Banks Dories in Jackson Hole

A few months ago a friend told me that the kids in the high school wood shop were building boats for this years project.  Kevin and I stopped in to visit with shop teacher Todd Taylor and see what the kids were doing.  To our delight we were treated to the sight of 5 Grand Banks Rowing Dories in various stages of the completion.  The kids are working in teams to finish before the end of the year.  They are building these traditional style boats out of pine boards, cutting frames from the same.  Construction grade polyurethane adhesive is their goo of choice.  A really cool project for these kids who are very excited about a fun summer of rowing on the many lakes in the valley.  I hope to have some of these boats at our show in May.  I expect that some of the kids will check in here from time to time to see what's shaking in the world of wooden boats. 

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Comment by Lawrence E. Long on February 26, 2011 at 3:07pm
AJ:  When my (kids) drift boat was almost finished I installed a becket at the transom.  The kid in Montana said " whats this thing for"- it makes a good "handle" to pull it around.    Tell the students  they must learn how to tie(weave) a becket for the transom and the turks head knots  for stoppers on the oars.  Took me 2 winters to build a Peapod  and 2 summers to learn how to tie a turkshead knot.  If they want a little info I can give some help.
Comment by AJ DeRosa on February 26, 2011 at 11:33am

Thanks for the participation from the forum team.  This is a history lesson for these kids that doesn't come in a book.  And they thought they were just building a boat!!

 

Please contribute what you know about these boats.  History, stories, pictures of boats dead and alive.

 

The kids are tuned into the site and are watching every day.

 

Pretty soon they will get brave enough to log on and start picking our collective brains.  

 

Thanks,

 

AJ

Comment by Lawrence E. Long on February 26, 2011 at 7:49am

That shop teacher is a real gem! The boys- and I hope some girls will have a good time building and finishing those  boats.  The banks dory  was used early on in the days of sail for commercial fiishing off the NE coast of New England and Canada.  The "mother" ship would sail out of port with a dozen or so of these dories stacked one on top of another on the deck.  They were then lowered over the side with one man per boat to fish untill the dory was filled.  If they man got lost in the fog- which was common- another sail boat might pick them up- and they got to keep the catch!  To haul the dories on deck they fitted a becket(rope gromet) to the transom and used a gin pole

Comment by Kelly Neu on February 25, 2011 at 4:12pm
Such an uplifting post.  Agree with all that has been commented so far.  Just super cool that this is being taught in school.  Power to the kids!
Comment by Brad Dimock on February 23, 2011 at 6:13pm
I don't think I've ever seen a board and batten banks dory before. They look really simple, fun, and functional. What a cool project.
Comment by Randy Dersham on February 22, 2011 at 9:41pm
Fantastic.  This is by far the best high school shop project for dories I have seen. Great work and a great part of history. 
Comment by Greg Hatten on February 22, 2011 at 9:25pm

Wow... those pictures took my breath away.  Great project - way to go Todd!!  I'll try to make it over there to your show this year, AJ.  Would love to see these boats on the water and thank Todd Taylor personally for an "inspired" project that will make a difference in a lot of lives.  Well done.

GH 

Comment by Troy Nicolls on February 22, 2011 at 8:59pm

WoW! I wish I were so fortunate to have such a shop teacher when I was in school. These kids are quite lucky as most schools in the country have sadly opted to phase out vocational classes with tightening budgets being the excuse. Regardless of the construction method, those are sharp looking boats! And affordable! Right up my alley. My hat is off to both the teacher who has committed to such a project and to the school administration who despite the direction of most schools of siding toward technology, has recognized learning vocational skills is equally important. 

 

 

Comment by Roger Fletcher on February 22, 2011 at 7:58pm
Great project indeed. From the photos it appears that construction is board-and-batten, not lapstrake. If so, that makes a lot of sense for a HS project like this. It's a little less complicated and they still end of with great looking Banks. Kudos to the shop teacher who envisioned the project and to the kids who are doing it.
Comment by Rick Newman on February 21, 2011 at 8:32pm

Beautiful, lucky kids! This is a wonderful project, projects like these will make lifetime memories. They are fortunate to have a teacher with the skills required to guide these kids and the knowledge to build the boats.  AJ thanks for sharing!

 

Rick Newman

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