12ft Skiff

The 12 ft Skiff, a type of boat, is the baby sister of the larger and better known 18ft Skiff. It is called the 12 ft Skiff, because it is 12 feet (4 m) in length. Also in the family of high performance sailboats, are the 16 ft, 14 ft,13 ft, 9 ft, 8 ft, and 6 ft skiffs, the latter only in prototype stage. The 12 ft skiff is known for being the hardest of the skiffs to sail.

The 12 ft skiff has two crew, both on trapezes, and a huge, unrestricted sail area. Most competitive teams have several rigs ranging from number 1 for light breezes to number 4 for Force 5-6.

Australia and New Zealand is the site of main competitions, and 12 ft skiffs are regulally to be seen racing in Sydney Harbour alongside their 18 ft cousins. A small but competitive fleet is developing in the UK [citation|url=http://www.sail-world.com/news.cfm?Nid=30251&SRCID=4 sail-world.com |title= Aussies fend off Kiwis in 12 ft skiff win|publisher=Sail World |date= January 13, 2007]

General Specifications

* Reaching speeds of up to 25 knots * Mast height 8.8 meters * Overall length 3.7 meters * Beam 1.8 meters * Crewed by two people, both on trapeze * Light weight 45 kilogram hull * Three complete rigs (small, medium, large) * Each skiff is individual, not an off the shelf product * Simple measurement rules allow design development * Rig size and design is unrestricted * The asymetrical spinnaker is set off a fixed bowsprit

links

class home page: http://www.skiff.org.au/index.htm

info: http://www.yachte.com.au/classes/12ftskiff.asp