‘It’s a pretty boat’: Shelburne Dory Shop Museum launches picnic dory

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SHELBURNE, N.S. — The annual launch of the dory built at the Shelburne Dory Shop Museum was a little extra special this year.

Instead of the traditional Shelburne Grand Banks style dory, a picnic dory was launched.

Designed by New York boat designer and builder Paul Gartside, especially for the dory shop museum, it's only the third picnic dory ever built at the museum.

"It's a pretty boat. It's recreational. It's round-sided. It has an hourglass stern into it and a back on it for the lady or the gentleman or the person who wants to row," says master dory builder Milford Buchanan. "It takes twice as long to build as a normal dory. The ribs are not our standard oak and metal clips, they are steam and laminated pine strips. The planks are riveted together instead of using our traditional square nails."

It's been about 12 years since the last picnic dory was built at the museum.

"The picnic dory is a time-consuming boat to build," Buchanan says. "The planks have to be partially steamed in order to bend into the stern. It's a beautiful little row boat. It just rows beautifully. It's a little bit faster than a traditional dory. It's not meant for rough water. It's meant for a river or calm water."

The picnic dory didn't have far to go to its new home. The vessel was commissioned by George and Beerta van der Meer who own and operate the Shelburne Barrel Factory, which is located near the dory shop museum on Dock Street.

"We ended up selling two dories this year," says Suzanne Mahaney, manager for Shelburne Museums by the Sea.

Every year, the task for the summer season at the dory shop is to build a dory, talk to people about it when visitors come in, walk them through the process, tell them what you’re doing and they can see an actual dory being built, explains Mahaney. "It's part of the whole display at the dory shop."

The dory built last summer was "just sitting there with no takers for it," Mahaney says. "Early this summer we were actually able to sell the dory that he built last summer and then he built the picnic dory which was commissioned."

Buchanan has been an employee at the dory shop since 1999. Before that, he would often help former master builders Curtis Mahaney and Bill Cox as a volunteer.

"I would like to retire in about three years," he says. "It's going to take a while to actually train someone. We’ll see. Mr. Cox, when he retired, he still came down and help if I had a problem. I would do the same thing."

Mahaney says she is working on a succession plan for the museum.

"Trying to find someone to replace Milford, it's very limited criteria," she says. "I’m looking for someone who has at least the basics of carpentry skills. Milford can always teach the boat-building aspect of it. I’m also looking for someone local, preferably, who wants to stay here."

One prospect in a few years maybe is youth volunteer Isaiah Butler. A student at Shelburne Regional High School, Butler would often visit the dory shop when he was a little kid, helping out in any way he could, recalls Mahaney.

Now a teenager, he asked if he could come in this summer on a volunteer basis, which he did.

"We were pleased to have him," says Mahaney. "He told me he wouldn't mind being the future master dory builder when the time comes."