AY Honors/Rowing/Answer Key
A dory is a small shallow-draft boat of approximately 15 feet in length. Lightweight and versatile, these boats are used both in the open sea for commercial fishing applications, as well as in interior river white water rafting versions - which usually seat three to four including the oarsman.
The hullform is characterized by flat sides angled approx. 30 degrees from vertical and a bottom that is transversely flat and arced fore-and-aft. The stern is frequently a nearly-vertical surface that tapers toward the bottom. Nested stacks of dories were frequently carried on the decks of fishing schooners out to the fishing grounds, where they were then deployed to lay longlines or tend nets.
More glamorously, dories were once used to travel dangerous whitewater rivers, where their superior maneuverability made them preferable over other watercraft available at the time. They have since been supplanted in this purpose by inflatable rafts.
See also Cape Ann Dory, Swampscott Dory, Banks Dory and Glouster Dory
External links
Historical use of dories in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River
