Here you see two handmade boats for sale at the WoodenBoat School last week. At one time, I simply would have called these two vessels “rowboats,” although they are quite different. However, I’ve learned that boatbuilders here prefer greater specificity when it comes to describing their creations.
The red boat in the image is listed by WBS as a19.5’ “Chamberlain Gunning Dory.” That is, it’s a big dory based on a design by respected boatbuilder William Chamberlain. He reportedly wanted to create a strong, sea-going boat, but one that was light enough to be hauled up on the rocky shores of sea islands by duck hunters. This one also has a sailing package.
A “dory,” generally speaking, is a small, shallow-draft rowing (aka “pulling”) boat with high sides, a flat bottom and two pointed ends. The red boat is a dory, the unpainted one isn’t quite a dory. That unpainted vessel is listed as a “John Karbott Semi-Dory Skiff.” That is, its design is by John Karbott, also a respected boatbuilder, but the boat is a skiff, which would be shorter than most dories, have lower sides relative to oarsmen, and a rectangular stern.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on September 22, 2023.)