Spira International Wooden Boat Plans
Following are the stock plans available for the various types of boats, separated into the different categories. Many, like the Carolina dory, Midwestern drift boat or Pacific power dory are named after the areas where they were first developed. This doesn't mean that they are useful for only that area. On the contrary, each has its plusses and minuses for all types of use and in many different conditions. I try to describe these in the right sidebar headers. If you have any questions about this at all, please just drop me an email and ask. The email link is above.
Pacific Power Dories |
Offshore Power Dories |
 |
 |
14' Seneca |
19' Anacapa |
Carolina Dories |
Western Style Drift Boats |
 |
 |
14' Pescadero |
13' Mackinaw |
Midwestern Style Drift Boats |
Grand Banks Style Dories |
 |
 |
13' Ozark Fisherman |
9' Booth Bay (FREE!) |
V-Bottom Dories |
Ultralight Stitch-and-Glue Boats |
 |
 |
15' Alamitos |
7' Mini Miss Skiff |
Larger Stitch & Glue Boats |
Kayaks and Canoes |
 |
 |
16' Newporter |
12' Huntington Harbor (FREE!) |
Specialty Power Boats |
Garveys |
 |
 |
16' Oscoda Mini Tug Boat |
16' Wye River Garvey Dory |
Duck Hunting Boats |
Flats and Bayou Boats |
 |
 |
13' Marsh Rat Mini Duck Boat |
18' Bayou Jubilee |
Other Small Boats |
Row or Power Skiffs |
 |
 |
10' Havasu Personal Watercraft |
11' Champlain - Row/Power Skiff |
Mullet Skiffs |
St. Pierre Dories |
 |
 |
19' Tortuga |
27' Newfie |
Larger Cruisers |
Sharpie Sailing Dories |
 |
 |
25' Kona Hawaiian Sampan | |
14' Inagua |
About Dories
Dories are one of the few hundreds of year old boat designs to have survived into the 21st century, and for good reason. Their sea keeping abilities, slippery shapes, extreme versatility, and ease of construction make them one of the best choices for a first-time or veteran boat builder looking for a great boat able to be built on a budget.
Dories began appearing over 200 years ago as small, light, versatile work boats ideal for fishing. They were easy to construct, easy to launch from the beach, easy to row or sail, and could haul a huge load of gear and fish. No one knows exactly where the design came from but many builders started constructing these boats on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe dories were popular in Portugal, and in the US, Nova Scotia was the center of dory construction. Dories were used extensively to fish the Grand Banks, one of the most important cod fishing locales in the world at that time.
In 1876 a man named Alfred Johnson took a dare in a Gloucester, Massachusetts bar to single handedly sail across the Atlantic in an open dory. He chose a 20 foot dory which he named Centennial to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the United States that year. He fitted with sails and a centerboard, and on June 15th set off from Gloucester for England. He arrived in Liverpool on August 21st 1876 after crossing one of the most treacherous stretches of water in the world, the North Atlantic. He survived a major gale and some horrid seas in a flat bottomed, open boat with no flotation or self bailing decks!
Follow Spira Boats on:
Contact Spira Boats via:
