the 1800s that dory-type boats were being favored by
French cod fishermen in the Grand Banks. These small
wooden boats were sent out from the mother ship,
Gardner explains, to haul cod. Their thwarts—or
rowing seats—were removable so the small boats
could be stacked onboard the ship. From there,
the dory spread to New England, where it
dominated the fishing industry.
Today the dory is primarily used as a
pleasure boat instead of a working boat,
although the well-known Banks dory, with
her characteristic flared sides and flat bottom,
make her simple, elegant lines stand
out among other boats on the water.
The Crown
Point Design Most modern-day
wooden boat
builders use existing
patterns, which makes the
laying down of the lines, as
builders say, much easier.
But Willard crafted his
boat lines by eye, which
is like playing the piano without
sheet music. He relied on
instinct and the experience of
a lifetime reading the wind
on the water to create boats
that are both beautiful and
functional.
Willard’s ketch-rigged dories
are made of plywood and covered in fiberglass. First, he built
the sides. Then, he built the flat bottom and attached it to the
sides by patiently and expertly bending the wood. He bought
and operated a small sawmill in his shop for cutting red
cedar and walnut. For the masts, he purchased rough-cut
fir.
Built with a centerboard, the larger Crown Point
sailing dories came with sails purchased from Hong
Kong, while some of the smaller boats were rigged
with locally-made sails. The boats have self-bailing
cockpits and were built with outboard motor wells.
They could either be sprit- or gaff-rigged, and as
Willard describes, they have “a little bit of curve in
the bow and stern. It has a narrow stern. A lot of flare
in the sides. The sides go way out. It’s a pretty loose
definition. If you talk to different people you’ll get
a different definition. It has a flat bottom. Has some
rocker fore and aft, but it’s flat crossways.”
Elisabeth says of those busy boat-building days, “I don’t
know how he did it by himself. He just did.”
“No, we always had somebody helping,” he corrects her.
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WBM june 2011
The general crew included Bill Hurst, Doug
Thompson and Emerson Willard Jr., local men
who were willing to lend a hand, as well as Cape Fear
Technical College (now Cape Fear Community College)
students who pitched in for extra credit.
And, as he says to his wife, Elisabeth, “I always had you.”
Elisabeth helped with correspondence, took phone calls,
and as she explains, was the company gopher.
An old article from the National Fisherman dated
February 1972 caught Willard at the right moment as
he described his dories: “She is intended for a man who
wants an inexpensive weekender or a limited cruising
boat, but one that is seaworthy and behaves like
a sailboat. . . As with all dories she is tender until
heeled. . . Because of the great amount of flare in
her sides, she is an unusually dry boat, giving a
smooth ride in rough water, yet she is lively in a
breeze and great fun to sail. Fitted with tholepins,
she rows without fuss, with one or two persons at
the oars.”
CFrom Shop to water rown Point boats were sold and sailed
up and down the East Coast from
Florida to Maine, but several of them
ventured to the azure waters of the Bahamas and the
Mediterranean. One of the boats, designed with a fold-
Blueprints for Crown Point Marine’s 22-, 26- and 30-foot sailing dory. Courtesy of Emerson and Elisabeth Willard .