In 1974 or 75 I was doing a hike called the Hopi Salt Trail in Grand Canyon where we entered on a side canyon to the Little Colorado and scrambled down to the Little Colorado and then hiked down the Little Colorado and down to the confluence with the Colorado River, caught up with the Beamer Trail and took that over to the base of the Tanner Trail and went out the Tanner Trail, all in 7 days.  While walking on the Beamer Trail about 500 feet above the river every once in a while you were actually able to look down at the river.  One of the those times there were 5 small brightly painted wooden boats below us that caught my eye.  We had, of course, seen rafts and kayaks before but never the small wooden boats.  One of my companions called out a hello and asked what those boats were called and this  deep voice came back  "They're called Dories, Grand Canyon Dories".  I had already done 2 private river trips through Grand Canyon in a kayak with raft support and had never seen a dory on the water, but I knew then at some point that I would be doing another river trip and I would love to be at the oars of a dory for that trip.  I will take the oars of a dory I am building in 2014 on March 5 for that trip.