Founded in 1992 by wooden boat enthusiasts, the Association Doris Emeraude Rance (ADER) in Saint-Malo is dedicated to keeping alive the tradition of these boats, once essential to fishing on the banks of Newfoundland.
Preserving the authenticity of a traditional boat
The dory is a wooden boat with a flat bottom, clinker edges, a well-trimmed hull with a flat sole rising about ten centimeters at both ends, a slender stem and a crested transom at the stern. Oar-powered and very stable at sea, it measures between 5 and 6 meters in length and weighs around 180 kg.
These boats were built by shipwrights living on the coast, mainly along the Rance, for the port of Saint-Malo. François Lemarchant, of the Landriais shipyard near Minihic-sur-Rance, was one of the first to imitate and improve on the American dory. Between 1890 and 1930, from May to September, the yard produced 200 dories a year.
Today, the ADER association continues this tradition of using dories in their original form, maintaining a fleet of 8 dories with its members. Together, they repair, repaint and build new dories as the old ones are retired.
Yves Roussel, who passes on his passion for these wooden constructions within the association, shares his expertise with us:
" It's a very modest craft, but remarkably clever, because it's easy to build. It's easy to use semi-industrial processes. The sole planks are just planed. No further work is required, other than a slight bevel on the outside to create a watertight seal by caulking a cotton braid. Assembly is done by clamping the bottom boards together with clamps made from rafters. Using a template, you draw the outline of the sole and assemble the boards with varangues. Once these have been installed according to plan, you can free yourself from the rafters and cut out the sole."
Next come the ribs: 7 on this boat, which have the same angulation between the bottom and the edge of the boat, at an angle of around 120 degrees. All these parts of the ribs can be cut in series. It takes a professional carpenter around 70 hours to build a dory. On the side planks, all that needs to be done is to make a clinch, i.e. a slight bevel.
You assemble these planks on the frames, clapboard on clapboard. These clinks are fixed with copper rivets, and the watertightness is simply ensured by the pressure exerted by the swelling of the wood during launching.
"The only part of the boat that requires caulking is the bottom. The northern fir used today is of inferior quality to that of yesteryear, which requires a relatively large amount of work to correct defects in the wood, in particular to carry out remaillés to eliminate knots. We sometimes use old-fashioned tools for fun, but in the workshop, modern tools are prioritized to facilitate our work l".
Navigation, discovery and conviviality
To perpetuate the dory's heritage, the ADER association organizes recreational outings every weekend, focusing on sporting activities, sea walks or fishing sessions, open to all members all year round.
" The dories are registered and given mythical names from the Newfoundland banks (Grand Banc, Bonnet Flamand, Banquereau...). The authenticity of these boats has been preserved to perpetuate the region's local heritage "explains Jean-Yves Leport, the association's treasurer, before continuing: " There are 2 or 3 of us on each dory, each equipped with a pair of oars and his or her own tolets. Depending on the wind and current, we choose a route: la pointe de la Varde, la Conchée, Cézembre, Harbour, la pointe du Décollé, Dinard Bay, Cancale... Weekday outings are also possible. On one occasion, we embarked on a trip up the Vilaine: 150 km over 6 days. I can tell you we had to keep up the pace!" . Several other events are planned for summer 2024: a bay outing with the Gabariers de la Rance on the first weekend in July, an introduction to dory rowing on August 15 at Les Bas-Sablons, and the Dory Branle-Bas on September 21 and 22.
Whatever the case, these traditional boats are just waiting for new discoverers, whatever their age. " You know, when you retire, you have to keep busy. That's why we've found boats as old as we are "jokes Yves. " But there are also the younger generations who take pleasure in spending time on board, as a couple or with friends "he adds.
It's a great way to keep fit, but also to measure up to the pace of the other crew members, or simply to enjoy the scenery offered by the tranquillity of rowing. A final word of advice from Yves Roussel: " With your back straight, relax your shoulders and straighten your arms before starting to pull on the oar. The movement should be both smooth and controlled. Then all you have to do is test your endurance!"
