Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

[reelfishin]

I've been searching for info on a brand of boat called John Dory, I have the chance to buy one and at this point have only a description. It was described to me as a flat bottom, 17' V hull. I was told that the max hp is rated at 10 hp but this is equipped with a 40 hp motor. I was told that it does about 20 mph with the 40 hp.
At this point I'm not sure whether or not I'm interested, but I've been looking for a small open boat for river use. It's a long drive to go look at it and the owner isn't computer literate, so an emailed pic is out of the question and the pics he mailed me are pretty poor and look like Polaroid shots. The boat is supposedly in near mint shape and about 30 years old.
Any idea what these are like or how they were constructed? Any know problems? I found one used on on line and had emailed the owner of that boat and he told me his also had a 10 hp CG rating, but came new with a 35 hp. His CG plate stated a 1400 lb max capacity as well.
The part I don't understand is the 10 hp rating? A 17' boat with a 1400 lb cap. will need far more than 10 hp to move along. Is there something I'm missing about these boats?
I did a Google search and found nothing at all, not even a pic or old ad.
Where were these built and when?
The boat is in a state that don't require boat titles, so there's no date or age for certain, I was told it was mid 70's in age.
Is this something I might want to pursue or should I leave it be? The motor on the one I'm looking at is late 80's or early 90's Johnson.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

from what i could find looks british made. "http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=john+dory+boat"

kind of like a life boat.

 

[Windykid]

Re: Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

From what I remember they were a good boat, most of the ones I knew of had 35-40 HP motors on them. Yellow exterior if I remember. looked like a banana boat.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

I remember a few of them on the bay where I grew up.Rockaway NY.There were a few different lengths,16 is stable.Not trying to be funny ,it looks like a Dory cause it is.Popular in North east.If you are familiar with the old row boat rentals,they had some with lapstrake sides,looks like a clap board house,one plank over the other.The hull would be all open,no bow deck to speak of,just a little renforcement,some people did modify putting control helms etc.most have one or two bench seats with corner seats in stern.John Dory I believe was made in the north east,they were fiberglass made to look like the old time wood dorys,I had a knockoff called a Sturdee,(think spelled right)Basically flat bottom with a bit of a uplift in bow.Not a v type plaining hull,it got up on plane but would slap water rather than cut through like a true v hull.as for hp,I can undestand a newer style 40 on the boat.Why the 10 hp rating??could be though that the older day dorys had a max of 10 hp and those engines were not as light as todays engines.I do believe 40 mite be much and you could beat yourself up running fast in a chop,But if one poster had 35,40 is same.The John Dorys were probably most popular in 70's so the yr.is about right.The sides are high compared to the older rowboat. FYI,I owned a Dory and a Carolina Skiff,prefering the carolina skiff for quick drop in and go fishing,more room,and stability

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

Yellow interior is correct, and the outer hull is brown, made to look like old wood. The hull has a steep bow rise, and a wide flare at the gunwales. The transom is 20" and looks pretty well supported, it looks sturdier in the pics I've seen than did my last aluminum boat with a 35hp rating.
The owner says it weighs in at about 1100 lbs or so, I'm not sure whether he's counting the trailer or not. It's on a pretty heavy trailer, but it looks to fit OK.
It has a steering console that sits on top of what looks to be a middle seat, the driver sits on the rear bench to steer. I has four folding, swivel bass boat type seats, two at the rear, one next to the console and one forward on a step up part of the hull.

My concern is how low the gunwales look considering that these seem to have been billed as rough water boats. It looks like they cross bred a dory with a jon boat, or simply chopped off the rear of a dory and added a flat transom.

Speed wise, I doubt I'd ever run it much faster than about 30mph where I fish, but the 10 hp rating still puzzles me. Not that the boat can't handle a larger motor, but that I don't feel a 10hp would do much to power a boat of this size and weight, especially when you think that they were apparently built for use up north in heavier surf. I've been in situations with my bass boat where the 9.9 couldn't fight the current in a few back streams and ponds and that boat is light.

The price is right, I may go after it either way. I've only found a few on the web, so far every one I've seen goes pretty cheap, usually cheaper than the value of the motor itself.

The idea of a 40 hp and a somewhat narrow flat bottom boat sounds like it could very well run faster than it was built to. That hull design doesn't usually relate to great high speed handling. I had a 35 hp on a 14' Grumman modified V bass boat once, it all but took flight when I opened it up. The most unsettling thing it use to do was that when I either turned or took off full out from a standstill, it would drop low in the stern before moving, often well below the surrounding water line, meaning that if you bailed on the throttle mid take off, chances were you were going to get wet. Once under way it was fine unless you made a hard turn at speed, the gunwale on the inside of the turn would dip below the water line and take on water of you slowed at all during the turn. It used to scare the pants off unsuspecting passengers.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Anyone familiar with John Dory Boats?

Update: I went and looked at the John Dory today, it was wet and raining but I figured the only way was to see it hands on.
It had a really high bow area, but very low and outward flared sides, wood bench seats and it weighed more than I could move easily. I would guess that the boat and trailer weighed in at about 1500lbs or so, maybe more with a full tank of fuel or two onboard. The transom looked light duty, it had no spashwell, there was a single gusset or strut that ran from the center of the motor mounting area to the floor, it looked factory, but a bit crude and it took up about 18' or rear space. All the weight was at the rear, the weight of the motor, two 6 gallon tanks and two batteries were all at the transom. The owner said it sits really high in the bow with only one person in the boat. By looking at the transom, I can see why they only rate it at 10 hp.
The hull is glass, the floor is glass over wood as in most boats. It almost looks like an inner and outer type hull construction. The tops of the gunwales are wood, sort of a cap to hide the seam of the inner and outer hulls. The seats, dash console, gunwales were all bare wood, the transom is laid up glass with a wood core but the top of the transom is exposed to the elements, the outer corners had significant signs of rot or at least water intrusion from the top.

I passed on it, it weighed more than most full sized boats and I didn't like the transom design or the low sides. I was also a bit concerned about how the flat bottom would handle as well. What I kept picturing in my mind was it riding with 50% of the hull out of the water just pushing water and it looked like it would be a nightmare in fast turns.