Banks Dory

The Banks dory, also known as the Grand Banks dory, is the most common variation of the family of boats known as dories. They were used as traditional fishing boats from the 1850s on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Banks dory is a small, open, narrow, flat-bottomed and slab-sided boat with a particularly narrow transom. They were inexpensive to build and could be stacked or nested inside each other and stored on the decks of larger fishing vessels which functioned as mother ships.

Banks dories have long overhangs at the bow and stern which helps them lift over waves. There were one-man and two-man versions. The larger ones (12 ft along the bottom or more) could be fitted with sails and a tiller. The dories became more stable in rough weather when they were loaded with about half a ton of catch.