing at the Lunenburg Bandstand, arrived at the Dory Shop and performed an impromptu concert. We had sponsored the Bungholes at last year’s Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival and knowing we would be on duty in the boatyard, they made a special point of dropping by, and all of them decked out in their Dory Shop caps! It was amazing!

Thanks to everyone who helped organize this genuine celebration by a community that just loves her wooden boats!

Dory Plug

A little sailing dory

So the little Black Rocks sailing dory that we had planned to take to the WoodenBoat Show – but then, receiving an order for a rowing dory, took that instead – is finished.

As you can see, it’s a sweet little boat with a simple lug sail rig. Perfect for a beginner sailer as the boat provides a very safe and stable platform from which to learn. Plus a dory of this size is easily rowed by a child as young as nine or 10 but can still hold a few people (her capacity is over 1000 lbs.!).

We’ve had lots of comments and ‘likes’ on our Facebook page after posting this next photo, of Capt. Dan and Jay supposedly arguing over the sail rig. Do not worry! It was all for fun. Or as we said on Facebook, ‘no sea captains or dory builders were injured.’

Jay is now making the frames for two rowing prams he is building. He doesn’t have the fire on, though it’s damp and cold and entirely un-summerlike at the moment. The forecast is better for the weekend when we expect schooner builder Dave to bring Sea Change up the coast and into the harbour in advance of next weekend’s Lunenburg WoodenBoat Reunion and Regatta. Check out facebook.com/lunenburgwoodenboatreunion

If you are in the area, do drop by as there will be lots to see and do as we celebrate Lunenburg’s boatbuilding heritage July 23-24 with special events including visits to the Bluenose II rebuild and tours here at The Dory Shop and Boatyard. The wharves and vessels of the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, as well as the wharves of Adams and Knickle Ltd. and the Barque Picton Castle, will be open to the public and filled with local wooden boatbuilders displaying their work and with demonstrations of skills like sailmaking, oar leathering and splicing. There will be hands-on opportunities to throw a heaving line, raise a mast, launch a mini-schooner. There are schooner and sloop races, small boat events, including a race of three boats equipped with one-lunger engines on Sunday. And there will be lots of musical entertainment including a finale concert featuring Lennie Gallant.

Hope to see you there!

Dory Plug

A good day for painting

The Black Rocks sailing dory is just about ready (just waiting on a piece of stainless rod for the rudder) and Jay’s taking advantage of a gorgeous summer’s day to do a bit of painting in the boatyard before starting two new prams.

At present, we have two dories in stock (just in case someone out there in cyberland is looking for a ready-to-go boat to get out on the water!): one 13-foot-bottom, 17-feet-overall Handline rowing dory and the 11-foot-bottom, 14′ 8″ loa Black Rocks sailing dory. The third dory shown (also a Handline) is sold.

Dory Plug

End of season deals

It’s not the nature of The Dory Shop to offer end-of-season sales events. After all, we’re not some kind of used car dealership. We’re a heritage boat shop, building custom and semi-custom boats.

That said, our recent brush with Hurricane Earl and the likelihood of additional storm systems, not to mention the prospect of a Canadian winter (though we’ve applied to have the latter cancelled this year), has us looking at our collection of brand-new rowing dories, plus a 16-foot motor skiff and a lovely Nutshell Pram, and thinking we don’t want this many boats to winter over.

And so ol’ Dory Plug is willing to deal my friends as I would really like to find homes for these wonderful boats. If you’ve been thinking about it, don’t let this opportunity pass you by. In the dory department, we have both Black Rocks and Handline dories available. Call today or email Susan at info@doryshop.com

Dory Plug

The Dory Shop

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

info@doryshop.com

 

Happy New Year!

We took a bit of time off over the holidays. Not a lot in Jay’s case. He wanted to get that lovely Nutshell Pram done. Now he’s getting organized to start a big beautiful Seine dory.

The schooner boys were also hard at it when weather permitted. Not that cold alone would stop them. To see what they’re up to visit Twin Schooner Project New Year’s brought another dump of snow but today it’s sunny and mild.

Dory Plug

The Dory Shop

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

info@doryshop.com