Skiff (sailing)
A skiff is a light sailing dinghy that can quickly glide through a flat hull . Skiffs are sword boats that can reach speeds of over 60 km / h on long courses . The bowsprit is a distinctive feature. A gennaker , an asymmetrical spinnaker , is set on it. Sailboats of this type are mainly used in regattas .
Skiffs have their origins in Sydney, Australia . At the beginning of the 19th century, skiffs supplied the square sailors with provisions in Sydney Harbor. Regattas were sailed with these workboats on the weekends for pleasure . Today's sport boats were created through further development and weight reduction .
One of the most famous skiffs is the 14-footer , a construction class that has existed since the end of the 19th century. The fastest representative of this type of boat is the 18-footer , which is sailed by a three-person crew.
Well-known skiff designers are Frank Bethwaite and Julian Bethwaite , who drew the Olympic 49er skiff and the 29er youth skiff , among other things .
Single row boats are also known as skiffs.
literature
- Frank Bethwaite: High performance sailing - fast hulls, fast rigs, fast races . Society for high-performance sailing mbH, 2008, ISBN 978-3940973009 .