Nexus 16' San Juan dory

[Mac McQuinn]

Has anyone built this particular boat or have any info on it's capabilities? I'm looking for an outside project for the summer months and looking for something that could be finished by late September-early October....
Here's link to the craft; http://www.nexusmarine.com/san_juan_dory.html


Mac

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Mac,
Although I have no personal knowledge, looking at the pictures it appears to be a very capable boat, and a doable project in your timeframe. If you decide to build this please post progress pictures here. I plan to post the building of my daughters kayak here this spring/summer. Good Luck!

[Greg Johnson]

Mac,
I am assuming you want some honest feedback and shared experiences.... So... here I go. Depending on what type of water you are planning to use this boat, it may or may not be suited for you. A flat bottom dory is very stable and in many ways a very safe boat, but they are very hard riding in chop. I have never owned one, but I have ridden in them. In even a slight chop, they can jar your teeth loose. For rivers and small lakes, they are probably fine. Where I am located, we deal with a lot of chop, 1-2 foot waves. A vee bottom will give you a much smoother ride at a higher speed. There was a boat builder on the coast of Washington state that built a lot of dorys back in the 50's and 60's. Actually they have an interesting history. Here is a link to their history: http://bartenderboats.com/history.html Even the US Coast Guard bought a few of their boats. They were designed to cross the "bar" at Westport and were called bartenders. I haven't personally riden in one, but they were considered one of the better boats of that era. They are selling kits and plans. They are a little bigger than the 16ft., but may be worth looking at. Here is a link to their site: http://www.bartenderboats.com/

I hope I am not coming off negative about the San Juan dory. They are in my neck of the woods... but it really is about matching the boat design for the planned use.

If nothing else, this may provide and interesting read about dorys. Hope this helps,
Greg

[Mac McQuinn]

Greg And Gary,

Thanks for your input. I have not purchased plans for this particular boat yet although have communicated with the designer regarding materials and engine size requirements. I'm in the Great Lakes and have immediate access to a large river system and connecting bay. I think a 13'-16' flat bottom boat would meet my needs although I think a Dory design with lots of flare will provide additional secondary stability in case i get caught out in the bay in a storm. Another concern is building a design i can afford to power. O/B's are expensive and anything over 10 HP would be a stretch for me unless I find a deal on a nice used unit. I have a few leftover marine ply sheets I'd like to use for the project and this may affect the design I choose also.

* Gary, Once i get started, I'll keep a log w/ pics to post. Good luck on your daughter's kayak, I look forward to seeing the progress.

* Greg, thanks for the links, Interesting boats to say the least.

Mac

[Neal Schlee]

Have you looked at the Tolman Skiff? The Standard, 18-20' can be easily built in a summer. They are excellent boats for the home builder. Renn Tolman's book, "Tolman Alaskan Skiffs" is only $40 and from this book you can build any of his 3 designs from an 18' open boat to a 24' full cabin boat. All are designed for Alaskan waters and very sea worthy, fuel effiecient and semi-vee hulls, hundreds have been built world wide.
For more info see: http://www.skiffkits.com

Neal

[Mac McQuinn]

Have you looked at the Tolman Skiff? The Standard, 18-20' can be easily built in a summer. They are excellent boats for the home builder. Renn Tolman's book, "Tolman Alaskan Skiffs" is only $40 and from this book you can build any of his 3 designs from an 18' open boat to a 24' full cabin boat. All are designed for Alaskan waters and very sea worthy, fuel effiecient and semi-vee hulls, hundreds have been built world wide.
For more info see: http://www.skiffkits.com

Neal

Neal, thanks for the links. I'm aware of Renn's boats although for my purposes the 18' would be a bit large and in my location where river exploring can get you in shallow water very quickly, the V-bow would not work out I'm afraid. The final stake would be the 40HP requirements, just too much for my pension.

I'm also looking at Tom Hill's Pamet Blue boat and the Long Point, Both very neat boats intended for low HP and shallow draft requirements.

Here's a couple links, Long Point; http://www.thomasjhillboatdesigns.co..._point_01.html

Pamet Blue Boat; http://www.thomasjhillboatdesigns.co...e_boat_02.html

Mac

[Len Waiksnis]

Hi Mac,
I just read these threads and was wondering if you have settled on a design yet.
I am in the process of picking a design for a build and the San Juan Dory is a front runner. I am still going back and forth between a flat bottom skiff and a few V bottom designs.
I would be using this skiff mostly on Long Island Sound, so handling a chop is important.
Len

[Mac McQuinn]

Hi Mac,
I just read these threads and was wondering if you have settled on a design yet.
I am in the process of picking a design for a build and the San Juan Dory is a front runner. I am still going back and forth between a flat bottom skiff and a few V bottom designs.
I would be using this skiff mostly on Long Island Sound, so handling a chop is important.
Len

Len,
I've put the actual construction on hold as I'm a GM retiree and need to determine if I'm going to have a pension or not with the current problems in the auto industry. That being said, I've had a bit of time to research designs and still lean towards the S.J. Dory. It's within my capabilities and should perform well in my surroundings. I've been going through all my boat books and John Gardner's Dory book is a impressive piece of work with some really capable designs. I'm wondering if something with semi-displacement hull might not be a better choice as then I could rig it for sailing also. Trying to get the most bang for the buck. I want to get some models put together to determine if the proportions work for me and learn more about the construction methods.

Mac

[Rich Mangus]

Mac -

I am hoping that it works out for you and you can build that boat soon.

Another From the D
Rich

[Len Waiksnis]

Mac,
I too hope it works out for you and you can get to that boat soon.
I think I will be ordering plans for the SJ dory next week.
I am considering building it in the stitch and glue method. But I need to look at the plans and maybe talk to the designer before I commit to that method.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Len

[Mac McQuinn]

Len & Rich,
Thanks guys for the thoughts, Another 3 or 4 weeks should shed some light on things. Designer of the SJ Dory, David Roberts is a stand up guy, He answered all my questions completley and quickly. Len, if you decide to do the S. J. Dory, keep us posted on progress, pics too if you can. S&G seems like a great option for that craft. Good luck!

Mac

[Rob Fatland]

I can't give you comparison with V-hull but I can tell you what it is like to build a San Juan Dory, at least up to the point where I am at the moment, which is setting up the stem in prep for the chine install. My frames are up and my support structure (while looking like a Bifferbaum Bird Nest) is reasonably solid.

I'm building in Boulder but plan to move the completed vessel next summer to Puget Sound, particularly to the south sound which features less chop than the San Juans. I have this summer to finish the hull and flip, fall to build out the interior, and winter to finish up. Launch is March 1 but it feels like it might be appropriate to let that slip to April 1.

You are dead on about David: He's an awesome support guy.

The most ambitious thing I've built before this boat was a bee hive and some chairs and a table for my daughter; so this has been a big step up. I'd guess that I'm about 1/4 done in terms of labor hours but about 70% done in terms of learning skills and getting the confidence that I can put the thing together. Of course it doesn't float yet!

Let me know if you'd like building notes; I'm actually working on a companion document, "the notes I wish'd I'd had when I started".

Best -Rob

[Mac McQuinn]

Rob,

1st of all welcome to the forum! Great people here, especially the wooden boat enthusiasts in our little segment. Thanks for the intro on the San Juan Dory, looks great so far. I would love to see your building notes. I've been trying to sneak away from a long list of summer projects to get started on my boat but this month has been busy to say the least.

Mac

* Rob when you ordered the SJ Dory plans, did you op for the full size patterns David offers? and if you did what's your take on them quality wise?

Thanx

I can't give you comparison with V-hull but I can tell you what it is like to build a San Juan Dory, at least up to the point where I am at the moment, which is setting up the stem in prep for the chine install. My frames are up and my support structure (while looking like a Bifferbaum Bird Nest) is reasonably solid.

I'm building in Boulder but plan to move the completed vessel next summer to Puget Sound, particularly to the south sound which features less chop than the San Juans. I have this summer to finish the hull and flip, fall to build out the interior, and winter to finish up. Launch is March 1 but it feels like it might be appropriate to let that slip to April 1.

You are dead on about David: He's an awesome support guy.

The most ambitious thing I've built before this boat was a bee hive and some chairs and a table for my daughter; so this has been a big step up. I'd guess that I'm about 1/4 done in terms of labor hours but about 70% done in terms of learning skills and getting the confidence that I can put the thing together. Of course it doesn't float yet!

Let me know if you'd like building notes; I'm actually working on a companion document, "the notes I wish'd I'd had when I started".

Best -Rob

[Rob Fatland]

Hi Mac;

Thanks, and Yes I got the full-scale plans, off the top of my head they are 1:8 scale. The package also includes a fastener schedule, a wood schedule (? or what you'd call it; "cut list" doesn't sound right; but the raw wood you need anyway), and some pages of notes on how to build the boat. These are a few pages of general notes on epoxy and scarfing and so on, then about four pages of specifics keyed by numbers to the pieces of the boat on the plans. The package also includes some smaller diagrams to help loft the frames and transom and set up the ladder frame (so a side view with indications of latter placement). For an experienced woodworker I'd say it goes a long way; for an amateur like me it leaves a lot of thinking left to do. That's fine but it's also why I'm writing that doc. I'll share that after I get it a bit further with it.

The plans themselves: No basis for personal comparison but just off the top of my head I give them a B+. There are a couple minor errors, for example at least one of the frame diagrams is clearly not symmetrical which causes a bit of concern because I'm taking a lot of measurements off the plans direct to the table saw. I should mention: Traditional boat building is done by lofting and I wound up "sorta" lofting on a white work table in combination with what is for me more intuitive, which is figuring out lengths and angles using trig and taking the results straight to the table saw. I talked to David for a couple minutes at his shop and he didn't hit me with anything hard when I said this so I think it's ok. Anyway the risk is that small errors on the plans might wind up in the wood so I try to multi-think everything through. I may have to extend one of my frames a bit to match the curve of the sheer; to do it again I'd cut the frame sides intentionally a bit long and trim them down later.

In the initial setup that I'm close to done with I'd say by far the stem is the most complicated thing and the hardest thing to get right; the plans are a bit spare here and could be expanded. But, as we've noted, David is happy to help fill in on how he does it, and that's really great.

best
-Rob

[Mac McQuinn]

Thanks for all the information. What i was referring to before was the "Mylar" Templates David offers off his website. I believe this eliminates the lofting aspect of building the boat. Did you decide on a specific type of plywood to use as of yet?

Mac

Hi Mac;

Thanks, and Yes I got the full-scale plans, off the top of my head they are 1:8 scale. The package also includes a fastener schedule, a wood schedule (? or what you'd call it; "cut list" doesn't sound right; but the raw wood you need anyway), and some pages of notes on how to build the boat. These are a few pages of general notes on epoxy and scarfing and so on, then about four pages of specifics keyed by numbers to the pieces of the boat on the plans. The package also includes some smaller diagrams to help loft the frames and transom and set up the ladder frame (so a side view with indications of latter placement). For an experienced woodworker I'd say it goes a long way; for an amateur like me it leaves a lot of thinking left to do. That's fine but it's also why I'm writing that doc. I'll share that after I get it a bit further with it.

The plans themselves: No basis for personal comparison but just off the top of my head I give them a B+. There are a couple minor errors, for example at least one of the frame diagrams is clearly not symmetrical which causes a bit of concern because I'm taking a lot of measurements off the plans direct to the table saw. I should mention: Traditional boat building is done by lofting and I wound up "sorta" lofting on a white work table in combination with what is for me more intuitive, which is figuring out lengths and angles using trig and taking the results straight to the table saw. I talked to David for a couple minutes at his shop and he didn't hit me with anything hard when I said this so I think it's ok. Anyway the risk is that small errors on the plans might wind up in the wood so I try to multi-think everything through. I may have to extend one of my frames a bit to match the curve of the sheer; to do it again I'd cut the frame sides intentionally a bit long and trim them down later.

In the initial setup that I'm close to done with I'd say by far the stem is the most complicated thing and the hardest thing to get right; the plans are a bit spare here and could be expanded. But, as we've noted, David is happy to help fill in on how he does it, and that's really great.

best
-Rob