Building the Bouchie Dory Part 9 – The Stem

In this episode we construct the stem for our dory.

The stem is a simple enough part but is is responsible for such a significant part of the character of the boat. Not only that, but you could take the same hull and fit it with different stems and you will get dramatically different performance results. A plumb stem can create a fine entry; a rounded stem can give you bouyancy and a hollow or raked bow can give you flare.

This is also the first part that is truely three dimensional. curves, joinery, bevels, rabbets. It’s just fun to build and it gives you such a sense of acomplishment when you are done. To me it says, “Now we have really started.”