Preview: Workboat Beginnings, Part 1 – Swampscott Dory & Dory Skiff

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From the Grand Banks to the yacht club dinghy float, lapstrake dory skiffs like the Swampscott Dory have been a New England staple for a century and a half. Ben Fuller takes us through their history and shows us the features that made them so effective in a range of circumstances.

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10 Responses So Far to “Workboat Beginnings, Part 1 – Swampscott Dory & Dory Skiff

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    Linda Austin-Morin says:

    I’m just wondering if Ben Fuller is still in contact with OCH

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      Ben Fuller says:

      I am. Questions? Or find me via the Penobscot Bay Marine Museum web site.

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    Tim Roberts says:

    What is the name of that tender? I’d love to get plans for it.

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      Ben Fuller says:

      That would be the 10′ tender. We built a bunch of them when I was working at the Seaport, which can provide plans.

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    Neil Moomey says:

    Dories float better in shallow water, are easier to launch/recover and can be easily pulled up a beach over logs or rollers. I use a three foot piece of 10″ plastic pipe and can easily pull my dory up the beach by myself even lightly loaded. One disadvantage of the dory is they do not sail upwind nearly as well as a keeled boat. They seem to slip.

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      Steve Stone says:

      Nice Marty. Thanks. Have never seen us working before.

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    randall saunders says:

    Timely…I’m a searching for that tender that’s suits my eye and my wife’s balance…enjoyed this as much as any of the great videos on this site

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    Mike Lewis says:

    Anyone wanting to know more about the dory should check out (or buy) “The Dory Book” by John Gardner. Still in print, published by Mystic Seaport.

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      Chris Noto says:

      Yes to Gardner! I remember reading “The Dory Book” in the ’70s. I wanted a Swampscot sooo badly!

      Thanks, all, for this lovely video. The next best thing to being there.

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