The Skipjack 15 is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Harry R. Sindle and

Carter Pyle Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

and first built in 1965.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 46-47.

Houghton Mifflin Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...

, 1994. The Skipjack 15 design was developed into the Surprise 15 in 1969.

Production

The design was initially built by

Newport Boats Lockley Newport Boats was an American boat builder based in Newport Beach, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', pages 172 & 2 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

starting in 1965. After 1970 the rights were purchased by New Design Sailboats of Benbrook, Texas and that company built several hundred examples before production ended. A total of 800 boats were completed.

Design

The Skipjack 15 is a recreational

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

. It has a fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

spars. The mainsail is a full roach design, which is fully battened and there is a bar-style mainsheet traveler. The hull has a spooned

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a retractable aluminum

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. It displaces . The boat has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. For sailing the design is equipped with a downhaul, boom vang and adjustable

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails ...

leads. The boom allows mainsail

roller reefing Reefing reduces the area of a sail, usually by folding or rolling one edge of the canvas in on itself and attaching the unused portion to a spar or a stay, as the primary measure to preserve a sailing vessel's stability in strong winds. Restoring ...

. A

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

of may be fitted. The design includes several mast step locations, allowing moving the mast forward and sailing it as a

catboat A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are f ...

with mainsail only. The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 93.1 and is normally raced with a crew of two

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

Operational history

The boat was used as a trainer by both the United States Coast Guard Academy and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "the Skipjack’s design combines ideas from the Finn hull, Mobjack (wide side decks, flat cockpit floor), and Flying Dutchman (single spreader, mid-boom sheeting). Upon seeing the design, the U.S. Naval Academy immediately ordered 20. The Skipjack rides high, with the cockpit floor above the water line so transom bailers can be used, and no cockpit cover is necessary at anchor."

References

{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Catamarans 1960s sailboat type designs Sailboat type designs by Harry R. Sindle Sailboat type designs by Carter Pyle Sailboat types built by Newport Boats Sailboat types built by New Design Sailboats

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References