Steve has several connections to Lunenberg. To begin with, he was here with the family in 1949 on the schooner Constellation. They had come by to pick up a dory ordered as a second dinghy and arrived during the annual festival. The harbor was filled with fishing schooners and the dory was built as a demonstration during the parade (on a float).

So we set out to see if we could find anyone still in the business of making these handy craft. Above is the front yard of "The Dory Shop" which has been doing this for a long time. They were located on the same premises in 1949 and might have built the dory for Constellation.

This is an adjustable building jig for dories 15 to 22 feet (4.7 to 6.8m) in length. The angles remain the same on the topsides. The jigs are moved forward or aft so planks lay fair. And then you have your shape.

Notice the wedges top (left) and bottom (right) which hold the jigs in place and are used for height adjustment. Some of this gear is probably from early last century when thousands of dories were built for fishing on the Banks.

Here’s a master dory builder and yacht designer. But no computers, lead ducks, or splines for his projects. He carves the shape until it feels right, then pulls the lines off the model. This one is for a 19-foot (5.8m) gaff rigged day sailor. The shape will be quick in light breezes.

The general rule about sailing a dory is never cleat the sheet. These boats do not have much form stability and are designed with what is referred to as a "self filling" cockpit. Translation: they capsize easily. Unless, that is, they have half a ton of cod sitting in the bottom, in which case they become quite stable.

Dory racing is big here. These ladies came out to visit and told us they are in training for the annual Lunenberg vs. Gloucester (MA) regatta. There are single and double handed classes for men and women, of differing age brackets.And so the second connection we have to Lunenberg – this somewhat more tenuous. In the olden days, when Steve was learning to race, one of his mentors was a professional sailor (and self taught engineer) by the name of Dick Sutton. Dick’s history went back a long way and included racing on a variety of famous vessels as well as working for Al Capone as a rum runner. As a professional hand Dick was a three time winner of the Chicago – Mackinaw race and also sailed on the Gloucester fishing schooner Gertrude E Theobaud in her penultimate series against the Bluenose of Lunenberg. These races were serious business, the pride of the towns, states, and countries tied to the outcome – not to mention the fishermen aboard. Races were conducted at the end of the season. Over the years Dick Sutton would regale Steve with stories of this series. So it was a thrill to see a replica of the Bluenose setting up to leave her home port of Lunenberg.

These were huge, powerful vessels, designed to work in the awful weather of the Grand Banks fishery. She is 160 feet (49m) overall.

Twin jibs were typical, but roller furling was not yet on the scene. Note the jib "hanks". One tie to the present are the two to one halyards. We used the same on some of our sailing designs, although with somewhat different blocks and cordage.

Galvanized (or iron) rigging set up with "dead eyes" as shown here was the norm (The Constellation had the same system). The dead eyes provide a form of crude leverage, and spread the load through six strands of rope (in this case of polyester).

In Steve’s youth the ends of the dead eye lanyards were tightened using tackles (handy Billies). So we were surprised to see a chain fall for tensioning on Bluenose. They probably have a GPS and depth sounder too.

Knowing just how tight to tune the rig is an art. Too tight and bad things happen to the hull. To loose and bad things occur to the spars. You pluck or pop the individual stands of rope to get them to move, and then pull to see what it feels like.One missing ingredient is the tar that used to be employed to seal and protect the rope. "Too many visitors would ruin their clothes" we were told.

This is a replica of one of the most beautiful yachts of all time – the Herreshoff designed 57 foot (17m) Tioga. She is locally built, and getting ready to head for Europe. To our eye she looks a little high out of the water. Perhaps that will change when she is fully loaded.

And finally, a fiberglass version of a Colin Archer cutter. Massive, powerful, and probably quick in light air for a cruising boat with her substantial rig. We are not so sure about the house on top of the deck. It looks a little vulnerable, but then this boat has been to Tierra del Fuego. Note the horizontal fender amidships. This is used as a step to get aboard from the dinghy.previoushighlights pagenext