I'm an ex Catalina-30 sailor, just finished the lug rig version of the NE Dory and love it.  Sailed today alone with no reefs in very light air...moved along well.  Also went rowing with 4 adults and it handled way better than I expected...i rowed it single with them in the boat and could get amazing speed considering one rower...very well balanced too, will try two rowing next time.  Getting in and out of the boat in shallow water was easy.

Have you considered the lug rig?  CLC has a write up explaining its advantages...I love mine.

Try searching youtube for Neil Calore and Boatymoon

Lots more info out there on the NE Dory!

Curt 817/456-2878 [email protected]

   I finished my sloop rigged Dory this past June and have done a handful of sails on it this summer.  I'm an inexperienced sailor so take my comments with a grain of sea salt.

I've only sailed it single-handed since I don't have the confidence to take a crew but that will change soon I hope.

The boat is very stable in my opinion.  My difficulties are launching from the beach in a good breeze, espescially if it's shallow.  Launching and jumping in while keeping the rudder straight (and off the bottom) is a bit of a stunt.

Balance and weight are very important.  I sail much better when I sit in the middle of the boat but it's not as comfortable as sitting on the deck near the stearn.  I keep a sandbag in the front of the boat that seems to help with balance.

I'm not sure I would do the removable seat option if I built it again.  The star nuts get in the way of the jib sheets quite regularly and I don't see myself pulling the seat out ever.

I did the satin coat and I'm am so glad I did.  It takes scratches much better.  I also did the graphite bottom including the skeg.

I'm not a big fan of the rudder.  Not so much the push pull aspect but the overall feel of the rudder.  I thought the boat would turn a little quicker and the tiller always needs to be secured with a tether.  I made that mistake once!

Rowing solo with the sloop rig doused is a bit of  chore but not impossible.  My rear end hits the daggerboard trunk.  Is that the fault of the boat or my large size?  I sometimes wonder if I would have like the lug rig better but utlimately I am looking for the sailing experience if that even matters.  

I have pretty good luck sailing windward versus leeward but I think that is due to my lack of experience.  

It's a fun boat to build and so far a fun boat to learn sailing on.  I hope this helps.  I'm already thinking about the outrigger junior one day since the fun factor looks pretty high.

   Many thanks to both of you for the input. Where are you two sailing?

Jeff

   I'm sailing on Lake Jordan in central NC and will venture to the outerbanks and New Bern when I feel a little more intrepid.

   Hi Jeff. I'll take a shot at your questions.

Trailering is a good idea. My small wife and I can hoist it onto the truck but it's not something we would want to do very often. We went round and round on the trailer issue and finally bit the bullet and bought the ridiculously expensive Trailex 250. Turns out to have been a good decision. The trailer itself is only 100# so it's easy to use as a hand dolly to move the boat around. With a heaver trailer like a small Loadright the weight is really high and moving the boat around by hand is a chore.

The Dory is a tad tender in initial stability, which is to be expected - it's barely wider than some sea kayaks at water line. Stability comes on strong as she's heeled. There's no problem standing and moving about at all. Again to be expected because of the extreme flair to the shear.

I'm inexperienced at sailing so take this for what it's worth. When sailing she holds a line pretty well but requires a fair amount of tiller pressure. More breeze, more pressure, a heavy weather helm. Think it’s my setup. Some have commented about the sloppy tiller extension set up and I agree. Will have to devise a better connection but that’s easy for someone who’s actually built the boat. Epoxy gives us great freedom! She's pretty fast with a breeze and feels secure even when dipping a rail. You’re close to the water so it feels really Fast! We've sucked water over the rails and not felt like she wanted to turn turtle. My performance on the wind seems a little off. After doing some online searching I believe this is due to my setup as well. Will tinker with the rig this Saturday and hope to improve sailing to windward and reduce the weather helm a bit. She will pound in a chop and we find trim to be very important under sail and even more so under oar.

I second Moonman's recommendation on considering the Lug rig. When properly tuned they can be as efficient as the Bermuda and a dang site less expensive and much easier to handle on the water. We've steped the mast, rigged, raised and reefed, all standing in the boat off shore. Felt totally secure doing it too. There is a growing body of information on this rig. A good place to start is by searching for "sailing and rigging the balanced lug rig sail".  This might not be any concern for you as a seasoned old salt.

I found the boat super quick and easy to build but have some experience with several kayaks under my belt. The sail kit was time consuming but not difficult. I made my spars but have a full woodworking shop. If you are short on tooling consider buying the full kit. It will save you Plenty-O-Time. On the other hand, Eastern White Pine from the home center is plenty strong enough and Cheap! Spar building, at least solid spars indicated in the plans, are rewarding to build if you get into a Zen zone (and aren’t in a hurry).

I had some trouble with my skeg getting beat on the trailer and at launch and recovery. Hit it with a mix of CeloFill, Graphite and Dynel and Bob's your Uncle. The first 2" of nose where the bottom plate meets the first strake will take a pounding too.

Hope this helps, ping me on private message if you want to see build pics or have other questions. We sail on the Chesapeake.

Cheers,
E

I live in Kerrville TX where I built my Dory but am sailing it on Lake Pemaquid, just oustide Boothbay Harbor Maine for the summer while we work-camp in an RV park.  I'll also be taking it out on Boothbay Harbor, the Sheepscott River and the Damariscota River.  In October when we head back to TX for the Winter I will sail/row on the Guadalupe River. 

Agree with Eric's comments and have additional thoughts to add if you like  

Boat Build Photo Journal: https://picasaweb.google.com/114717787929554738224/BuildingWoodenBoatCLCNortheasterDory?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKCBzczm_aKs2wE&feat=directlink

 Curt 817/456-2878 [email protected]

Feel free to call if you like