Crawford Swampscott Dory

And just like that, a production hull from the Massachusetts coast turns up needing to be finished and trimmed out. Made by Crawford Boatbuilding, an exceptional design of a traditional craft, with an increased beam and a motor well cut out of the transom for a small outboard.
Never finished by the original purchaser, and moved on to the last owner, this will be an enjoyable winter project for sailing in the spring. A day off, a beautiful spring day and a road trip to collect it made for a great trip east of Madawaska, east of Algonquin on hwy 60.

 At 16' and with positive flotation in both ends, it tips the scales at around 300lbs

 Just need to roll it and get it on the trailer - no small feat

 Nice and beamy , centerboard case molded in

 Loaded and ready to roll

 Motor well in transom

Rudder supplied with hull

 Sealed end chambers

Early production hull with stepped centerboard case

Motor well from top

 Made it home

 21st hull, 6th sailing model, made in April 1977. Info provided by Roger Crawford, who was gracious enough to provide info and talk about the hull, fitting out, and the business in general. Now producing Melonseed sailboats, this is still in the stable though not produced often these days after a run of around 200 hulls

 Found off of a facebook page, with a fantastic paint job and finish. Just might have to scuff up the gelcoat and go for this colour combination

 99 foot spritsail. Hull came with Mast and sprit boom.

Nice shallow water sailing - board up of course!

 Heavy as it is, needed to build a dolly for moving it around

 Time for some instruction on tool basics.

 Next , transfer the hull to the dolly and gather the materials for trimming.

Swampscott Dory

From Wikipedia:

The Swampscott dory is a traditional fishing boat, used during the middle of the 19th century by fishing villages along the North Shore coast of Massachsetts centered on Swampscott. It is designed to be launched off the beach. Dories were generally built by the fishermen themselves in the off season and later by more organized boatyards^.] The rounded hull provides more buoyancy for launching through surf than the slab sided banks dory. The flat bottom allows the boat to sit upright on the beach. The lack of a keel keeps the boat from being grabbed by a wave and allows the boat to pass cleanly through the surf. The boat still heels easily which allows large fish to be rolled into the boat vs having to lift the fish completely up over the gunnel.
The Swampscott dory is a melding of the earlier Wherry design Banks dory and the river bateau, which later led to new construction techniques used in the mass production of the.Swampscott dories are built with rounded sides and slightly less overhang stern than a banks dory. Swampscott dories are generally from 14 to 18 ft in length, the longer boat being rowed by two oarsmen.
Eventually the Swampscott dory developed into a recreational sailboat as well, known as the clipper dory, and then the alpha and beachcomber dory. These inexpensive sailboats were raced along the coast of Massachusetts during the early part of the 20th century. The sail rig was typically a Leg of Mutton and small jib on an unstayed mast.

Done with canoes? Not by a long shot, but moving in the direction of sailing and rowing craft to bring along more guests and enjoy bigger waters. Still knock off a Cruiser canoe from the form now and again, but this will be the winter project for a spring (re)launch. 

 Under sail, moving along

Even good for camp cruising

 Our boat as found. Solidly built, though not fuss in the details.  Too long outside upside down under a tarp has created some problem areas.

 Undersized sail rig, new one to be built.

 Nice raked transom, boat is a lot heavier to move than a canoe!

 Some bright finished wood will dress it up during the rebuild. Rails, seats, knees, breasthook will be replaced and varnished

Centerboard trunk to come out to rebuild the bottom pine plank that has soft spots and some rot.

New rudder and tiller coming, to compliment the traditional shape.

Huron done

Glad we used Epifanes 'Turkish Blue' on top of the epoxy filled canvas, looks great.  On the water it looks even better. Stembands go on and down the road it goes. 'Nother one done, and we take a break from canoes while the Swampscott Dory gets refinished and refit. Another Cruiser replica will come off the form this winter, but no more restorations for a while. 

Huron canoe nearing completion

Huron 14' almost done, Epifanes Turkish blue looks great. Been waiting a long time to try it out while the can sat in the cabinet. Seems to really suit this hull. Ash rails next, rail caps and stembands go back on and this one is out the door as well.