Dorymans Melonseed

Its been a bit chaotic around here, something that is not suppose to happen for two more months. The malignant winter weather has turned unpredictable. What is worse, knowing the weather is against you, or wondering if it is?

Progress has been made on the Doryman Melonseed, however. The boat is now turned upside down to install a fixed keel.

You heard right, a fixed keel.



The plans still call for a centerboard, but when I looked at the open interior of this gunkholer, it was too pristine to spoil. Well see how this works, and if it does, so much better. Imagine a nine foot long unobstructed cockpit in a sixteen foot boat. A melonseed should draw about 4-5 inches and is meant to traverse very shallow water in a river delta. This boat will draft close to one foot, so floating in marsh grass is not on the agenda, but most days, one foot of draft is good, in fact, very good.



I am willing to compromise on this.





More melonseed photos on Dorymans Flickr.

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Dorymans Kayak

Its been a few months since we looked at the development of last winters Doryman kayak build. Wild Rose has been outfitted with outriggers so that she can now be paddled or rowed. Being only fifteen feet long, she is quick off the line, though takes concentration to track well under oars.

All said, I am very pleased with this little boat. She weighs 65 pounds and is easy to load on top of a car, yet carries up to 300 pounds of payload. The rowing option is to accommodate my aching shoulders, which I suspect might appeal to others, as well.

Leo Newberg, who designed the original of this kayak, and Rick Johnson, the shipwright who leads the Family Boat Build at our local Toledo Wooden Boat Show, were impressed enough by the changes Ive made to implement them in the show this year. These changes include a new, more graceful shearline and an open, more accessible cockpit. Wild Rose is currently in Leos capable hands, having her lines taken.




This kayak will be the centerpiece of the Family Boat Build at the Toledo Wooden Boat Show, August 16th and 17th, 2014. Follow the link above to the Port of Toledo, Oregon website, for more information about signing up. There will also be a "kids build" this year, with a smaller, simpler kayak for the little ones. Be sure to get your name in soon, August is just around the corner.

More photos of Wild Rose can be found on Dorymans Flickr Site.

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Dorymans Kayak on Drift Creek

Youve heard me speak of Drift Creek before. The last six miles of this coastal creek are tidal, which this time of year means exploration as high into the forest as a boat can go. The tide yesterday was a whopping twelve foot drop, so a few die-hard mariners ventured up stream at mid-day.

From the start, it was apparent we had missed the incoming tide. Perhaps the winter rain run-off had canceled the incoming current, because we paddled for two hours in what was, to all appearances, still water.

But when the tide turned it was a different story. We were still headed upstream, looking for a beautiful waterfall we had seen earlier in the year, though the rush of water headed out to sea had a different agenda. About five miles up the creek, we turned around and by the time we arrived back at the mouth of Drift Creek, where it empties into the Alsea River, the water level had dropped three feet and was running at two knots.

Despite the freezing weather - or perhaps because of it - the water and the forest had a beckoning beauty and incredible stillness. With no wind, it was completely silent. One could sit still and hear absolutely nothing. Such a feeling of sensory deprivation is both eerie and wonderful.

It was a perfect day to try out the brand new Doryman kayak. Im no kayaker yet, so will need to practice more to give a full report of her capabilities.
She sure looked pretty.

This kayak could be called a freighter. She is beamy and voluminous. There was little chance she would perform as well as Curts bright yellow sea kayak. But (sorry Curt) she has more class, more narrative.

Heres a shot of Curt behind me. I must have turned around sooner.

All agreed this was a wonderful winter day on the water, despite the frosty conditions.

Thanks to Shalline for photos of the Doryman Kayak.

Chuck and Shallines new canoe is a Loon 16. Its built of hand-laid fiberglass with wood inlays inside. A high performance vessel, no doubt.



As always, the most enthusiastic mariner was Lucy the Dog, with Jim in Lazy Duck. I want to show you her most prominent position. Please note the tail. It never stops. I envy her happy enthusiasm.


Lucy the Dog from doryman on Vimeo.

For pictures of the kayak build, please visit Dorymans Flickr site.

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Dorymans Boatyard

You can feel the season changing, though the evidence is slim. I have reports of sailors in the Northern Hemisphere testing the waters for the first sail of the season. But here on the Oregon coast, where seasons bleed slowly into each other, spring is still in the offing.

Boat repair, renovation and even new construction has been lively this winter, which we hope is a harbinger of better economic times. The Oregon coast could use an uplift.

Tiding things over, this installment of Dorymans Boatyard is essentially a sales pitch. To start things off, Im selling the quintessential sail-and-oar boat, Saga, the William Atkins Valgerada. What can I add to all Ive said before? She is a wonderful, capable and beautiful craft. A lot of love has gone into her refurbishing, both of my own and many friends who have contributed. Its not easy when one has to part with a good friend and I hope she finds someone to love her as I do.

As you might suppose, the boats in Dorymans boatyard are currently among the favorites in a long life of boat ownership. It has taken many years of gleaning the best of the best and hours of hard work to bring them all to a state of perfection. A case in point is the Culler "Good Little Skiff" Paku. What a wonder of simple beauty! The perfect combination of mahogany framing and cedar planking, trimmed in mahogany just as the Good Captain intended. Weve spent many happy hours rowing this skiff in tandem, an accent to the beauty of nature.

Perhaps the closest to my heart is the cruising dory, Mistral. She is the embodiment of my soul and represents years of personal design and sweat. Please indulge me if I insist she is the best sailing dory on the planet. Thirty-six feet of pure comfort and efficiency. I once imagined her living free on the Salish Sea and even as far north as Alaska. My sincere wish is that someone will realize that dream for me.

If youve dreamed of owning an Enterprise racing dinghy, I have just the one for you. This boat is forty years young and has been in the same family nearly all its life. Anyone who has ever sailed an Enterprise from England will tell you, they are hard to beat. Contact me and well make the deal of the century.

Before I forget, I might mention the Doryman mellonseed. This boat is not yet for sale, since she is not finished. But I thought you might appreciate an update. Since we last saw her, the decks have been installed, the rudder hung and a tiller manufactured. Currently Im installing her cockpit coamings and still trying to decide whether to build a foredeck hatch. Please note the hand-carved wood cleats. I can think of few more meditative recreations than making an attractive cleat. A great use of all the scrap hardwood that seems to accumulate around a boat building shop.

A major focus this winter has been the Stone Horse, Belle Starr. She is tightly wrapped in tarps, under a temporary lean-to, and photos are difficult, so youll have to take my word for her improved condition. Hopefully she will hit the water this spring and I promise youll hear all about it.

For now, Id like to point out to my friend Webb Chiles, who is considering installing oarlocks to his new boat, that its easy. He had some concern about how long his oars need to be. For a rowing vessel, I like to double the beam, but for a larger boat, one must consider the distance to the waterline from the shear, so an oar might be a bit longer. Longer is better, since the sailor will likely be rowing with one oar alone and steering with the rudder. I know there has been a lot of discussion lately about sculling oars and Chinese yulohs but Ive tried both and nothing is simpler and more effective than the ancient oar. Even the five ton Mistral can be propelled at two knots with a single oar.
For Belle Starr, which has a beam of just over six feet in the cockpit, the oars will be thirteen feet long. You will note the oarlock is larger than you might find in your neighborhood chandlery, since the loom of such a long oar will be thick. An old, cast-off competitive scull works well.


If you see something here that sounds intriguing, please drop me a line: mbogoger(at)gmail.com

Cheers!
Michael Bogoger (Doryman)

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