Gunning Dory Printed Plans

For PDF plans, click HERE

room for you and your friends and a dog or two

Heres a 19 foot, build-it-yourself dory with room for you and your friends, a dog or two and all of your gear. The nearly flat bottom will get you right into the shallows where you can float in two or three inches of water, and the boat will still handle plenty of rough water on the way home. Its a near replica of the lifeboats once carried aboard ships and the dory hull form has a reputation of being quite capable of carrying a substantial load offshore in safety. Its a good salt water boat, and works well on large rivers and lakes. On camping trips theres room for just about everything you might need. Awnings, boom tents, and partial decking can be used to increase the comfort factor when spending the night on board.

The dory can be motored or rowed, and once up to hull speed it slips easily through the water and "carries" well, maintaining momentum with a relaxed stroke.

The multiple chine hull simulates a round bottom design but is much easier to build. The dory can be built in a light-weight or heavy duty version, and the building plans include options for various interior layouts, plus a midship located well for outboard motors. The basic design is intended to be modified to suit individual needs and usage.

Builder Comments and Photos

Paul.....how do you like my gunning dory with custom paint job. All done by hand.

John Staley West Virginia

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Paul,

I hate to keep bothering you but of the thousands of boat plans that I've seen over the last few years, you're are by far the best looking of them all so I'm going to build either the Gunning Dory or the new one you are working on. It sounds like a great plan you are working on and would be perfect for what I am looking for. I will use it to row into tight spots for some fishing and would also like to use it to float a couple of rivers near our home in Idaho Falls Idaho. The smaller one sounds a lot easier to handle than the big one although I still like the weight handling ability of the larger dory. How soon do you think you'll have plans available for the smaller one? I'd like to get some as soon as they're ready.

thanks a lot, matt

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Paul,

Just wanted to send you a picture of my Gunning Dory I built about 12 years ago. This winter I decked it into a whitewater dory, complete with gel battery, solar charger and inverter. What a great project. Just finished a 7 day run on Desolation Canyon with it, it will be doing the Main Salmon later this summer.

Best From WY Way!

Mark Jones