Unfortunately (or fortunately if you live in Nova Scotia) when they declared the Duck Toller to be the official dog of Nova Scotia in the 1940s (I think) they gave it the big unwieldy name.
It's not "troll" by the way, it's "toller." No "r" after the "t." Tolling is a method of bird hunting by which you use an attractor to bring birds closer to you. You can do this by waving a white rag on the end of stick from the blind as ducks or geese fly over. Very often--- and I have no idea why--- they will peel off and come in for a closer look which can bring them within gun range.
The dog was bred to do the same thing. When you see a flock of birds coming that are too far away you throw a stick or ball out from the blind and send the dog after it. This breed has a very bouncy run and when looking for the stick they wag their tails so hard they actually come around and hit the dog in the side. This is a similar motion to the rag waved on the stick. However, unlike the rag on a stick, if you get a bird the dog will then go and retrieve it on land or in the water, same as any other retriever. So it's a kind of 2-in-1 deal.
Prior to declaring the breed the official dog of Nova Scotia the breed had a much nicer name, and I usually tell people this is what Albi is rather than rattle off the long "Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever" name. The original name of the breed--- which as I recall was developed in the late 1800s or early 1900s--- was Little River Duck Dog, Little River being one of the places in Nova Scotia where the breed is said to have originated.
Most owers and breeders just call them "duck tollers" or "tollers." (pronounced like the "toll" in toll-bridge.)
While it's a Canadian breed they have become extremely popular in Scandinavia. Albi's grandfather is in Norway, for example. The breed was recognized by the AKC only a few years ago, a decision many owners and breeders wish hadn't happened as AKC recognition almost always results in a breed--- if it becomes popular--- being damaged physically and mentally. German Shepherds are a good example of the former, full-size collies and Dalmatians as an example of the latter. The AKC puts almost full emphasis on appearance only and long term health and mental agility are rendered almost irrelevant.
Toller breeders are trying hard to keep the breed a working breed in every sense of the word and strongly discourage owners from getting into the "dog show" mentality. On the other hand, they are superb at agility although the toller has an extremely strong sense of independence which makes them very challenging to train in terms of doing what you want them to do instead of what they want to do. They are outstanding retrievers, often bringing in geese that are larger than they are. However they will retrieve them the way they want to retrieve them, which includes following the route out and back that they feel is the best way to go, and they care little for which way their owner wants them to go. So great hunting dogs, terrible field trial dogs.
I don't believe inflatable or RIB dinghies are worth their cost and I don't want a shoreboat that depends on air-filled tubes that can tear, leak, and deteriorate over time. So we chose the Livingston. The nine-foot model was the size recommended for our boat, which has a twelve-foot beam. We went with the 4-hp motor because we want to keep the weight on our 37-year old teak-strip swimstep as low as possible. Four hp will not plane the boat, even with only one person in it. The 9' is rated up to 9 hp I believe. If weight were not an issue, we would have gone with six or eight horsepower.
The Livingston has worked very well for us as a basic shoreboat. Our only real complaint is the lack of freeboard when it's loaded down. Fully loaded, it's not a boat you want to take into rough or even fairly choppy water. The ten-foot model has considerably more freeboard but it's also significantly heavier and was not recommended by Livingston for our application.
If a Livingston is going to be carried on its side in Weaver or Seawise davits it's essential that you get the reinforced-side model for the length you want (I assume they still offer this option--- if they don't, don't get a Livingston if your plan is to carry it vertically on the swimstep).. If you don't get reinforced sides, the side of the boat that's down will gradually begin to bow in and distort. I suppose eventually it might even start to crack. The side reinforcement adds weight to the boat, however.
Were we in the market today for a new dinghy we would not consider the Livingston but instead get a 10' Bullfrog, which is what Carey of this forum has on his custom lobsterboat. Outstanding little craft, in my opinion. It combines all the advantages of a hardshell dinghy--- mainly longevity and toughness---, with the only advantage in my mind of an inflatable or RIB which is good load carrying with good freeboard. We hope to acquire a Bullfrog at some point before we start taking long cruises (so several years away yet) but we will have to tow it as they are too heavy for a swimstep mount and we don't want to put it on the aft cabin top. I don't believe in having a dinghy you have to launch with a crane. I want a dinghy either in the water already or able to be put in the water almost instantly if it's needed in a hurry.
So towing, carrying in Weaver davits/Seawise davits, or hung from permanent stern davits as Carey designed and installed on his boat are the only ways we will consider bringing a dinghy with us. Aft cabin top or boatdeck-carried dinghies are not an option we will even consider in the waters we cruise. It would be a completely different matter if we were blue-water, open-ocean cruisers but I've paid my debt to society in those kinds of waters and have no more desire to repeat the sentence again
-- Edited by Marin on Saturday 7th of August 2010 04:42:06 PM