Mower Sailing Dory 18 (Mower Swampscott Dory)
Description
The Mower Sailing Dory 18 (also known as the 18' Mower Dory or Mower Swampscott Dory) is a classic wooden plank-on-frame sailing dory based on the traditional Swampscott dory type from late 19th/early 20th-century Massachusetts. It was adapted and documented by maritime historian and small-craft expert John Gardner in his influential book Building Classic Small Craft (1972/1997 editions), drawing from original lines by yacht designer Charles D. Mower (ca. 1930s–1940s), who refined the beach-launched fishing dory for better sailing performance and racing at clubs like Swampscott. This design evolved from working fishing boats—sharp bow, flat bottom transitioning to rockered planking, flared sides for stability—but Mower added more beam and sail-carrying power, making it a lively daysailer that's fast, stable under sail, and rows reasonably well when needed. It's popular among wooden boat builders for its elegant lines, forgiving handling, and versatility as a daysailer, camp-cruiser, or event boat (e.g., in raids like the Barefoot Raid). Many are homebuilt or built in small shops/schools (e.g., Silva Bay Shipyard School examples).
Construction Details
| Designer | Mower, Chas D. |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 18.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.000 ft |
| Beam | 5.000 ft |
| Displacement | 700 lb |
| Max Draft | 3.000 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.670 ft |
| Year Built | 1978 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Mower Sailing Dory 18 (Mower Swampscott Dory) - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 15 ft - (4572 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 15 ft - (4572 mm) |
| Leech | * 18.18 ft - (5541 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 75.32 ° |
| Diagonal | 18.33 ft - (5587 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 2.5 in - (64 mm) |
| Area | * 110.15 ft² |
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Mower Sailing Dory 18 (Mower Swampscott Dory) - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 8.33 ft - (2539 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 4.5 ft - (1372 mm) |
| Leech | 7 ft - (2134 mm) |
| Area | * 15.75 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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