In case you missed the link on our home page, The Dory Shop has just announced the launch of a new boatbuilding program to begin this fall.

 It was 56 years ago that a boast in a bar led to the first International Dory Race between fishermen from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and our sister city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Last weekend, the tradition continued with action alongside the State Fish Pier in Gloucester Harbour.

Jay’s still hard at work on that big beautiful Fortune Bay dory. All of the naturally grown knees – the distinguishing feature of a Lunenburg dory! – are now in, the gunwales and caps are in place and he’s coated these and the interior planking with pine tar.

Remember that skiff Jay was working on months ago? Well, at a certain point we had to put it aside to build the dories for the movie production and then we had an order for a Grand Manan dulse dory that had to be ready May 1. However, the skiff, technically a 19.5 foot semi dory similar to the one featured in John Gardner’s The Dory Book, also had a deadline. She had to be ready for the departure of our neighbourhood tall ship, the Picton Castle. She’s slated to cast off on a 12-month voyage around the Atlantic Ocean this week and for the last few days crew members have been painting the new skiff even as Jay completed the finishing touches.

I’ve been doing a pretty poor job of updating the website this winter; a fact made amply clear when someone wrote to find out when we would be opening for the season. Oops. We’ve actually been working right through the winter and are having a crazy busy spring thanks to an order for six Handline dories for a movie that’s going to be shot in and around Halifax and Prospect this summer. We also have orders for a Grand Manan dory and another big Fortune Bay boat so there’s no time to waste. In fact, completion of the 19.5 foot skiff has been postponed – Jay got her planked then moved her to ‘Plant 2’, our second building.

We certainly were excited to receive the latest issue of Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors magazine and find not one, not two but a full half-dozen of our dories featured in the cover photo.

It’s a line we often use in our advertising. “Boats you remember. Since 1917.” Of course, 1917 refers to the establishment of our now 90-year-old shop. Dories date back even further than that. And the phrase ‘boats you remember,’ well, that just seems to be our experience as we meet folks here at the shop in Lunenburg or via phone and Internet contacts. People seem to have a special spot in their hearts for these craft, and they often share vivid memories of dories from their past. The client for whom we’re building the Fortune Bay dory is no exception.

After building a number of great smaller dories and skiffs over the past year, it’s a real kick to walk into the Dory Shop and see a honking big boat going together. The one Jay’s currently building is a Fortune Bay dory, 17 feet on the bottom and 22’ 2” overall.

Greg and Laurie came into the shop to buy some new tholepins in early October and, after talking to them, I’m not surprised they needed replacements. Their old ones are well worn! The Massachusetts couple bought their Lunenburg Dory from the shop four years ago and have rowed together for recreation and competition ever since.

There’s a pleasant change in the air these days, a cool but fresh onshore wind that’s rustling the leaves of the trees across the street from the Dory Shop sales office and letting us know that autumn has arrived in Nova Scotia. It’s really the only predictable season here, and because of it, the most pleasant. Clear, crisp days that lead to coolish nights and the inevitable dilemma of how long you can procrastinate before you have to turn the furnace on, or in Jay’s case light a fire in the Dory Shop stove. He should be good for a little while yet as the days remain warm enough and a frugal Lunenburger simply does not turn the heat on until it is necessary. Autumn also brings that distinctive honeyed light that falling on the buff and green of an overturned dory makes for the perfect picture. And it’s still a fine season for sailing. In fact, the Nova Scotia Schooner Association’s annual September Classic, a full day of good-natured sailing competition, followed by a pig roast and beverages at The Dory Shop Boatyard, will be coming up in a little over a week. In the meantime, we’re scurrying to complete a refit on a fascinating little boat Capt. Dan hopes to sail in the Classic. Her name is Sydney.