Electric Fantail Launch: Dora
Dora, the Lake Union explorer
Boat Type
Location
Year Built
2007
Beam
6.5'
LOA (Length Overall)
23.5'
Boat Plans
Project Sponsors
The Pickett, Foley and Duggan Families
Website Link
Oral History
Electric launches were the feature of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. They were built by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) of Bayonne, New Jersey. Our 24-foot launch Dora has an ELCO motor and is typical of the small electric powered launches that would be at a 1900s-era boathouse.
Boat Story
Dora was a collaborative community project and continues to be operated by volunteers. She was designed by Pat Spurlock of Portland, Oregon, and built by students in the Marine Carpentry Program at the Seattle Central Community College Wood Construction Center.
The wood for Dora was donated by Bob and Erica Pickett, and non-wood materials were provided by the Bob Duggan and Mike Foley families. Bob's parents and Mike's grandparents were Dewey and Dora Duggan. Dewey previously was honored with the Woods Hole Spritsail vessel, Dewey, also built by students at the Wood Construction Center and launched in 2002. Dora represents a popular type of recreational boat of the early 1900s.
The family contributed both the Woodshole spritsail boat Dewey and the fantail launch Dora to CWB to honor Dewey and Dora. Dewey was a longshoreman and they felt the tough little workboat fit his spirit and that the elegant 1900s-era launch matched Dora's character.
Additional Images
.jpg "Dora's frame")
