Some time between 1880 and 1890, Otis and his two sons, Lee and Horace, started shad boat construction in order to reach the demand of the area (Conoley et al. 2007:39). The Dough family became very successful and by the 1920s, Horace utilized his family-built shad boats for sports fishing. This further increased their popularity in the area (Conoley et al. 61). They also had a reputation as very fast boat builders. It is said “that the Doughs could frame and plank a shad boat in 10 days and complete it four days later”(Gray and Gray 2017:19). Horace’s advertisements were some of the first sportfishing and charter boats on the Outer banks.
The Dough family also had their own innovations. By the 1950s, Worden and Lee Dough designed their shad boats to accommodate larger engines with more storage for fishing tackle and gear (Conoley et al. 142).
By Alexander Owens