AY Honors/Rowing/Answer Key
- For the fishes known as dories, see dory (fish).
A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat of approximately 5 to 7 m (15 to 22 ft) in length. Variant spellings are doree and dorey (OED). The British Navy spells it 'dorey'. Lightweight and versatile, these boats are used in the open sea for commercial fishing applications, as well as in whitewater rafting on interior rivers. McKenzie River Dory versions usually seat from two or three to four people including the oarsman.
The hullform is characterized by flat sides angled approx. 30 degrees from the vertical, and a bottom that is transversely flat and markedly bowed fore-and-aft. (This curvature is known as 'rocker'.) The stern is frequently a raked surface (a narrow transom) that tapers sharply toward the bottom forming a nearly double-ended boat.
Use
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 which require less skill and are generally more durable for collisions with rocks. However, fishing guides on many western U.S. rivers still use drift dories because of their maneuverability and ability to be rowed upstream. Additionally, their high rocker and extremely shallow draft give them low resistance to the flow of water, effectively holding the boat in place for the prolonged fishing of holes in the river. Typically salmon, trout, and steelhead are fished for this way.
In addition, the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, as well as several other western rivers, held a small but significant group of elite commercial guides that would run dory trips, mainly through Martin Litton's company Grand Canyon Dories. This was most popular in the 1970's and 80's, but there are still a few trips every year.
The double-ended nature of a dory makes it very suitable for these uses in broken water. As with the more elabourately-built surf boats used in various parts of the world, and the old, pulling whalers, the form of their stern allows the boat to rise to a following sea without the boat's broaching to.
Modern use of the name
The term "dory" is also used for a different and otherwise unrelated type of modern boat. This is a rectangular plastic or fibreglass dinghy with a cathedral hull, used as a working boat, tender, or fishing platform. The rectangular shape provides maximum space for a given length and beam. Its cathedral hull makes it extremely stable while still being easily-driven and hence reasonably fast with a small outboard motor.
References
- OED Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (1972 reprint)
- British Navy Manual of Seamanship vol.II Admiralty (1952) p.743
