Arwen Marine - Doris 17


Two at the oars, with one passenger in the stern. The oarsmen are using the two forward seats.	A Doris 17 on the beach: lying on her narrow bottom, it's plain to see how the sides are flaring at the sheer to provide plenty of buoyancy when heeled or loaded.	Two at the oars, no passenger: the aft oarsman moved to the aft thwart, and the longitudinal trim of the boat is still perfect.

Our new 17 foot dory is incredibly light: 45 kg for a length of 5.18 m. Take off for a day around the bay, by yourself or with a second at the oars, and you can take spare crew along, she will carry four adults. Her lightness allows you to carry her on top of your car!

Length: 5.18 m, width: 1.42 m, draft: 0.13 m. Weight: 45 kg, maximum loaded displacement: 365 kg (4 adults and a hearty picnic).

For your safety, always wear approved personal flotation devices.


	The Doris 17 lines. A design including flotation tanks fore and aft will soon be available to improve safety. The current version features 115 liters of foam under the three thwarts.	The Doris 17 weights only 45 kg and she is easily carried by two adults, even weaklings!	The small sailplan of the future sailing version: 6.33 m2. The modesty of this sail area ensures that the Doris 17 will be "civilized" under sail.

Are you already saying, oh another dory? Wrong! This one is so three to four times lighter than whatever is on the market today: 45 kg for a 17 footer! You can carry it with your friend (oops, sorry, with your wife or kids)! Her low weight is not obtained at the cost of solidity, in the contrary: she is built in marine plywood covered with fiberglass set in epoxy inside and out (in the lower part of the hull), so that she will still be around for the pleasure of your great-grand children!

Attention : the "sailing" version of the Doris 17 is not available as yet because we think that the current flotation (115 liters) is not sufficient for the more ambitious program of a sailing boat. We'll inform you as soon as a sailing version will be available.

A dory is a lot a boat for the money, which explains the enduring popularity of this type of boat since more than 150 years. The origin of the dory as a work boat explains the simplicity of its construction, justified by its low cost. The narrow bottom yields a hull that is fast under oar or sail, and the flaring sides provide ample stability, as soon as the boat is loaded or heeled. The carrying capacity of the dory hull was legendary et this one is no exception with a maximum loaded displacement of 260 kg.

The origin of the dory is rather obscure, but it's most famous type is the "Banks Dory", which was used for cod fishing in the cold seas over the banks off Newfoundland and Iceland. The Banks Dory was heavy and rather unstable until loaded with a few hundred pounds of cod. Their conversion to pleasure craft in Northern America used other dory types, less "specialized" than the Banks Dory, such as the Swampscott Dory, whose rounded bilge provides a less "professional" behavior on the water... The Swampscott dory was used in coastal fisheries, and was lightly built to be easily beached and pulled out of the surf.

"When I think of a build-it-yourself dory," says designer John C. Harris, "I think of Phil Bolger's iconic Gloucester Light Dory design. There wasn't much point in doing a new dory design unless we offered something fresh and different. I wanted a dory that was easier to build, doesn't need a ladder-frame mold during construction, and that can carry more than one or two adults."

The Doris 17 takes in a load of up to 7 times her own weight! Indeed her maximum loaded displacement is 365 kg and she weight only 45 kg!

John Harris started from the gracious shape of his own Skerry, to which he added a fourth plank (the Skerry has only three planks per side), as well as the narrow transom so typical of the dory hull. John also added two feet to the Skerry's length, which tremendously expands the load carrying capability: form 205 kg for the Skerry, we get 320 kg for the Doris 17. The current version has flotation under the thwarts only, but a soon to be released version will feature fore and aft flotation tanks.

The buoyancy of the Doris 17 is so strong that it can be problematic for those who plan to row it by strong winds: we are also planning to add a ballast tank hidden in a double bottom in the middle section of the hull. A drain plug located under a port in the tank will allow to fill or empty the tank while underway, according to conditions and load. The ballast will stabilize the Doris 17 while providing inertia and reducing windage (by lowering the hull in the water), which is all beneficial to rowing as well as sailing as soon as the wind is a bit strong and the sea rough.


See the news page about the new Doris 17

The Northeaster uses Chesapeake Light Craft's patented LapStitch process, in which pre-cut planking is assembled quickly with wire "stitches" and nothing more than a pair of ordinary sawhorses. Hull planking is 6mm okoume; the bottom is 9mm, fiberglassed on both sides and up onto the side planking. Bulkheads are laminated together from layers of 9mm plywood. Epoxied together, the hull is light---only about 100 pounds---and very strong. And with 800 pounds of displacement, this dory offers real versatility. It's small enough to be rowed by one person, but big enough for tandem rowing with two adults. Like all dories, the Northeaster tracks well, has a long glide, and stays dry in waves. Even four adults have comfortable seating.

Rowers looking for a high-performance dimension may add a sliding seat without modifying the interior. In the stock rowing version, a drop-in sliding seat unit requires minutes to install so you can switch between fixed- and sliding-seat modes quickly. With a sliding seat, the Northeaster Dory is fast and dry and would be a safe and fast open water racing boat.

Scantlings: the frames and bulkheads, the seats and tank tops are 9 mm okoume marine plywood, as well as the bottom panel. The planking is 6 mm okoume marine plywood. The transom ant breasthook are 18 mm ply. The lower hull is "sandwiched" in fiberglass, inside and out (the 170g/m2 cloth is provided with the kit, as well as all the epoxy needed) on the bottom panel and two lowermost planks.

Attention : for the time being, only the "rowing" version of the Doris 17 is available, without flotation and ballast tanks. The rowing version features 115 liters of foam flotation under the thwarts.

Three sets of oarlock sockets are provided to allow you to test multiple rowing combinations: single or double fore and aft, fore and middle, using two single oars or two pairs, etc.

The Doris 17 measures 17 feet (5.18 m) by a width of 1,42 m, and 13 centimeters draft. Its bare hull weight is 45 kg: no problem to set it on your car's roof rack!

Building the Doris 17 presents no difficulty. You'll just need patience and neatness to build the "stitch and glue" hull using the patented "Lapstitch™" technique.

The planking is 6 mm okoume marine plywood, while the bottom panel, the frames and bulkheads, the seats and tank tops are 9 mm okoume marine plywood, and the transom is cut from 18 mm okoume ply. The lower hull is "sandwiched" in fiberglass set in epoxy, inside and out.

The "fiberglassing" strengthens the part of the hull which gets the most beatings, and stiffens the whole craft. The mahogany rails "hold" the sheer. The middle frame and two bulkheads make up the internal structure. Everything is covered with a minimum of two coats of epoxy in order to "seal" the plywood from the elements.

The "sailing" kit will soon allow you to transform your Doris 17 into a light daysailer! The change can be made when building the hull or any time after that on a seasoned hull.

Doris 17

None of the Doris 12 kits contains any oar. The "complete" kit contains one pair of oarlocks and three pairs or oarlock sockets, in bronze or brass.

See the price list

If you would rather have me build your Doris 12, ask me a personal price quote.

All specifications are subject to change without notice.

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