A 16 ft Skiff is a class of three-person

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

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 ...

with twin trapezes and a large

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing downwind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", or "A-sail" it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but, the asymmetrical spinnaker is not ...

. The class is unique to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it is one of the most popular boats sailing with 95 boats registered in 12 clubs. The class has the largest fleet of high performance skiffs on the east coast of Australia. Due to the nature of only allowing two trapezes, the age of the sailors can vary between 15 and 60 years old, making it a versatile class of boat.

Construction

The hull, spars and foils are all constructed out of a carbon composite reinforced polymer. Manufacturers of these hulls are generally local boat builders, however are now being sourced overseas. The total weight of the boat is no more than 85 kg fully rigged, resulting in an extremely high sail area to weight ratio.

History

The class has been around for over a century and has changed significantly since its beginnings: ;1901 Class founded in Balmain ;1908 :Class expands to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

;1922 :Class spreads to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

;1976 :Rules change to allow any material for hull ;1986 :Three man crew introduced ;1997–98 :Stick class rules were introduced

Class specifications

*Overall length— *Construction—Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) *Min beam— *Max beam— *Min weight— *Working sail area— *Spinnaker sail area— *Racing crew—Three

External links

Skiffs.org.au

References

Dinghies {{ship-type-stub