Potomac River dory boats were used for tonging and dredging oysters in the Potomac River and its tributaries, with a distinctive design featuring a V-bottom planked lengthwise rather than with the usual cross-planking. The type was discontinued around the 1930s, and only seven survive today, three under the stewardship of the St. Mary's County Museum Division. The Doris C was built in 1919 by John Long for Captain Henry Gibson of Abell, Maryland, as a 34-foot dory named for Gibson's wife, Doris Cheseldine. Lumber for the vessel was bought in Baltimore and shipped by steamer to Long's boat shop on Canoe Neck Creek in Avenue, Maryland. Gibson used it for dredging and tonging oysters, fishing, and transporting goods to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. After retiring from working the water in 1975, Gibson and his son Charles donated the Doris C to the St. Clement's Island Museum in 1976, and its restoration was completed in 1986.