Congratulations!  Logistically and financially being able to build a boat are substantial hurdles.  I'm thinking about doing one of those $1 for the first month storage units so I can scarf together the plywood and at least get the hull/transoms stitched together on my PM.

As far as which boat, I particularly like the NE Dory.  I love the aesthetic of the raked transom and the performance of the sloop rig.  It'll hold two adults and plenty of camping gear, kids, dogs, etc.

Either way, it'll be a great project.  Keep us posted.

Spent a little time in research this morning. Still waffling a bit between the Dory and the Skerry, but it does seem that the Dory is winning out. Only 5 lb difference in the weight. I also think I have settled on the idea of the Lug sail. Simply for cost savings. Once you add the cost of the Sloop rig plus the upgraded kit for the sloop rig, the Lug wins. I will still be on a VERY tight budget with this build so every dollar I can shave off will help. Speaking of shaving off a few dollars, how helpful is the kick up rudder? I can see how it would be nice but that's $100.00 I can redirect to a heater for my garage. I will need that to be able to build in the winter, it gets mighty cold here in Idaho!

Re: Kick up rudder.

It depends on the water you sail in. Chesapeake has a Lot of shallows. Wish I had purchased the kick up first, must now spend even more to get that option. If your lakes have few or no shallows you'll probably be fine. For money savings look for threads by Moonchaser on kick up rudder designs and mods. You can save $ by sourcing your own wood locally - probably. By the end of your build you should have the skills to do it your self.

���I have the "skills" I need. I am a hobbiest wood worker with a fully equipped Shop at my disposal. I have never worked with fiberglass before but love learning new things. The kits build very much like the R/Church planes I have built and flown for years. I believe this is going to be a exciting and fun adventure!

���That's what I get for using my phone to post. R/C plane not R/Church

   I finished my Skerry (w/ lug rig) a few weeks ago.  I, too, was considering both the Skerry and the NE Dory, and one of the main reasons I chose the Skerry was because it would be easier to car-top.  But I ended up getting a trailer, and I was glad I did, since it makes it so much easier and safer to transport the boat.  So in retrospect, I wonder if I should have gone for the NE Dory, since it can hold an additional person, and wouldn't have been significantly more expensive.

But I think the "I wish I had gotten a bigger/faster/fancier one" syndrome is common to many hobbies...

   The Skerry is a great boat. The NE dory is a great boat. Both can be car-topped, but that's easier with the Skerry. Both are better off on a trailer, and you'll get out on the water faster with a trailer. The sloop rig may point a little better, but the lug is easier to rig. You are a lot better off with the lug if you want to rig the boat on the water or switch from sail to oars when the wind dies (or blows too hard for sailing).

As to the rudder, it's not much deeper than the skeg on the dory. I'd rather have my rudder scrape bottom than my skeg. I think of it as an early warning system (though the dagger board will scrape bottom before either one).

  I took my NE Dory out on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin today, 10-18 knot variable southwest wind with a long fetch, gusting over 20, balanced lug w/o reefs, and I was amazed how well it handled those conditions.  Close hauled a couple miles to windward, then zig-zag broad reaches at 10 knots or better boat speed back to the harbor.   I definitely am biased in favor of the Dory, and also, definitely favor the trailer.

Thanks for all the reply's. I can understand how a trailer would be the preferable means of moving a boat. Its just that I will be towing a Travel trailer most of the time as well. It is allowed here in Idaho to pull a triple, I just don't really agree with it myself. I have several ideas for lift helpers to get a Dory up on top of my rather tall truck. I will just have to get the hull done, then do a little experimenting to find the best way to achieve my goal.   

   I would caution towing a tandem trailer since the boat and trailer would be so much smaller than the travel trailer. You often can't see the second trailer. You could loose tires and not know it. 

I often travel with two 17 ft kayaks on a rack on the truck with a 27 ft travel trailer in tow behind. Load the boats first then hook up to the trailer. Mark or take note of the aft overhang. Not good to hit boat with the trailer on a sharp turn.  I use a Yakama truck rack aft and a roof rack over the cab. I used to use two bed racks, think "ladder rack", but with the trailer and the 17 ft boat it needed to protrude over the cab more. It looked like too much boat cantilivered foward so I substituted the roof rack.  On the aft rack I installed the Yakima Hully Rollers. There is an angle problem and lube/cleaning required to keep those rollers moving free. Still it is a trick to lift the boat up to the rollers and push them foward. The truck is a 4x4 with proper tires and shocks.  I use a three step stool to reach up high enough. 

#1 rule is the boat weighs more after the paddle than it did before.  No not really, but it seems that way. 

The best system I saw for carrying a roof top boat was a like a 66 Ford Falcon 4 door sedan with 2x4 ways installed from the rear bumper up the trunk lid, over the rear window and onto the roof of the car. At the front of the ways........Bunks......was a cross beam with a boat trailer  winch installed. The boat rode at maybe a 30 degree up angle. Tied down. I think parts were bolted to the roof and trunk lid.  Red neck engineering on a southern fishing car.  

I have another question. The Skerry has if I am reading the description correctly, sealed chambers fore and aft for flotation. On the Dory I have read that you can install foam blocks under the seats for flotation. I saw a picture of a Dory for sale that had these blocks, peoples feet had kicked and gouged the foam and it looked really trashy. So my question is if you don't use the foam, how does the Dory survive a capsize? I wouldn't think a wood boat would sink. If the foam is truly necessary why not use wood veneer on the outside surface to hide the foam?

You mean like this?

I had some leftover 3mm from my Kaholo SUP build so I glued some over the foam so I could protect it from damage. The foam is there so if the boat gets swamped, it floats high enough for you to bail it out without water flowing back in over the rails.

YES that is exactly what I was thinking. Sounds like I need to plan on using the flotaion foam.