The Skimmer is an American

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls: * the sails * the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth) * the trim (forward/rear angle of ...

, that was designed by William F. Crosby for amateur construction in 1933.

Design

The Skimmer design conforms to the original Moth class rules, but with an emphasis on simplicity for ease of construction and to reduce building costs. Crosby was the editor of ''Rudder'' magazine at the time and had designed the

Snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

in 1931. He published the plans for the Skimmer in the October and November 1933 issues of that magazine, during the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, as a means of producing a

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 ...

for the least cost. As a consequence, hundreds of examples were built and they were raced as a class on the United States west coast and other places in the US. The Skimmer is a small, single-handed, recreational dinghy, built predominantly of wood planking. It has 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 ...

single-sail rig, a single chine hull, 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 ...

and a pivoting

centreboard 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 ...

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. It displaces and carries no ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer or

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

roof rack A roof rack is a set of bars secured to the roof of a motor car. It is used to carry bulky items such as luggage, bicycles, canoes, kayaks, skis, or various carriers and containers. They allow users of an automobile to transport objects on the ...

References

{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies 1930s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by William F. Crosby

Design

See also

References