The Dory Shop

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada | (902) 640-3005 | info@doryshop.com

Stories from the The Dory Shop


A new learning opportunity at The Dory Shop

Want to build a classic wooden boat? There’s no better way to learn how than to take one apart and fix it! That’s just the opportunity available at The Dory Shop this spring when master boatbuilder Jay Langford restores an aging Monomoy pull boat. Brought to The Dory Shop straight from Cape Cod, where these boats originated, this fascinating project offers a unique learning opportunity for up to four new and would-be boatbuilders.

Christmas dory-style!

Holiday celebrations kicked into high gear over the weekend with the running of Lunenburg’s annual Santa Claus Parade. Started just three years ago, it’s a fantastic event – colourful and fun and wonderfully supported by the businesses and organizations of our little maritime community.

Sailors build a skiff

For more than a week now, Jay has had a group of students from the Picton Castle Bosun School working with him in The Dory Shop. The Bosun School is a land-based program aimed at young mariners who wish to advance their skills away from the necessary distractions of a ship that’s underway at sea. This is the third running of the program and we’re delighted to have young sailors from Canada, the USA, Finland, Iceland and Denmark in attendance.

A little sailing dory

So the little Black Rocks sailing dory that we had planned to take to the WoodenBoat Show – but then, receiving an order for a rowing dory, took that instead – is finished. As you can see, it’s a sweet little boat with a simple lug sail rig. Perfect for a beginner sailer as the boat provides a very safe and stable platform from which to learn. Plus a dory of this size is easily rowed by a child as young as nine or 10 but can still hold a few people (her capacity is over 1000 lbs.!).

Dory racing action

Saturday, September 12 was an extraordinarily busy day on the Lunenburg waterfront, what with the International Dory Races, the launching of the schooner Kitty Cochran at the Dory Shop, and all of the other events of the Lunenburg Waterfront Seafood Festival. We did get to see the afternoon Charity Challenge, in support of South Shore Health. The event came down to a final between teams from the schooner Bluenose II and the Barque Picton Castle.

Join us for a schooner launch

Lots of excitement around the Dory Shop these days as we prepare for the launch of the first newly-built wooden schooner here in maybe 40 years. The 33-foot Kitty Cochran was built by schoonerman Dave Westergaard of Tusket for Halls Harbour resident Duncan Veasey and his family. The boat was brought to the Dory Shop for her finish work and launch, now slated for September 12.

Backwards compliment

So I just got an email from the Barque Picton Castle, still in the Caribbean, currently en route to The Saints from Antigua where crew members participated in last weekend’s Antigua Classic Sailing Regatta. Not being a racing sort (the ship’s motto is We may be slow but we get around), the Picton Castle sat at anchor for the weekend while crew members signed aboard a host of beautiful schooners that needed extra hands. Those crew who weren’t otherwise engaged took the ship’s newly refurbished dory out sailing a number of times.