An overview of construction methods, regional boat-building history, and the heritage of small-vessel craft in Canadian coastal communities from Nova Scotia to British Columbia.
The Lunenburg Dory Shop has been producing wooden dories continuously since 1917 — the last production dory shop in North America still operating in its original form. At peak output, the shop built up to 150 boats per year using assembly-line methods that remain largely unchanged today.
Read the HistoryBritish Columbia maintains an active tradition of cedar strip canoe and boat building. Centres like Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre preserve lapstrake and strip-plank methods, offering hands-on instruction that keeps these construction techniques visible in working form.
Read MoreCarvel, lapstrake, and cedar strip construction each produce hulls suited to different conditions and skill levels. Each has remained in active use in Canadian yards and community workshops for good reason.
Planks laid edge-to-edge, each individually shaped and caulked for a smooth hull surface. Historically favoured for fishing schooners and larger working vessels along the Atlantic coast.
Overlapping planks fastened through each lap create a strong, flexible hull. Common in dories, skiffs, and small pulling boats throughout Maritime Canada and parts of Newfoundland.
Narrow cedar strips joined edge-to-edge and sheathed in fibreglass and epoxy. Produces lightweight, high-strength hulls. Widely used for canoes, kayaks, and small recreational boats in inland and coastal BC.
Documentation and background on boat construction practices and heritage across Canadian coastal regions.
Carvel, lapstrake, and strip planking each produce a different kind of hull. This overview covers how each method works and where it has been applied in Canadian boat-building contexts.
Since 1917, the Dory Shop in Lunenburg has produced wooden dories using the same jigs, patterns, and materials from the Grand Banks era. A look at how it has continued and what that continuity has preserved.
British Columbia's cedar strip canoe tradition draws from Indigenous canoe-making knowledge and modern strip-plank techniques. This article covers how the method works and where it is still practised along the BC coast.
Designed by William James Roué and built at Lunenburg by Smith & Rhuland in 1921, the Bluenose was constructed from pine, spruce, birch, and oak sourced in Nova Scotia. She won the Herald Trophy and defended the international fishing fleet championship four times. The vessel and the Lunenburg yards that produced her remain a reference point for the scale of wooden shipbuilding Canada once sustained.
Lunenburg HeritageFor questions about the content on this site or general enquiries, use the form below.
HarbourCraft Co.
287 Bluenose Drive
Lunenburg, NS B0J 2C0
Canada
Phone: +1 (902) 434-1170
Email: info@harborcraftco.org
Business Number: 784-632-091
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM AST
Browse the articles section for documented accounts of planking methods, heritage yards, and regional canoe-building traditions across Canada.
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