Gardner 16' Semi Dory

[DRB]

I am looking for anyone with first hand knowledge of the performance and handling charachteristics of this boat. There was a member by the name of boataholic who had done a very nice job of refurbishing one, but he never said much about performance. I am looking to build a work boat of this size that is sea worthy as possible and able to be powered economically with a 15HP tiller. I have also considered the Simmons Sea Skiff and I do have the plans for that boat, but I am not sure of how well the Simmons will work with a tiller. From what I have heard it can provide for a wet ride. The Semi Dory looks like it might be better suited for the tiller control and I beleive that I could build it faster for less $$. The down side is that I would have to loft it and spile the planks, but that might actually be a rewarding experience in the evolution of my boat building skills.

[Thorne]

You'll need to be more specific. "Seaworthy" is a very generic term that means different things to different people.

What sort of waters, weather, loads, and work will this boat need to handle? By tiller do you mean an extension on the outboard, or a rudder and tiller rigged on the boat? Is the length determined by your building space, storage areas, transport means, or budget?

That said, I'd say that the Gardner dory skiff would be an excellent choice for use with a 15hp outboard. Add floatation, partial decks, and you'd have a small outboard boat that should handle quite a bit of rough water usage. With that small of an outboard it wouldn't be fast or really good for long distance runs under power, and might not plane with a heavy load.

[Tar Devil]

Haven't seen any numbers, but it appears the Gardner SD has a bit more planing area aft than the Simmons. That, with two feet less hull length, would appear to win favor with the 15 HP motor.

You don't have to spile the garboard on the SD if you are using John's book, and the other two planks are determined by the knuckes, so getting out the planks should be minimal fuss.

Later,

Phil

[DRB]

Thanks for the help guys. Seaworthy is a term that can mean a lot of things. For me it means having a boat that can take the most rough water for it's size range. I am limited by economics and the fact that I will be useing this boat for sport fishing in the inland waters of the puget sound in washington. I want a boat that is light and easy to launch and trailer so that I can get close enough to the fish that I don't have to run more than a few miles in the boat to get to them. By tiller steering, I mean a tiller steered out board of around 15HP. The 16' (16'LOA) Simi dory has a lot of similaritys to the simmons 18 (17' LOA ). If you compare the lines you will find a lot of similaritys. Similar widths on the bottom and sheer line, the lengh of the bottom is near identical. The Simmons gains a foot of LOA from the raked transom. It is a good feature and could be easily be added to the Semi Dory. The Semi Dory motor well is a bit further forward than the Simmons, adding balance for the tiller operator. The multi chine hull of the Semi Dory alows for alot more flare on the garboard strake than the Simmons has, and this might push the spray that would get a tiller motor operator wet at times further from the boat. I have the resources to build either of these fine boats. I have heard lots of testimonials from the owners of th Popular Simmons boats, but I was hopeing to find some from 16' semi dory owners.
Thanks again, Doug

[muddlerburke@yahoo.com]

DRB,
I have an 19' semi dory with a cc and a 40Hp. This is my first year with it and it seams to be an able boat. I haven't been out in anything too nasty with it so time will tell. It is the same boat as in Gardner's book.I was told it was built in South Thomaston Maine by Harold Payson.

[DRB]

Muddlerman
Wow, not only have I found another Semi Dory enthusiast, but yours was built buy a legend "Harold (Dynamite) Payson". The 19' is alot bigger than the 16', but I still would like to hear how she performs. What do you mean by "cc" ? I am particularly interested in how much splash/spray enters the rear of the boat under heavy chop conditions. How much of that 40HP does it take to get her on plane and at what speed does she plane out? I will get out the Dory Book tonight and study the 19' model. Thanks for the reply. Got any pictures? Please share them if you do, they are very rare.
Doug

[muddlerburke@yahoo.com]

DRB,
Sorry I meant center console. You do get spray over the gunwales if you run hard in a chop. This boat is not meant to be run a high speed. with the flat hull she doesn't respond well on the helm. The motor is large for this boat, a 25 Hp. would handle better. but this is what the prev. owner had on it. With the motor well and a large motor it limits how far it can turn, so no tight corners.
As far as plane the bow doesn't drop until 3/4 throttle. but that can be adjusted with trim adjustment. I'm still fine tuning. I'll try to get some pictures out later.
Muddlerman

[DRB]

Sounds like a 15HP would be a good match on the 16'. I will be looking forward to your pictures.