Remarkably it’s nearly two decades since Boat Mart first tested a Dell Quay Dory. At that time those seeking an easily trailered small general purpose boat would have had the option of a closed bow sports boat or a dory - RIBs had yet to achieve the popularity we see today.

In truth the twentieth century dory with its tri-hedral hull format bears little or no resemblance to the traditional boat of that name, which was actually a ‘pointed at both ends’ rowing boat much favoured by North Sea fishermen, and later adopted by navies all over the world.

Perhaps Boston Whaler is the best known of dory builders, but the simple concept was used all over the world by countless other boat builders; and is arguably the most ‘cloned’ type of boat ever. The modern dory offered stability, lots of on board space, extreme versatility and featured an open deck layout with console control - both revolutionary at the time.

These craft were built using a hull moulding employing a Vee centre section with two outrider sponsons. This was bonded to a deck moulding, almost unheard of in sports boats of the era. The cavity between the mouldings was foam filled, which gave these craft their ‘unsinkable’ reputation, and the Dell Quay was one of the first to be self-draining.

Dell Quay produced a line-up of dories ranging from a little 13ft version right up to 17ft craft and the parent company built tough military dories extended to 20ft, and more, known as ‘rigid raiders”.

What the dory lacked in softness of ride it made up for in versatility, ease of handling, reasonably good performance and the characteristic ‘bow up’ attitude at speeds over 4mph - much loved by harbour masters. At planing speed the craft resumed a level attitude.

Able to accept engines of 25 - 70hp the Dell Quay Sportsman could be all things to all men. The craft was quite ‘pretty’ and a huge seller with everyone from sailing clubs and fishermen to harbour masters and families alike. Some are still to be found wherever people go boating.

We originally tested this boat fitted with an Evinrude 70 ELPTT, its maximum rating. It leaped onto the plane in a couple of seconds, planed smoothly at 17mph, cruised happily at over 25mph and achieved 37mph - about the same speed as a 16ft sports boat of the day.

The test boat cost a whopping £4,527.

Although relatively few dories, other than Boston Whalers, have survived in good condition they still make excellent DIY project boats if the hulls are sound and the foam is not waterlogged. The easiest way to check is simply to weigh them - this boat was 350kg without engine - if water logged they weigh far more.

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