Full head of steam

Folks will sometimes ask if we steam our planks to get that handsome curved shape that’s such a signature of Lunenburg dories. The answer is no. Pine planks of the lengths and thicknesses we use will bend enough on their own.

That’s not the case with the oak we use for the gunwales of course. Our solution there is to throw them in the harbor overnight. You can see the water-darkened wood in these photos.

No, the only steam here comes out of someone’s ears when something doesn’t go exactly as planned. But I’m not going to name names.

Dory Plug