For almost one hundred years the dory was the most popular small craft in the Atlantic Provinces. Beginning in the 1850s it became an integral part of the offshore fishery, especially on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Usually built with a bottom length of 12 - 16 feet, a dory could carry two men equipped with bait and fishing gear for handlining or trawl fishing.

The "Banks Dory", as it became known, was ideally suited for use aboard fishing schooners. It was lightweight but strongly built, an important feature since the dory had to be hoisted and lowered from the schooner, often with the equipment and day's catch still in the dory. Once aboard the schooner, the removable thwarts or seats allowed it to be nested on top of other dories to save space on deck. In the water, the flat-bottomed dory was difficult to handle when not loaded, however, laden with fishing gear it became more stable and rowed or sailed very easily.

Although dories were built in a variety of locations throughout Nova Scotia, two of the major centres of construction were Shelburne and Lunenburg. Despite their relatively close proximity, two different methods of construction evolved, resulting in two distinct types of dories. The most obvious difference was the use of a metal clip in the Shelburne Dory to join the floor frame to the side frame. Invented by Isaac Crowell in 1887, it made the Shelburne dory easier to build. In contrast, the Lunenburg dory was built using a piece of naturally curved wood of "grown knees" to form the frame. The merits of each dory, even today, are a subject of much discussion.

Visitors to the J. C. Williams Dory Shop, now a museum operated by the Shelburne Historical Society and owned by the Nova Scotia Museum, can watch our dory builder at work building various sizes of the Shelburne Dory and still using the "Dory Clip." 

Our dory builder is Milford Buchanan.
Hands-on type ? Come to Shelburne in the summer and assist Milford in building your dory. Contact us to make arrangements.