These videos are an extension of Lowell's Boat Shop's mission, which is to serve as a living connection to our past; a safe harbor where curious minds and intrepid adventurers can connect with our collective history. Founded in 1793, Lowell’s Boat Shop is more than the birthplace of the dory-it's a National Historic Landmark where students, maritime enthusiasts, historians and boatbuilders continue to build, row, and restore boats. In this way, Lowell’s provides our community with a conduit to our rich heritage. Through our shop and these videos, we’re building bridges between our past and our present; relationships between mentors and students; and skill sets that last a lifetime.
Lowell's used to crank out MANY dories, almost in an assembly-line style. The way to describe the hardware there is to talk about two other options for the frames that are more work/time/cost: naturally-grown shapes or steam-bent ones. The plates hold the joint where two straight pieces meet. This might be a good topic for a short video, thanks for the great question! -Anne
Please define the term dory? I have a 50 ft Colvin schooner with just enough space on the forward trunk cabin behind the fore mast for a max 12 ft tender. I would love a rowing, sailing tender with an outboard transom, in the dory design.
Hi there! Dories are flat-bottomed skiffs with flared sides, and a few other attributes, and they were carried by schooners, stacked on deck, and deployed from the “mother ship” for fishing. Do send an email to Graham to learn more about the boat in the video, or perhaps about another boat that might work for your needs: graham@lowellsboatshop.org -Anne
I asked Graham about that, and he's been elusive :) I think because it sounds like a lot of work he wants to do but might have a hard time getting to. Ha! Thanks so much for watching! -Anne
Seams like the stern on the new one is a lot narrower and maybe even raked aft a bit , certainly pushes the peapod idea, but must loose comfort in the aft seat. Nice boats.
It may be camera angle, but your "replica" doesn't seem to exactly follow the same lines as the original. You look to have already begun to tweak the design. This is an intriguing little dory. Will lines be available to the general public of the original boat? 17" planks can still be found in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks for sharing this find.
Welcome back. Can’t wait to see the pictures. Wish I lived closer to y’all, Louisiana is a bit too far to walk. Keep the videos coming. Thank you for keeping the boat shop open and working.
Graham, thank you for the update. Watching the video reminded me of being seasick off the Maine coast where I was afraid I was going to die, then afraid I wouldn't! What a great experience for the MMA students aboard.
great video! thanks. My understanding is that the US Navy still maintains a private forest of white oak, like in Indiana, strictly for the purpose of refitting Old Ironsides. I didn't know about these other wood pens. Good stuff. Will be interested to see that dead wood fitted. thanks, Chuck
They're fairly rare! Since this boat is going into our fleet that we use for our rowing and educational programs, these boards are going to good use, too!
In lieu of Petit, try Epifanes. Great paint to work with. Their US headquarters is in Maine, not that far north of you and they are very easy to work with.
Im really glad this video was randomly suggested to me... Ive been wondering how to go about getting rid of butt blocks on my old boat, and this showed me exactly what to do! Thanks! I'd love to see details on the router jig so i can make something similar. Cheers from an amateur boatwright on the Cape!
A National Historic Landmark and Museum . . . . I watched this twice and only counted four (4) fire extinguishers. (at least that's all that I could see) And don't get me started on the doors being blocked shut, where you had those kids working. You know what they say about "An Ounce of Prevention". Stop and think about this . . . .
Thanks for keeping an eye out, Steven, but you’ve seen very little of the shop here and we trust our inspectors, insurance folk, and local fire marshall who cherish this place as much as we do. Maybe your comment was made with the spirit of care, but it also smacks of an assumption that we would (or even could) lack care for these people and this place. Hope your day goes better, thanks for watching.
What you can't really see in the video is the dry sprinkler system installed a few years ago. The system is designed to put out fires anywhere in the building. Pipes run all over with sprinkler heads spaced according to building codes. Most of the shop isn't heated, so the pipes are charged with nitrogen ( hence dry, wont freeze) until a head is activated. Then a valve at the street fills the system with water. The fire extinguishers you see supplement that.
The best place to reside is within the soul of a community, just like I saw there, where a by-line of the people, the place, the air, and the contributions, is integrity. Warmed my heart guys.
