Dory Fisherman, Need Some Input

Steelie28 · 11-12-2007, 05:00 PM

Have a chance to pick up a 22' dory boat for a really good price. Have not seen it yet (plan on checking it out this week), but do know that it has a Volvo IB/OB. He also said it had some dryrot in the bow, but it has been taken care of. Just wondering what types of things I should look for in a dory that would make it not worth the effort. Haven't been around wood boats much, so any tips/pointers would be great. I expect there to be some things to do with it, but for the price he offered me it's hard to pass up. Also, any negatives to having an IB/OB instead of an outboard for a dory? He wants to keep the trailer it's on, so that's another potential roadblock to the transaction. I have a place in PC to keep it, and have always wanted to dory fish. Hopefully everything will work out and some of you guys can show a greenhorn a thing or two about launching off the beach.

Steelie28

Tinman · 11-12-2007, 10:16 PM

Dory fishing off the beach is fun, the dorymen are great, and the fishing around PC is superb. I'm a new doryman with a couple of seasons under my belt, but I wouldn't trade dory fishing for anything. I see lots of dories with IB/OB so that should not be a problem. Beach trailers are very hard to come by, and a new custom-built trailer is around $4,000. You might be able to convert a standard trailer for less.

Many of the dories in PC are 30 years old, so there seems to be no inherent problem with longevity. You might contact Terry Learned and ask if he would be willing to rebuild the boat. Best of luck, PM if you want more info.

Steelie28 · 11-13-2007, 06:47 AM

Thanks Tinman. I'm going to go take a look at the boat tomorrow, so we'll see how she looks.

Steelie28

infinity22 · 11-15-2007, 08:53 AM

what make and year is the boat your looking at. having been around dories most of my life, first thing i would do is pull the floorboards and check the ribs. they normally crack around the bolts that come up through the bottom of the boat. i would also look at the stringers to see if they are pulled loose from the bottom. if it's a learned boat more than likely it will be fine since terry and his dad used way better glue and stronger rib stock. the old p.c. dories like mine were prone to the bottoms separating and ribs cracking. i've gone through mine from bow to stern replacing ribs and rebuilding the transom. as far as the motor goes i have the aq130d in mine and for a 30+ year old motor it still runs great. the 280 outdrive is pretty much bulletproof. hope this helps you out and if you have any more questions feel free to p.m. me.

greg

p.s. both style of boats are very seaworthy boats. the later model p.c. dories tend to ride better in a following sea than the learned's