Swampscott dory
Encyclopedia
The Swampscott dory is a traditional fishing boat, used during the middle of the 19th century by fishing villages along the coast of Massachusetts
. It is a type of dory
designed to be launched off the beach. Dories were generally built by the fisherman
themselves in the off season and later by more organized boatyards.
design and new construction techniques used in the mass production of Bank dories. The Swampscott dories were built with rounded sides and slightly less overhang in the bow and stern than a bank dory. This created a more shapely boat that handled better than a bank dory with the advantage of being easy and quick to build in the bank dory fashion.
Swampscott dories are generally from 14 to 18 ft in length, the longer boat being rowed by two oarsmen.
Eventually the Swampscott dory developed into a recreational sailboat as well, known as the clipper dory, and then the alpha and beachcomber dory. These inexpensive sailboats were raced along the coast of Massachusetts during the early part of the 20th century. The sail rig was typically a Leg of Mutton and small jib on an unstayed mast.
Howard Blackburn
sailed a modified Swampscott dory, named the Great Western, from Gloucester in 1899, and reached Gloucester England after 62 days at sea.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It is a type of dory
Dory
The dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is a lightweight and versatile boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. They are easy to build because of their simple lines. For centuries, dories have been used as traditional fishing boats, both in coastal waters and in the...
designed to be launched off the beach. Dories were generally built by the fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
themselves in the off season and later by more organized boatyards.
Overview
The Swampscott dory is a melding of the earlier WherryWherry
A wherry is a type of boat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers on rivers and canals in England, and is particularly associated with the River Thames and also with the Broadland rivers of Norfolk and Suffolk. London passenger wherries evolved into the Thames skiff, a...
design and new construction techniques used in the mass production of Bank dories. The Swampscott dories were built with rounded sides and slightly less overhang in the bow and stern than a bank dory. This created a more shapely boat that handled better than a bank dory with the advantage of being easy and quick to build in the bank dory fashion.
Swampscott dories are generally from 14 to 18 ft in length, the longer boat being rowed by two oarsmen.
Eventually the Swampscott dory developed into a recreational sailboat as well, known as the clipper dory, and then the alpha and beachcomber dory. These inexpensive sailboats were raced along the coast of Massachusetts during the early part of the 20th century. The sail rig was typically a Leg of Mutton and small jib on an unstayed mast.
Howard Blackburn
Howard Blackburn
Howard Blackburn was a Gloucester, Massachusetts fisherman, born in Nova Scotia. Despite losing his fingers at sea in 1883, he prospered as a Gloucester businessman...
sailed a modified Swampscott dory, named the Great Western, from Gloucester in 1899, and reached Gloucester England after 62 days at sea.
Modern Boat Builders
- Gig Harbor Boat Works www.ghboats.com
- Nanepashemet Boatbuilders of Marblehead http://www.nanepashemetboats.blogspot.com
- D.A.Noyes boat builder of Massachusetts http://dansdories.googlepages.com
- Lowell's Boat Shop http://www.lowellsboatshop.com/surfdory.html - Established in 1793, Lowell's Boat Shop is the oldest continuously operating boat shop in America and is cited as the birthplace of the legendary fishing dory.
External links
- Swampscott Dory Photos
- "Swampscott Dory Photos"
- "Bluejacket Model"