Sailing version of St. Pierre Dory?

[Steve Paskey]

Anyone out there who can comment, from experience, on the vices or virtues of a sailing version of John Gardner's 27-foot St. Pierre Dory (or a similar boat)? Plans are in The Dory Book.

I know of a beautifully-built one for sale, and I'm intrigued.

Thanks. Steve Paskey

[Ian McColgin]

You'll want to row to weather in any event, so go with a simple rig you can throw up for broad reaching and running, don't bother with a board, and steer by sticking an oar in the nice notch in the stern. It'll be fun.

Even my gunning dory, which sails about as well as the dory type can sail, can't keep as good a pace to weather under sail as rowed.

[Kermit]

Ian? Ya think so? I've pulled a few boats afore (including a blessedly brief two-oared solo in a 26-foot ship's gig), but since I'm goofing off and The Dory Book is at home, I don't know as how I'd want to haul that particular 27 feet around with MY arms. Mebee it's time to consider one of them auxiliar-i engynes in this p'ticlar case. I hear them new 4-cycle outboards go to windward pretty damnn fine. But I could be wrong.

[Ian McColgin]

Not that she'd be easy to row. I've stood to the oars of such a dory and it's every bit as hard as Farley Mowat describes in 'The Boat Who Wouldn't Float' after they bent the shaft on the basque guys dory. But you do get there rowing and it's gonna be a real dog to weather under sail.

Our comparison the other weekend in Osterville was in substantially smaller boats - under 20' with less than half the displacement of the StPete - but within broad limits and staying at low speeds, displacement is not such a big deal once you're afloat and moving. For example, to show-off one day in a flatass calm with no current I towed Grana around Hyannisport swimming. That's a 20T, 55' vessel.

[Steve Paskey]

I enjoy rowing (my 18-foot Lowell sailing surf dory rows nicely), but I don't know about rowing that St. Pierre, as the beam is 9 feet. (I'm guessing that she was built to the offsets of Gardner's "wide" St. Pierre lines.) Fortunately, she's equipped with a 20hp Lister inboard diesel. The rig is a ketch with 250 sq. ft. of sail area total.

[reddog]

Hi DorySailor;
Check out the book "The Thousand Dollar Yacht"by Anthony Bailey.It's about the building and sailing exploits of a 28ft.Gardner designed St.Pierre dory.Mr.Bailey had the boat built and fitted it out himself,sailing out of Stonington,Conn.It was rigged as a gaff ketch and used a seagull outboard in a well as power.He called her The Billy Ruffian which was apparantly the nickname of H.M.S. Bellerophon,the warship upon which Napoleon formally surrendered after Waterloo.
This one had a centerboard but from the story didn't sail to windward all that well.
I would imagine it sails like a dory.
All the best.Earl

[gary porter]

Steve, I'm very interested in what you decide to do here as I too am considering adding a sail to a St. Pierre Dory. I have Yellow cedar for planks, White oak for framing and bottom, and an Atlantic 8hp 2stroke spark jump engine. I also have a small long shaft Seagull and a bracket to mount on the transom. All I need now is the haulup gear and to build the thing which I plan on doing this next summer. I would like to rig some sort of sail on it as well but am not sure how to do that without conflicting with the inboard power. That is if I used a centerboard. The idea of no board is interesting and I'd like to know if anyone else has done it this way on the big St. Pierre...............gary

[This message has been edited by gary porter (edited 12-21-2001).]

[Bill Higgins]

Check the Ken Hankinson versions of the St. Pierre dory. He has both power and sail.