Poole week Skiff class racing

good call strawb

Strawberry
I see your point about what the Official skiffs are and how other boats have simply been branded this for sales purposes.  But is it not fair to say that the word 'Skiff' has taken on a slightly new meaning.  When the word skiff is mentioned, we all have a type of boat, type of hull shape in our head (whether or not it be correct) and weve attached this word to it so is it really wrong of us to use this word as a means of common understanding??
To me, when i think of skiff, i imagine a relatively flat bottomed boat designed for planing. 

Edited by Doug.H

Originally posted by Doug.H I think a boat that can plane on all points of sailing, is a fairly good definition.  Although its not perfect, as if the wind gets to force5+ certain other boats can manage planing upwind.....

So does that make a 505 a skiff?

A skiff is ONLY one of the Australian 12ft, 16ft, or 18ft skiffs. Aswell as the historical 6, 8, 10, 14, etc. Skiff are boats which have directly developed from the Australian open boats.

A 49er is a 49er
A Cherub is a Cherub

If a 12ft skiff isn't a skiff, then what is it?

49ers, RS800s, Cherubs, etc. may be skiff like in performance, but they're not skiffs.

Skiff classes have a history, and this isn't something that can bought by RS. The term has been ripped off and used in some marketing bull sh*t, that it appears the majority of the Scottish Skiff Racing has tuned into.

Originally posted by 29er397 nope its not up to SSR to 'decide' however they must have some form of definition otherwise someone could turn up in a topper and call it a skiff. I thought i would just say what SSR's defnition/collective opinion on the matter is.

They practicaly do!
The adverts for the 500 proclaim it as skiff...so im assuming then that a 3000 is a skiff? and a buzz? what about a hobie 405? a feva?

I think the SSR needs a skiff 'definition' and what they have is about as good for the job as possible, but the use of 'skiff' has gone gar too far as a marketing term