The Skunk 11 is a Canadian utility

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

that can be rowed, used as a motorboat, fishing boat or as a sailing dinghy. It was designed by

Hubert Vandestadt Vandestadt and McGruer Limited (sometimes styled as Vandestadt & McGruer) was a Canadian boat builder based in Owen Sound, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. The company was founded by Frase ...

and first built in 1969.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 8-9. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

The design was built by Vandestadt & McGruer in Owen Sound, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but the company went out of business in 1987 and production had ended by then.

Design

The Skunk 11 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 fibreglass, with wood trim. It is a Gunter rigged

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 ...

with a free-standing mast,

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, a

raked 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 ...

, plumb

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 ...

made from

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

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 fibreglass centreboard. The rudder and centreboard are "kick up" designs. It displaces . The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer or car roof rack. The boat may also be rowed and is equipped with

oarlock A rowlock , sometimes spur (due to the similarity in shape and size), oarlock (USA) or gate, is a brace that attaches an oar to a boat. When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a fulcrum for the oar. On ordinary rowing craft, the rowlocks are ...

s for that role. The transom is reinforced so the boat can be fitted with a small outboard motor of up to for employment as a motorboat. The recessed foredeck has a storage area.

Variants

;Skunk :This model was introduced in 1969 and has a gunter rig and a sail area of . The gunter rig mean all three spars are short and will store inside the boat's hull. ;Super Skunk :This model was introduced in 1981, has a conventional

rig and additional sail area, totalling .

Operational history

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, the "Skunk is a light, easily transported boat. Because of the gunter rig, all spars will fit inside the boat. There are no stays. The Super Skunk is Marconi rigged and has an extra 10 square feet of mainsail. Besides sailing, the Skunk may be used for fishing, as an outboard, or as a rowboat."

References

External links