DORY
Images of the sea, and of hardworking fishermen often center around a boat known as a "Dory". Before the creation of the dory in the early 19th century, Maine fishermen would hand-line for cod standing along the gunwales on the decks of small, coastal schooners. It was slow, backbreaking work and limited the amount of fish that could be caught.
In the 1830s, demand for cod increased significantly as a very inexpensive source of protein for enslaved people working the sugar plantations in the West Indies and in the American south. A new, more efficient method of fishing for cod was needed and was found in the creation of the dory. Schooners began to carry dories stacked one on top of the other, with 12 to 15 dories on a schooner. Once upon the fishing grounds, sometimes as far away as the Grand Banks, the dories were launched to spread thousands of hooks over wide areas of ocean. The Grand Banks, rich in cod, became a primary source of wealth for Maine at that time.
A full-sized dory could hold 4,000 lbs. of cod and was usually rowed by two men. It was equipped with a water jug, a boat knife, bailing scoops, a gob stick (used to remove hooks from fish), fog horn and gaff hook in addition to long, coiled trawl lines with hundreds of hooks per line. Hooks were baited before they went over the side. The round white kegs in the dory, attached to fishing line, were set to float on the water so that they could be found later.
This was demanding and extremely dangerous work; many dories were lost in the fog, in storms and in other accidents on the Grand Banks. At first when early federal bounty law required captains to share profits with their crew, men would face these dangers and hardships because their pay was good and provided comfortable support for their families. Later, when a wage system replaced profit sharing, fishermen began to earn little more than half of what they did in the old share system. Many Maine fishermen, including the fishermen of North Haven, began to build their own small boats in order to continue to fish on their own terms. Inshore fishing offered each fisherman a chance to be his own boss and eventually most local fishermen, some whose families also farmed the land, joined the inshore fleet.
These inshore fishermen intentionally caught different species “seasonally”: in June they fished for hake; in the fall they fished for huge schools of mackerel. Some trapped lobsters in the morning, manned small mackerel seines in the afternoon and dug for clams when the tide was low. They also fished for herring using these same dories. Slowly, lobsters began to dominate the catch as other species diminished or moved offshore.
In 1855 a clam and lobster canning factory which opened for a month in the spring and a month in the fall was established on North Haven. Twenty people, both men and women were employed at the factory. Some workers came from island families; others, from away, stayed at a boarding house next to the factory. Clam diggers also worked bringing dory loads of clams to the factory. The cans that were used in canning were made on the island from sheets of tin brought up from Portland. Clam shells were crushed and used to surface roads on private estates; lobster shells were used for pig food and for fertilizer. The factory closed in 1897 and the main building is now owned by Brown's and is used for boat building and repair. The boarding house was taken down and sold to Nelson Mullen, owner of Mullen’s Inn.
As early as 1841 fishermen from Vinalhaven and North Haven made round trips to Boston once a week carrying up to 3,500 lobsters; later, fishermen sold market sized lobsters to Boston smacks constructed with a large tank in the hold to carry lobsters fresh to the Boston and New York markets. Today’s independent lobstermen continue the proud traditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 1830s, demand for cod increased significantly as a very inexpensive source of protein for enslaved people working the sugar plantations in the West Indies and in the American south. A new, more efficient method of fishing for cod was needed and was found in the creation of the dory. Schooners began to carry dories stacked one on top of the other, with 12 to 15 dories on a schooner. Once upon the fishing grounds, sometimes as far away as the Grand Banks, the dories were launched to spread thousands of hooks over wide areas of ocean. The Grand Banks, rich in cod, became a primary source of wealth for Maine at that time.
A full-sized dory could hold 4,000 lbs. of cod and was usually rowed by two men. It was equipped with a water jug, a boat knife, bailing scoops, a gob stick (used to remove hooks from fish), fog horn and gaff hook in addition to long, coiled trawl lines with hundreds of hooks per line. Hooks were baited before they went over the side. The round white kegs in the dory, attached to fishing line, were set to float on the water so that they could be found later.
This was demanding and extremely dangerous work; many dories were lost in the fog, in storms and in other accidents on the Grand Banks. At first when early federal bounty law required captains to share profits with their crew, men would face these dangers and hardships because their pay was good and provided comfortable support for their families. Later, when a wage system replaced profit sharing, fishermen began to earn little more than half of what they did in the old share system. Many Maine fishermen, including the fishermen of North Haven, began to build their own small boats in order to continue to fish on their own terms. Inshore fishing offered each fisherman a chance to be his own boss and eventually most local fishermen, some whose families also farmed the land, joined the inshore fleet.
These inshore fishermen intentionally caught different species “seasonally”: in June they fished for hake; in the fall they fished for huge schools of mackerel. Some trapped lobsters in the morning, manned small mackerel seines in the afternoon and dug for clams when the tide was low. They also fished for herring using these same dories. Slowly, lobsters began to dominate the catch as other species diminished or moved offshore.
In 1855 a clam and lobster canning factory which opened for a month in the spring and a month in the fall was established on North Haven. Twenty people, both men and women were employed at the factory. Some workers came from island families; others, from away, stayed at a boarding house next to the factory. Clam diggers also worked bringing dory loads of clams to the factory. The cans that were used in canning were made on the island from sheets of tin brought up from Portland. Clam shells were crushed and used to surface roads on private estates; lobster shells were used for pig food and for fertilizer. The factory closed in 1897 and the main building is now owned by Brown's and is used for boat building and repair. The boarding house was taken down and sold to Nelson Mullen, owner of Mullen’s Inn.
As early as 1841 fishermen from Vinalhaven and North Haven made round trips to Boston once a week carrying up to 3,500 lobsters; later, fishermen sold market sized lobsters to Boston smacks constructed with a large tank in the hold to carry lobsters fresh to the Boston and New York markets. Today’s independent lobstermen continue the proud traditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
"Old Timers" by Frank Benson. Image courtesy of the Farnsworth Art Museum
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“A Grand Banks Schooner with Dories Stacked Amidships and Fishermen Working on the Decks” by Jack Lorimer Gray
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W.K. Lewis Cannery, North Haven
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