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How seaworthy are the dory style boats? Are flat bottomed skiffs considered the same? I don't know much about boat styles. Are v bottom designs more stable? I'm searching designs for a 12'-14'.
Dory Style Boats for Puget Sound?
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Planning the Hood Canal and inland waters around here and toward Pt. No Pt. I've done a little research, but some seems a little confusing. I was looking a boat called the Amesbury Dory, but turns out it seems to be a cross between and dory and a skiff. And more like a skiff which from what I read are fairly seaworthy. I will continue my research. I would be interested in possibly a stitch and glue like the Amesbury. They now make that in fiberglass for around $5000 I think.
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Larry,
Regarding the Amesbury Dory. About 35 years ago I worked aboard a 85' swordfish "Stick Boat" out of New England. We carried a wood Amesbury as our skiff. Frequently in the summer/fall we made trips to the Grand Banks. We used the skiff far offshore during good weather periods. They are awesome boats, very seaworthy, stable and comfortable. I see there are a few boat builder still building 16' fiberglass center console version that appear to be very nice.
Good luck with your search
Regarding the Amesbury Dory. About 35 years ago I worked aboard a 85' swordfish "Stick Boat" out of New England. We carried a wood Amesbury as our skiff. Frequently in the summer/fall we made trips to the Grand Banks. We used the skiff far offshore during good weather periods. They are awesome boats, very seaworthy, stable and comfortable. I see there are a few boat builder still building 16' fiberglass center console version that appear to be very nice.
Good luck with your search
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Larry,
That's a sweet looking boat. The advantage I see of flat bottom boats is the stable platform for fishing and shallow draft. Also, they're very easily driven by a small outboard. I wouldn't call them "seaworthy" though. I'm not a naval architect, but the flat bottoms are very stable to a point (more stable than a v-bottom), then quickly become very unstable after heeling a certain amount. I think you'd call this high initial stability as compared to a round hull. Milt is right that they will bang out your fillings in a chop though. A v-bottom will be better at high speed in chop. I usually don't go fishing when it's windy and if I do, I'm usually not crossing open unprotected stretches of water - more cruising the shore close to the boat ramp - so I like the flat bottom.
If you're looking for a cool boat to build, check out Tom Hill's "Long Point" design. It's glued lap, not stitch and glue, but it's a sweetie. I like the idea of the center console too. His "Pamet Blue" seems like it would be a neat little skiff too, but probably too light for what you are considering.
Or... you could just buy a little aluminum skiff on Craigslist. I swear there is a screaming deal on there at least once a week. Earlier this week there was a newer 15 footer with a few year old Honda outboard and trailer for like $4000. It's pretty easy to flip something like that if you don't like it.
That's a sweet looking boat. The advantage I see of flat bottom boats is the stable platform for fishing and shallow draft. Also, they're very easily driven by a small outboard. I wouldn't call them "seaworthy" though. I'm not a naval architect, but the flat bottoms are very stable to a point (more stable than a v-bottom), then quickly become very unstable after heeling a certain amount. I think you'd call this high initial stability as compared to a round hull. Milt is right that they will bang out your fillings in a chop though. A v-bottom will be better at high speed in chop. I usually don't go fishing when it's windy and if I do, I'm usually not crossing open unprotected stretches of water - more cruising the shore close to the boat ramp - so I like the flat bottom.
If you're looking for a cool boat to build, check out Tom Hill's "Long Point" design. It's glued lap, not stitch and glue, but it's a sweetie. I like the idea of the center console too. His "Pamet Blue" seems like it would be a neat little skiff too, but probably too light for what you are considering.
Or... you could just buy a little aluminum skiff on Craigslist. I swear there is a screaming deal on there at least once a week. Earlier this week there was a newer 15 footer with a few year old Honda outboard and trailer for like $4000. It's pretty easy to flip something like that if you don't like it.
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Thanks for the input everyone! Helpful. I haven't found any original plans for the Amesbury yet, but I'll keep trying. That "Long Point" is sweet hendersonbaylocal! The bottom is 1-1/2" thick. Pretty stout! I'm sorta just poking around and will probably take the boat building plunge sooner rather than later. Fiberglass is nice, but wooden boats are sweet! And Glen Kramer, I'm glad I brought back a nice memory!
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I suggest you look up the late George Calkins and his Calkins Craft designs and in particular "The Bartender" a modified Dory with a solid proven history in the pacific northwest waters. www.bartenderboats.com
Another great resource as a builder will be: www.woodenboatvb.com and www.duckworksmagazine.com
Amesbury Skiff plans: http://mysticseaport.org
For an overview on Dory Types, with hull type comparisons etc, you should read John C Gardners "The Dory Book" and two books by Pete Culler: "Skiffs and Schooners" and "Boats, Oars and Rowing". Also see John Gardners other books on traditional small craft and boatbuilding. Heavy on the traditional approach but very savvy guys when it comes to small boat designs, hull shapes, and uses.
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Now that "Bartender" is one hell of a boat! Thanks Bob.
You may want to consider evaluating your choices based on primary and secondary stability. As suggested Henderesonbaylocal, flat bottomed boats with high primary (the tendency to stay level) stability often have poor secondary (the tendency to resist capsizing) stability. The inverse is also frequently true. Those with low primary and secondary stability are often a result of optimizing performance. The implications are that the high primary stability boat is great to stand up and cast from but the high secondary stability boat will do better in rough water and avoid tipping.
The Bartender's flaired sides should result in very good secondary stability as it increases displacement as it leans over. The cost of this is a beamier and heavier boat so you give up a bit on performance. Some of the pictures of the Bartender suggest to me that it would have fairly high primary stability as well due to the shallow-ish v-hull so one would get a stout, stable boat that gives up a little in efficiency. I would also expect it to "bounce" a little more in higher seas than a deeper v-hulled design. Not suprisingly, these boats are designed to be propelled by a motor because rowing one with this design would involve a good amount of effort. Their wherry designs are optimized quite differently. The Amesbury is between the two leaning a bit more towards the wherry design for a variety of reasons.
As you might expect it is really an issue of the trade offs you want to make. There's really no substitute to studying many different types of plans, looking at the details, and test driving them to really understand the implications. Building a few boats doesn't hurt either.
The Bartender's flaired sides should result in very good secondary stability as it increases displacement as it leans over. The cost of this is a beamier and heavier boat so you give up a bit on performance. Some of the pictures of the Bartender suggest to me that it would have fairly high primary stability as well due to the shallow-ish v-hull so one would get a stout, stable boat that gives up a little in efficiency. I would also expect it to "bounce" a little more in higher seas than a deeper v-hulled design. Not suprisingly, these boats are designed to be propelled by a motor because rowing one with this design would involve a good amount of effort. Their wherry designs are optimized quite differently. The Amesbury is between the two leaning a bit more towards the wherry design for a variety of reasons.
As you might expect it is really an issue of the trade offs you want to make. There's really no substitute to studying many different types of plans, looking at the details, and test driving them to really understand the implications. Building a few boats doesn't hurt either.
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