A group of VCB volunteers joined forces with students from Benjamin Banneker Academy on Sunday to begin planking the Stretch Chamberlain Gunning Dory. The Gunning Dory is based on plans by the late John Gardner but stretched from 18 to 25 feet in order to accommodate four rowers. The dory is very light (less than 250 pounds?), very fast, and very easy to get in and out of the water. Also very traditional, in that its basic shape harks back to the ‘bateaux’ of the French and Indian wars.