Old Wharf Dory Fishing Work Pleasure Skiffs and Boats

Boat Ideas and Design Possibilities

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Lines

Here is another design from Phil Bolger, Sweet Pea. This is a great little rowing boat, designed originally for Howard Payson. It's kind of a combination surf dory/peapod. I would not bother with the slipping keel and sailing rig, just build it for rowing. It is an excellent rowing craft, and has been built many times. It has enough stability to row standing up, like a peapod, so if you are looking for a nice rowing boat to fish from this design would be a good choice.

2010-02-03

Sweet Pea Lines

Phil Bolger's Gypsy

Here's a good choice for that elusive sail/row/power combination. A well proven design.

2009-04-16

Phil Bolger's Diablo

Here's a great little boat that I think should be considered by many people looking for a small outboard powered craft. Light in weight, this boat goes well with a 15 HP motor, and 25 horses would be ample for any use. She will plane on the flat bottom section, and those nicely angled bilge panels and full forward sections give her great rough water capability, slowed down a bit. Many boats have been built to these plans, so it is a well proven design. There is a great article written by Mike O'Brien about the Diablo in the Small Boats 2009 magazine, and there are quite a few references on line as well. I plan to build one for myself when I sell the FS 14, as the 14 is a bit too small for Wellfleet Harbor. I'd really like to try out the Diablo Grande, but that is another story.

2009-03-24

A Camping Cruiser

Drawing of a proposed camp cruiser.

Here's an interesting idea- a camping cruiser based on the 20' LYS. I have had a couple of inquiries on this, so I drew up a little cuddy cabin for the 20' LYS. It would probably be a real nice displacement speed boat with a 25 HP high thrust motor. Put the usual 50 to 70 HP on it, and it would plane.

2009-03-04

Drawing of a proposed camp cruiser.

A small St Pierre Dory

Plan for 23' St. Pierre

Here is an interesting plan for a big dory, or a small St. Pierre dory. It can be built as a power dory, a sailing dory, or a motor sailer. I think it would do well as a motor sailer with a big Torqeedo electric motor, the 6 HP one, in a well of some kind. It would make a good beach cruiser/fishing boat, with a small shelter forward, remote steering, and solar panels to recharge the batteries. Being a dory, you could put in 2 or 3 pairs of batteries for extended range using the motor. The extra weight would not hurt, it would just serve as ballast. I would change the rig to a schooner rig, both for looks and versatility.

2008-10-15

Plan for 23' St. Pierre

A 16' Semi- Dory

Lines of John Gardner's 16' Semi-Dory

Here is a set of lines for a nice little dory skiff, taken from John Gardner's "Dory Book". This 16 footer would go with motors from 10 to 25 HP, making it an economical boat in two ways. One, initial purchase of a motor would be much less than buying a 40 or 50 HP motor for a similar sized fiberglass boat, and two, running costs would be much less. These plans show the motor in a well, which Gardner says " adds greatly to safety and convenience in handling the motor, and it improves the trim and performance of the boat." Considering the added cost and complexity of building a well, and I have built several wells, I think the boat would go nicely without it, and be less expensive. But I would be willing to build it either way. Another factor to consider is that it would be built mostly out of a renewable resource rather than petroleum products.

2008-09-29

Lines of John Gardner's 16' Semi-Dory

Old Wharf Dory Company
170 Old Chequessett Neck Road
Wellfleet, MA 02667
508-349-2383
E-mail: info@oldwharf.com