What defines a skiff?

Originally posted by andymck Originally posted by Chris 249 Originally posted by andymck The alternative definition of a skiff A boat that is a dog in light winds. Unsailable in big wind and waves. But if the conditions are right are great fun. Even catches the 4 and 5k as they are sailable in big waves and the topper boats for obvious reasons. Boat like the '80s 18 Foot Skiffs, with a 47' (IIRC) mast, did pretty damn well in light winds, and the 12s seem to ghost well under big rigs.  And the 12s, 16s, 18s etc seem to have the same high-wind capacity as most high performance boats. I am not so convinced. The Murray 18 hull is not easy to sail downwind in big waves, at it became the one design choice as it was more forgiving than its predecessors. I think this is reflected in the places people sail18's. Anyone who has seen the awesome skiff videos or the Beijing 49er debacle will understand. The 12 foot skiffs just look a nightmare in any sort of seaway with the videos that are available. Once you get into the extremes of wind the more conventional boats start to claw back under handicap, non trapeze boats in the light. Or 420 or 505 in a lot. Perhaps we ought to add crew has to be in front of mast in light winds.

I suppose it depends a huge amount on context, like how you define "big waves". Two of the major 16 clubs sail between Sydney Heads, where the weather shore is often the Antarctic and the sloppy waves bouncing off the headlands and being generated by the other traffic create what the Olympians called 'the washing machine'. And compared to other "extreme high performance boats" (ie those as quick as an FD or 505) like Moths (pre-foil and modern), Canoes, Z Class Renjollen, Punts, and Raters, the Skiffs can survive fairly well under small rigs. They also seem to stand up well in big winds compared to many high-performance cats like F16s, As, etc.

But yep, they don't handle big waves and wind as well as an FD or 505 or (in the Australian context) the LW Sharpie.

I can't recall seeing a 12, 16 or 18 crew on the foredeck, but I don't live near a Skiff area these days.

Edited by Chris 249 - 03 Mar 16 at 1:16am

They are indeed. Two foa

The Norfolk punt really shows how history comes into all this naming business, rather than hull form. Amazing boats.

I don't think we have ever managed to define the word Dinghy on here, let alone planing.

We can simply this by using the term "skiff-like". We can now, according to most sales blurb or sailing holiday brochure, include every rotomould with an assy kite ever made, any boat with pretensions of speed and even the 2000.