Weight of 11 foot Dell Quay Dory

[atiller]

Can anyone advise what the dry bare hull weight of an 11 foot dell quay dory would be if there has been no waterlogging of the foam?

 

[QBhoy]

A rare thing for these not to be waterlogged, but I’d imagine in the region of 200kgs or just under

 

[john_morris_uk]

I’ve got one outside the front of my house. The two half’s are separated and the waterlogged foam is all removed. If I could think of a way of weighing it I could tell you! I’m waiting to do some minor repairs and stick it back together and sell it.

 

[James_Calvert]

They are heavy for their size...
As a comparison, a current 10 1/2 foot Bonwitco is 84kg, a 12 1/2 foot one is 119kg.
These are double skinned boats, but not foam filled.

 

[john_morris_uk]

They are heavy for their size...
As a comparison, a current 10 1/2 foot Bonwitco is 84kg, a 12 1/2 foot one is 119kg.
These are double skinned boats, but not foam filled.

When mine was waterlogged it weighed well over 500kg in the slings on the crane when she was lifted. I estimate each skin now they’re dried out to be at least 30-40 kg. Add on some trim and the new wooden seats I’ve got ready to fit and the rubber fender that hides/covers the hull to deck (or inner skin) join and you’re probably up near 150 kg? Maybe more? I can try and weigh each end of the hull if you like and add the weights together. Then weigh the bits I’ve got to add...

 

[lw395]

AIUI, the moulds went through several ownerships, so knowing the GRP boat industry, the weight of one may be quite different from another. Those built for commercial use might be also be heavier than those for leisure use?
I've seen them go quite well on 15HP, so they can't be stupidly heavy.

 

[pvb]

The 13ft had a dry weight of 260kg according to the brochure, so I'd guess around 220kg for the 11ft version.

 

[LadyInBed]

From worldseafishing.com › forums ›weighed the boat at 240kg without engine so looks like it should be mostly dry inside unlike my other dory that weighs 400kg with soaked foam.

 

[lw395]

The 13ft had a dry weight of 260kg according to the brochure, so I'd guess around 220kg for the 11ft version.

My guess would be that 260kg for 13ft ought to include the engine. But I could be wrong.
If the OP wants to know if there's water in his, the way to find out is to drill a hole in it.

An Avon SR4 only weighs 150kg and they are not regarded as flimsy.

I'd also hazard that the question might be moot, there may be no such thing as a Dell Quay Dory with completely dry foam?

 

[pvb]

My guess would be that 260kg for 13ft ought to include the engine. But I could be wrong.

 

[lw395]

The advert says 'every Dell Quay Dory is powered by a Yamaha outboard' so it's unclear whether that's included.
The O/B pictured in the advert looks more modern than the swimwear?
Then again the seating as pictured could be quite heavy.

 

[atiller]

When mine was waterlogged it weighed well over 500kg in the slings on the crane when she was lifted. I estimate each skin now they’re dried out to be at least 30-40 kg. Add on some trim and the new wooden seats I’ve got ready to fit and the rubber fender that hides/covers the hull to deck (or inner skin) join and you’re probably up near 150 kg? Maybe more? I can try and weigh each end of the hull if you like and add the weights together. Then weigh the bits I’ve got to add...

Would be interesting to see what the bits of yours actually weigh.
Do you have any photos of the split hull to show the construction - trying to decide if worth drilling a hole in the transom and standing on end to drain but not sure if the construction compartmentalises too much (also seems opinion is that the foam tends to hold the water but maybe give it a long time in a dehumidified environment and experiment with blowing / sucking air through?),
I tried weighing each ends then successfully balanced mine on edge on some postal scales and weighed in at 135kg without any seats (all out being varnished). I thought that was heavy hence the original question but sounds like might not be too bad.
Would be good to see original design specifications if anyone has access to such information otherwise perhaps put out a “ what does yours weigh?” Blog.

 

[lw395]

You could do what we do with dinghies.
Fit a bunghole, gently pressurise the hull and see where the air leaks out.
If you've unscrewed a lot of stuff, you'll have to temporarily seal the screwholes.

If you find any leaks either below water line or where rain can sit, assume the foam is damp.

But what do you want from this?
Is 135kg acceptable? Probably.
Even dry, the weight of the foam adds up, there's several hundred litres of it I think, if the boat is completely filled.

Standing it on end for a while and seeing if the centre of gravity moves might tell you something?

 

[Greenheart]

I have an absolutely indelible memory of a Dell Quay Dories brochure from the mid-eighties, and even though I mostly think in metric terms, the memory is definitely of imperial figures...

...the 11ft dory's hull weight was 330lbs, and the 13ft hull was 440lbs.

I can't say if that was a manufacturer's estimate, but it comes out at exactly 150 kilos (11ft).

I thought it was a shocking weight for so small a boat. I remember climbing over an 11ft dory to reach my dinghy, in about 1984. I thought the dory must be aground because she didn't budge even a fraction under my weight...but she was just wonderfully stable.

 

[atiller]

You could do what we do with dinghies.
Fit a bunghole, gently pressurise the hull and see where the air leaks out.
If you've unscrewed a lot of stuff, you'll have to temporarily seal the screwholes.

If you find any leaks either below water line or where rain can sit, assume the foam is damp.

But what do you want from this?
Is 135kg acceptable? Probably.
Even dry, the weight of the foam adds up, there's several hundred litres of it I think, if the boat is completely filled.

Standing it on end for a while and seeing if the centre of gravity moves might tell you something?

Thanks for all the replies.
Conclusion is that a Dory is a heavy boat and seems at 135kg without seats or engine mine is not particularly overweight.
I wanted to decide if it needed attention as i am in the process of doing some work on it.
I have only been out in the boat for a short spin with a 15HP engine and using tiller sat at the back and could not get it to plane. Maybe down to trim of the engine (??) or lack of power.
Now contemplating bigger engine or accept it won't plane and drop down to an 8HP that i have remote control fittings for.

 

[lw395]

Thanks for all the replies.
Conclusion is that a Dory is a heavy boat and seems at 135kg without seats or engine mine is not particularly overweight.
I wanted to decide if it needed attention as i am in the process of doing some work on it.
I have only been out in the boat for a short spin with a 15HP engine and using tiller sat at the back and could not get it to plane. Maybe down to trim of the engine (??) or lack of power.
Now contemplating bigger engine or accept it won't plane and drop down to an 8HP that i have remote control fittings for.

How many people in the boat?
135kg of boat plus say 40kg of engine plus one person at say 90kg should plane easily on 15HP.
Mate has a light RIB tender which planes very well on 15HP with three adults. That will be more than you and your Dory weight I should think?
A 15HP engine only gives 15HP if it can rev. With you sat at the back, the low speed drag would be high, so the engine never got to rev enoughto produce useful power.
You need either remotes or a tiller extension to get your weight forwards. Or a passenger sat in the bow.
Possibly the prop is wrong, too big and/or too coarse?
I would try a tiller extension, but take care as it could be unsafe if it bends or falls off.

 

[geem]

Thanks for all the replies.
Conclusion is that a Dory is a heavy boat and seems at 135kg without seats or engine mine is not particularly overweight.
I wanted to decide if it needed attention as i am in the process of doing some work on it.
I have only been out in the boat for a short spin with a 15HP engine and using tiller sat at the back and could not get it to plane. Maybe down to trim of the engine (??) or lack of power.
Now contemplating bigger engine or accept it won't plane and drop down to an 8HP that i have remote control fittings for.

At 135 kg it sounds about right. My 12’5’ hard dinghy weighs 55kg without the 15hp engine. It is single skin ( only 2 layers of glass on the hull sides) with carbon strengthening around the transom, floor stringers and daggerboard casing. Its also nesting and a sailing dinghy so got some added weight for these features but built light.
You might find a planing plate on the 15hp engine helps to get on the plane. We regularly run with three people in ours on the plane no problem. With one person onboard it maxes out at 22knots but we are less than half the weight to start with and a little longer so easier to get on the plane

 

[lw395]

My club has a 4.7m RIB with 40HP on the back.
If you trim the boat really badly, e.g. by putting a couple of set of ground tackle for racing marks in the back, then keep your crew weight aft, it will really struggle to get on the plane. You can make it worse by trimming the outboard out so it pushes the bow up.

You will drive along at full throttle, with the engine bogged down at maybe 2000RPM, making a big wash and using lots of fuel. Doing about 8 or 9 knots.

Trim the motor in and move some lard around to keep the bow down and it gets on the plane easily without going near full throttle.
The engine will maybe do 3500 RPM at 20-something knots?
Once it's going like that you can throttle back and the crew can move back a bit.

It's like sailing a dinghy, once you are going fast you might want the bow up, but to get going fast, unless you have a lot of spare power you need to avoid dragging the transom.
Weight distribution and outboard leg angle are the easiest things to look at.
Then check the prop is not wildly wrong.
A planing plate as geem suggests can help, trade name DoelFin IIRC, there may be other brands.

 

[James_Calvert]

About 40 years ago I had the occasional use of an 11 foot Dell Quay dory.

It was fitted with remotes led to a central steering position, a fairly rudimentary one not really a modern style console, and a 20hp Evinrude.

It planed well and seemed very fast to me.

It was the Salcombe Harbour master's boat, used mainly for catching speedboats exceeding the 8 knot limit. None of his other boats could do more than about 6 knots.

 

[Jaguar568]

We have 13 ft that was split to remove the water saturated foam, now due to family bereavement we are giving it away for nothing but it’s needs to be reassembled, ITS FREE ! Location Largs , west of Scotland