Lots of action, and people, at the Dory Shop these days as students from the Halifax-based Dalhousie School of Architecture join us to build a 13-foot-bottom Handline dory while also studying the relationship between form and making, making and place.

We’ve always thought our boats were things to be treasured. Well, now we’ve got confirmation from the folks who know booty best! I’m talking pirates of the oh-so-currently-hot film and television variety. Firstly, there’s Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the biggest movie franchises in history. We actually had dories in all three films.

Our latest dory is a great example of a boat that’s faithful to tradition but also customized to the client. The boat in question is a 13-foot bottom handline dory. It’s the traditional size for a single rower in the days when dories were still used in the offshore fishery and is capable of carrying 1700 lbs. of fish and gear. Our client wants to row the dory, sometimes alone and sometimes with his wife at a second set of oars, and he really appreciates the heritage of these boats, the traditional lines, color scheme and features. But of course, he also wants the boat to be functional for his usage.

Now you have to understand that our 11-foot bottom dory, the Black Rocker, is named for the picturesque South Shore community more commonly known as Stonehurst. This seaside village is just a 10-minute drive from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, adjacent to the perennial artists’ favorite, Blue Rocks, so named for the slate rocks that line the shore.

She was the belle of the Halifax International Boat Show. Our 11-foot Little Sister dory, constructed of Fijian mahogany with copper fastenings and clear finish, was a true must-see for attendees of this annual event

You had to see the twinkle in our boatbuilder Jay’s eyes when we milled the wood for our latest project. It’s an eight-foot bottom Little Sister Dory that’s being made of the most beautiful mahogany. “Look at that grain,” he kept saying. And it is turning into a truly striking boat.

We’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately, completing a couple of interesting small boat refits in time for the departure of the tall ship Picton Castle. The ship, whose dock is just a ball’s toss from our location on the Lunenburg, Nova Scotia waterfront, is bound for the Caribbean where she’ll spend the winter sailing from one tropical island to the next.

We are having some kind of gorgeous finest kind day here in Lunenburg. Sharp warm sun, crystal blue sky, light north-westerly, sunshine sparkling sunshine out on the Harbour. The Picton Castle, our neighboring world-voyaging barque-rigged sailing ship cuts a fine figure against the sky and sea at a nearby wharf. And our Transom-Dory is almost finished.

Crazy times at the Dory Shop…we are building a boat that is not exactly a fishing dory. We are building a boat exactly like a dory but with a broad transom upon which one could hang an outboard motor and thus tool around the harbour with great swiftness.

To preserve and promote the heritage of wooden boat building on the Lunenburg waterfront, by increasing awareness and appreciation of the art and skills of traditional boatbuilding.