What defines a Skiff?

The term AS USED TODAY to describe a general type of high-performance sailboats came from the Port Jackson Skiffs created by William Golding. These were one of the several "open boat" types that raced in Port Jackson (Sydney) and other Australian ports. These boats, influenced by local conditions and US Sandbaggers (via Sandbagger-influenced UK boats sold to Aus by a Liverpudlian) ranged from 24 to 6 feet. These other boats were NOT historically known as skiffs, as is clearly demonstrated by contemporary sources.

Unlike the other Open Boats which had no restrictions bar length, the Port Jackson Golding boats had restrictions on crew numbers, rig size and beam. The original 12 and 14 foot classes in the Port Jackson Skiff types died out and only the 16 Footers remained.

Probably because the 16s had restrictions on the power (in terms of crew righting moment and rig size) they lead the way in improving efficiency at a time when the other Open Boats improved speed largely by chucking bigger rigs on fatter boats. By the 1930s, the 16s had developed the "heel less" hull. This had straight planing-style lines aft, a clear point of differentiation from the other Open Boats which still had the old "heel" or "tuck up", where the buttock lines away from the centre of the hull rose sharply leaving a distinct "heel" formed by a keelson along the centreline. This "heel" or keelson may have been useful (or vital) in keeping the Open Boats in a straight line when carrying their vast rig, but it prevented a planing type from evolving.

Lead by the Queensland fleet (despite the reputation of the Sydney fleets, the Queenslanders created most innovations in the skiff types for years) the "heel less" type created a veritable revolution in 16s. The 16 Foot Skiff type model - not just the "heel less" hull shape but also the skinnier, lighter and smaller-rigged type was so much more efficient than the old fat heavy Open Boats that the 16s, despite their small restricted rigs, could beat the 18s around the course, as proven by many contemporary results and reports.

This lighter, skinnier shape created by 16 Foot Skiff rules was then transferred to the 18s in the form of the famous Aberdare and her predecessors of the 1930s. These lighter, smaller-rigged and slimmer 18s easily beat the older big-rig 18s in most conditions. The Aberdare types planed (although the replica of Aberdare planes more like a Flying 15 than a modern skiff) with about 6 crew, whereas the old boats dragged half the ocean along with crews of 12 or more. 

Contemporary reports clearly show that the old-type 18 footer sailors often hated the Aberdare type, which they christened the "skiff type" because the skinnier, lighter heel-less hulls had definitely and clearly evolved from the 16 Foot Skiffs. Many traditionalists said that the Aberdare skiff types could not demand the public following that the spectacular rigs of the old heavier types had created. Anyone who believes that "skiffies" have always favoured innovation and speed simply has not done their homework and this is merely one example of the fact. Again, this is simply verifiable, demonstrable historical truth.

In the end, the followers of the "skiff type" 18s won, and gradually the term "skiff" went from describing 16s, to a particular form of 18, and then to all "skiffs" of the 12, 16 and 18 classes (and sometimes Aussie 14s). This was not universal - the Kiwis called 18s by their LOA or as "Flying 18s" and the "skiff" label only gradually came to describe the various classes as a whole.

Historical research clearly demonstrates that until about 1987, the term "skiff" (as used to describe a particular and distinct type of racing centreboard mono) as only used for 12s, 16s, 18s and (rarely) Aussie 14s. It was then used as an advertising term by the VS, a local class vaguely like a 16 Foot Skiff without steroids, and was then applied as an adjective to similar boats.

So "skiff", as used to describe boats of the 49er/800 style, DOES clearly have a definite historical development and any attempt to deny it is, to be frank, complete and utter revisionist bullsh*t of the most vacuous sort.

Skiffs cannot be defined by hull shape, because past and present skiffs have had all sorts of different hulls - round bilged, hard chined, multi chined, planing, or non planing. The current dominant 12 Foot Skiff hull has round bilges, the 18 hulls have chines, the 16 hull is round-bilged forward and chined aft.

They cannot be defined by speed historically, because at times they were slower than northern hemisphere type dinghies. They cannot be described by their attitude to development,because they are not any more open to development than other types - most of the attributes given today to "skiffs" were seen in conventional dinghies before they were seen in the classes that created the "skiff" label as it is used today. 

Skiffs are not boats that tack downwind, because that was specifically described even in ocean racers of the 1930s. Skiffs are not just boats that plane upwind, because many skiff designers today say that (1) planing is almost impossible to tell from fast displacement sailing; (2) many "real" skiffs like 16s and 12s do NOT plane upwind; (3) other boats like Canoes and (arguably) 505s and Tasars and scow Moths plane upwind.

Fuelled by some nice wine and a nice meal with friends across the road, I'll say that most faux definitions of the term "skiff" AS GENERALLY APPLIED TO SMALL RACING SAILBOATS are complete crap, historically and technically speaking. The classes from which the term can be traced in this context have been fast, slow, round bilged, scows, hard chined, rigidly against development, pro development, and had every contradiction available. 

Technically, the only real points of skiffs historically has been that they have had MUCH higher crew-induced righting moment and MUCH higher sail area oer LOA than conventional dinghies, and this has been consistent throughout the evolution of the term from the 1800s to the 2000s.