Dory Boats as Pleasure Craft

The Grand Banks dory spent three centuries earning its reputation as a working boat - rugged, seaworthy, practical. But the same qualities that made it indispensable on the fishing grounds make it a superb pleasure craft today.

Whether you want to row a quiet lake, rig a sail for afternoon tacking, or put a small outboard on the stern, the Grand Banks dory handles all of it with grace.

Rowing the Dory

The Grand Banks dory is first and foremost a rowing boat. Everything about its design was optimized for efficient, sustained rowing by one or two people.

Narrow beam keeps wetted surface low, reducing drag. Rocker allows the hull to pivot easily. Flared sides ride over waves. Lightweight construction (150–180 pounds) means it accelerates quickly and carries momentum well.

Rowers who have used both fibreglass dinghies and traditional wooden dories consistently report that the dory rows better.

Oar Length: 8–9 feet for a 16-foot dory. Oarlocks positioned one foot aft of the widest thwart.

Single vs. Double: Rows well solo. With two rowers, considerably faster and surprisingly easy to keep straight. Traditional dory racing, still held at Atlantic Canada events, uses two rowers.

Sailing the Dory

The Grand Banks dory can be rigged for sailing. A simple sprit rig or lug sail in the 30–50 square foot range works well. High freeboard is an advantage - it keeps spray out when the boat heels.

There are a few considerations. The dory has no keel, so leeway is significant. A leeboard or centreboard helps for windward sailing. The flat bottom means less stability when heeled than round-bilge boats - sail conservatively and reef early. Downwind sailing is where the dory excels. It runs before the wind beautifully.

Many builders report that a simple downwind run on a pleasant afternoon is one of the best small boat experiences there is.

Motoring the Dory

A small outboard transforms the dory into an excellent fishing and excursion boat. The transom (counter) accommodates an outboard without modification.

Motor size: 2–5 HP is ideal, pushing the boat at 5–8 knots. Larger motors are not recommended - the dory is a displacement hull designed to move through water, not over it. Trying to plane overloads the transom and puts the bow in the air.

Electric outboards work particularly well - quiet, low maintenance, and the low top speed means modest electric motors can move the boat efficiently for hours.

The Dory as a Fishing Boat

The dory is excellent for freshwater and nearshore saltwater fishing. Stability under load, quiet rowing capability, large carrying capacity, and the ability to beach on rocky shores make it ideal for fishing that motorboats are too noisy for and kayaks too small for.

Many owners use their dories for lake trout, salmon in tidal rivers, and nearshore saltwater fishing - a beautiful irony given the boat's origin.

Maintenance

A wooden boat requires more maintenance than fibreglass - but it's not onerous. Sand and repaint every 2–3 years. Store out of water when not in use. Inspect fastenings annually. Touch up dings promptly.

A dory that is painted, kept clean, and stored properly will last decades.

Why the Dory Endures

Fibreglass is easier to maintain. Electric boats are quieter. Carbon fibre is faster. Yet every year, people build wooden dories. They row them, photograph them, talk about them.

The Grand Banks dory endures because it is beautiful, because it has history, and because there is something in the experience of rowing a well-made wooden boat that no modern material has yet replicated.