Northeaster Dory

A 17 ft round-sided lapstrake dory for oars or sail, designed by John C. Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft and sold as plans and kits. It follows the round-sided recreational dories once common on the New England coast. The hull weighs only about 100 lb yet carries 800 lb, rows well solo or tandem, seats four adults and accepts a drop-in sliding seat. Beam is 56 in, and lug or sloop rigs of 68 sq ft are offered.

It uses CLC's LapStitch method: pre-cut 6 mm okoume planks are wired together over a pair of sawhorses with no mold, then glued with epoxy, and the 9 mm bottom is glassed. CLC rates it a beginner project and estimates 120 hours.

CLC introduced the Northeaster Dory in 2011 as a modern take on the Swampscott-type round-sided dories that fishermen and summer rowers used along the Massachusetts and Maine coasts in the late 1800s. Those boats were planked in cedar over sawn frames; this one keeps the sweeping sheer and the flared, round sides but is built LapStitch, with precut okoume planks wired and glued rather than nailed to a frame. The drop-in sliding seat makes it a serious rowing boat for one person, the lug rig makes it a quiet day-sailer for four, and at 100 lb two people can carry it to the water.

It is one of the most-built CLC designs and one of the most-logged boats on this site, which is the useful part: the hours in the table below are measured from real builds rather than taken from the kit brochure, and the entries show the stitching, taping and glassing stages photo by photo.

Measured medians from build logs appear below.