The design, construction and use of the Bay of Islands dory: a study in tradition and culture

Dwyer, Paul (2000) The design, construction and use of the Bay of Islands dory: a study in tradition and culture. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study is an examination of dory building in the Bay of Islands in western Newfoundland using the analytical categories of design, construction, and use. Tradition and culture are separated to show how culture, the time specific part of boat building, operates within tradition, the components of boat building which persist through time. This study explores the significance of dory use and how the information gained by the builder through use may influence change in design, and therefore, construction. -- Most of the material presented came from data collected in interviews with the area's boat builders who received their training from other builders. The boat types, which have been built and used in the area, have changed greatly over time. At first, original settlers brought boats with them from other parts of Newfoundland and then altered them upon reaching the Bay of Islands. After living there for about one hundred years the economic and technological contexts changed and fishermen and boat builders looked to a different boat design to meet the requirements of the change. At this point, the dory became the central focus of boat building activities. -- Once it was evident that the dory would become the new boat for the area, builders began to experiment with design and construction in response to these environmental changes. During the past fifty years, the dory has developed from a row dory into an outboard powered dory used for lobster fishing, the mainstay of most inshore fishermen of the area. Dory development in the Bay of Islands took place within the confines of tradition, culture, personal expectations and innovation. While the tradition of boat building has remained in the area, it has undergone cultural changes in the form of the boat in which the tradition is manifested.

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