It's quiet here today. I just returned from a walk with the dog. She's the offspring of a spirited Border Collie, bred with a ...

DoryMan has been receiving visits from a discussion on the WoodenBoat Forum lately on the subject of St Pierre Dories and live-aboard dories...

It's been twenty years since the inception of the dory cruiser Mistral . She's been afloat for almost five years. Last weekend marke...

There are a few nascent dory designers who have written to me with comments and questions about designing and building Mistral , so I’d like...

In 1990, I started building a 36 foot dory. It has been a long process, with many shifts in priorities, but the boat is finished and is the ...

The dory is characterized by it's flat bottom, which creates a shallow draft boat. This thirty six foot boat, without ballast, draws sli...

The dory design is defined by "stations". The stem and transom are the beginning and the end and in between are enough molds to gi...

The deck beams are laminated redwood, very light and strong. The decks are made of 3/8 inch marine grade plywood and covered in epoxy impreg...

The "planking" is full sheets of one-half inch marine grade plywood. You have not lived until you have stressed a piece of plywood...

She has no name yet, and is only the rough shape of things to come. Unknown at the time, my project would go into hibernation for a decade. ...

Several years later, in 2004, Mistral is ready to transport to the ocean. At this point she weighs about 8,000 pounds, and with a trailer t...

An exciting day for Doryman as Mistral is lowered into the water for the first time. Since she is designed and built solely by Doryman, the...

The spring of 2006 finds Mistral at the boat yard getting fitted out for a new mast tabernacle and a bright new paint job. 2000 pounds of i...

"On the hard", Mistral is rigged for sail. The mast is set in a tabernacle on the leading edge of the main cabin and can be raise...

The SV Mistral is a shoal draft cruising/live aboard. She has been a labor of love for Doryman for eighteen years. In this photo the comple...