Some News about the Old Wharf

Using techniques ranging from Traditional Lapstrake to Plywood on Frame to modern Plywood/Epoxy/Fabric composite construction, I can build a boat suited to your particular needs.

Most of my boats are based on traditional designs that have stood the test of time and sea. They are not the fastest or glossiest boats on the waterfront. They are comfortable and efficient, gaining character and patina with use, age, and care.In this age of rising fuel costs I would like to emphasize the advantages of wood boats. Most wood boats, especially those built with modern composite wood-epoxy-fiberglass construction, are much lighter than GRP (Glass-Reinforced Plastic) boats. This means that a boat of a given size can be powered with a smaller motor to produce the same performance. There are many designs, both traditional and modern, that fall into this category.

Another advantage of wood boats is that the main structural material, wood, is a renewable resource. Trees still grow, unlike oil, which is a finite resource . The use of nonrenewable materials, such as epoxy adhesives and coatings add to the longevity of a boat and reduce maintenance. Added benefits include the beauty of wood, and the increased comfort due to wood's ability to absorb vibration.I will be researching advanced methods of wood construction as they become available.

 Row, sail, or power, custom design or stock plan, contact me to discuss and build a boat suited to your particular needs. I can also build a kit boat for your if you don’t have the time or space to build something from Chesapeake Light Craft, Clint Chase, Hewes & Co, Puuvenepiste (Savo Boats),a skiff from PT Watercraft, or others.

Check out my portfolio and the latest boats for sale.

Recent Projects

The Trap Skiff build is well underway, hopefully the launch will be around the end of July, 2025. Build photos are on my Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/oldwharf/ -( hope this link works!)

Update 12/14/23 - Finished the Duck Trap Wherry, finished the paddle board, did a couple of small projects, built Nauset Marsh Skiff #5, did a couple more small projects, and am looking to start the next big one, Walt Simmons Newfoundland Trap Skiff! Stay tuned for that one… The Wherry, paddle board, and NMS are all on the Portfolio page…

Update 11/12/21- Finished the custom 16’ Power Skiff, built another 16’ LYS for a commercial fisherman in Hyannis, then started the fishing rowboat Osprey. Finished that in Feb. 2021, then some modifications to a Nauset Marsh Skiff, and some repairs to a Deadrise 19 power boat I built many years ago. Then I started the stretch Gloucester Gull, finished that - it went to Quebec, Canada! (photos on the Portfolio Page soon). As of now, 11/12/21, I am working on glued lap Duck Trap Wherry. Plenty to do after this, including a strip planked stand up paddle board!

Update 3/16/20- Finished the 16’ LYS, finished the Atlantic 17, am working on a custom 16’ power skiff designed by the customer. Published a couple of slide shows on the duck boat jobs-on the Portfolio page…

Update 11/18/19- I have posted a slide show of the building of the Northeaster Dory on the Portfolio page. Starting the next 16’ LYS soon.

Update 10/31/19- I built the 16’ LYS research vessel this past winter, here’s a short slide show of the construction and the finished boat. Also built this past winter and spring were another Savo 650E ( for Expedition) which was entered and finished the R2AK, build photos and race photos are up on the Portfolio Page as of 11/4/19. After the Savo, I built a CLC Northeaster Dory for clients in Provincetown, who rowed the boat pretty hard all summer. Photos of this build will be posted in the future. After the dory, I did some restorations-2 duck boats, a Sailfish, and a Swampscott dory. Next up is another 16’ LYS, so as you can see, I’ve been busy.

Recent boats built include a custom Nauset Marsh Skiff set up for fly fishing, a Swampscott Dory for the son of the owner of the first Swampscott that I built in 1978, Norrpa, a Savo 650D   Finnish racing row boat designed by Ruud Van Veelen, a Cotuit Skiff, and a 19' Drake expedition rowing boat, designed by Clint Chase. Since this original post I have built a Sinne 610 and a Savo 575, both designed by Ruud Van Veelan, an 18' work skiff designed by me 30 years ago or so,, and a 20' LYS, and am working on another Nauset Marsh Skiff , as of October 2017. After the 2017 NMS, I built another Nauset Marsh Skiff, #4. Next is a 16’ LYS research vessels for Woods Hole.

Something new for the site- Instagram Links ! Just click on one of the photos below, you will be taken to my Instagram Page. I try to post once a week some images of my current project, which at this time is the Newfoundland Trap Skiff. So click on a photo to see what’s going on in the shop these days.

11/12/21
New post on the Portfolio page, a recent build I call the Osprey. I had a request from a customer about a rowing boat for fly fishing, with a sliding seat, and provisions for fixed seat rowing for one or two. This is a difficult combination, as most sliding seat rigs are contraptions with a lot of parts sticking out , and they take up all the room in the middle of the boat. This makes a boat useless for fly fishing, and fishing in general because there is no room to stand, and in the case of fly fishing, the line would get caught on the rig in several places. Also, the boat would be difficult to convert to fixed seat rowing. Fortunately, I found a very nice, simple sliding seat made by Gig Harbor Boat Works that overcomes these problems. For the hull I knew I needed a flat bottom skiff for stability, so I chose John Atkin’s “George” as a base. This was one of John’s last designs, and he had one built for himself . This boat has a long waterline and wide flat bottom for stability. Because I was using a sliding seat, I stretched the boat 10%, going from 16’ to 17’6”, and kept everything else the same. I lofted the boat full size, and used Okoume Marine ply and clear fir for the hull materials, sheathing the exterior with 6 oz. fiberglass and epoxy, and coating the interior with epoxy. I added full flotation, and storage bow and stern. The sliding seat configuration called for longitudinal bulkheads to support the rails for the seat, so I also filled the spaces between the hull and the bulkheads with foam and decked them over. The longitudinal bulkheads gave me the clear open space in the middle of the boat needed for fishing, and the rails gave support for the fixed thwart aft. I also built a pair of 8’spruce oars and used Douglass oarlocks and Martinoli sleeves to go with the sliding seat. I think the boat came out great, and the customer is very happy. I did not get to row the boat as I finished it in the middle of the winter, and I have not been able to get to Rhode Island where the boat is used. I hope to get a couple of photos of the boat in the water, and when I do I will post them here. But for now , check out the build slide show on the Portfolio page.

Give me a call or email me if you are interested in this boat.

Next build was a stretch Gloucester Gull finished out very high end, I will post this one on the Portfolio page soon.

12/30/21

Check out Launchings in the latest issue of WoodenBoat Magazine, Jan/Feb 2022, page 77. The boat in the lower right corner is a 20’ LYS, built by Roger in New Hampshire! Here are a couple more photos on the Skiff Scrapbook page…scroll down a couple of posts.

10/21/21
A new updated version of the U.S Coast Guard “Boat Builder’s Handbook” was released recently - here’s the link.

7/2/21
Here is a link to an article on the Lumber Yard Skiffs originally published in the paper magazine Small Boats 2008, now archived in the digital magazine Small Boats Monthly. The article was featured in a regular email communication from Small Boats Monthly, an on line magazine devoted to all kinds of small boats- row, power, and sail. Check it out!!

2/4/21
Great article on the Savo 650 in the latest Small Boats magazine! Here’s a link to it, you may need a subscription to read it. I built both the Savo’s they have , the original 650D, Norppa, and the 650E , Mursu, that they rowed in the R2AK.

9/24/20
Some new photos on the Skiff Scrapbook page - I have been selling a LOT of LYS plans recently- thanks to all those who have bought plans. And there have been a few built from those plans, check them out!

6/5/20
A Blast from the Past ! Here’s a photo of me in front of my original shop on Bank St. in Wellfleet.It was probably taken around 1980 or so, by my wife’s cousin Jane or her ex husband . Her ex husband found it and sent it to her, who sent it to me. At that time I was building plywood prams, and selling 6 in the spring to the Goose Hummock Shop in Orleans. This was a pretty good order at that time, plus I also sold a few myself. I built about 50 of those prams, which I designed. 1/4” fir marine plywood of high quality was $25.00 a sheet, framing and thwarts were pine, weight was about 55 pounds. I don’t remember the price, around $150 I think. I built 2 a week, not bad money in those days.

At my original shop on Bank St. in Wellfleet, prams for sale…

5/8/20: On lighter note, Tyler Fields has finished the first part of a video he and Woody Metzger started over a year ago, asking several local boat builders and marine related craftsmen 4 questions :

1. Why has your business survived and where do you see it going?

2. What would you do if you weren’t doing this?

3. Would you like to see your kids do this?

4. Do you love your job?

Tyler finished the response to the first question, and here is the link to the YouTube video . It was a lot of fun making this video, and I am honored to be one of the chosen craftsmen.

Read More in the News Archive from Old Wharf Dory

Old Wharf Dory Co. is the Official US Builder of Puuvenepiste rowing boats, including the race-winning Savo 650 and 575.