The Dory

A Dory is a lot of boat, which explains the enduring popularity of the type going  back 150 years or more.  Relatively few planks means less construction work.  The narrow waterline results in a fast hull under sail or oars, but the flared topsides provide ample reserve stability.  Dories are great load-carriers, and the Dory is no exception.  800 pounds is the max payload.

The history of the dory is somewhat obscure but the most famous are the Banks dories, used for longline cod-fishing on the Grand Banks.  The Banks dories are justifiably famous (they played a starring role in "Captains Courageous") but never worked well for pleasure boaters:  they were too heavy, and required a thousand pounds of cod in them to have much stability.

Pleasure-boaters adopted the general type, however, and refinements include the Swampscott Dory and Nahant Dory.  Graceful round-sided lapstrake dories like this 17-footer were once the primary recreational craft on the New England coast.  They were the Boston Whalers of the early 20th century.