Swampscott 18' surf dory

John Gardner, Building Classic Small Craft, Volume 2

Boston Fishing Power Dories

Quote from the “Fishing Gazette”

The first out-and-out motor fishing boat in Boston was a Swampscott dory fitted with a centerboard. It was a fast sailer and carried a crew of two men. Its owners got becalmed one day with a catch of cod and haddock, which spoiled on their hands when the market was high. As they tossed and pitched in the doldrums down by Boston light, a little motorcraft slipped by and was soon out of sight in the direction of the city wharves.

The occupant of the motor-propelled boat was a yachtsman with moorings in South Boston. Within a day or two, he was hunted up by the fishermen, who sought all manner of information about his motor, its make and cost, which was cheerfully given, and the fishermen were filled brimful of helpful suggestions before they quitted the club float. The fishing dory was taken to a yard in East Boston, and a four-horsepower, two-cycle motor of the make-and-break type soon followed it.

The boatbuilder was somewhat at a loss to decide how best to install the motor, but he finally spiked a block of wood to the transom, bolted a skeg to the dory bottom, so as to give the propeller plenty of room, bored the shaft-hole at what he believed to be the proper pitch, and then fashioned oak foundations on which to lag the engine.

Considerable squinting was needed before the motor could be got in line with the shaft, and lots of shim pieces of wood were tucked under the base of the machine to get a fit. Finally, when everything was declared to be right, and the exhaust pipe had been extended from a crude muffler through the side of the boat, the fishermen paid their bill of about $15, and the innovation was christened with Scotch as it splashed into the dock.

The older of the boat’s owners grabbed the crank and essayed to start the motor. It didn’t respond at first, so he got on his knees in front of it and began to spin the fly wheel with both hands. Suddenly it started and broke his wrist with the kick.

That modernized dory remained in the dock several weeks before an “expert” explained that it was the man’s fault that he got hurt. He said the fisherman was altogether too reckless and ought not to have got on his knees to start a motor. He explained to the men the proper way to do the trick, got the engine running in fine form, gave a party of fishermen a spin down to the Graves, and from that day, makers of reliable gasoline motors have done a splendid business in supplying the Boston demand, and boats without number have been transformed from sail to motor in the same yard where the first craft discarded sail for an up-to-date pusher.

When the first motor fisherman got well into the harness, her owners’ wives began to appear on the street in new dresses and wore smiles of contentment while promenading the North End of Boston, where the Sicilians have their homes. The boat was a wonder in the way of earning money. She made two trips, sometimes three, while the sailboats were getting their fares to market.

A bigger success on a small scale never appeared in the harbor. It was no use for the old-fashioned craft to compete with the new-fangled boat. The immediate rush for motors sent manufacturers to their wits end to keep up with the orders, and the same engine (Mianus) is in vogue today in larger sizes and with correspondingly more power.

All 5 frames are done.

Fall '24

Spring '25