Wikipedia:Skua (dinghy)

The Skua Sailing Dinghy is a keel assisted two-person racing sailboat, broadly similar to the Flying Fifteen in layout and planned use. It was however designed for simple and inexpensive home construction from 6mm Marine plywood.



The Skua was designed for the Royal Forth Yacht Club in 1962 by Jack Robertson, and first launched in 1964, specifically for the rough conditions prevalent in the estuary. Consequently she has a moderate sail area for her size and weight, which is evenly split between a large overlapping Genoa and low aspect ratio main sail. For fast downwind sailing there is a generously sized symmetric spinnaker. The result is a forgiving boat to sail, but with fast performance when windy.

A notable construction feature is the 180 lb drop keel, which unlike the Flying Fifteen and other small racing keelboats, allows Skua to be kept on a (lower cost) drying mooring, and makes handling ashore much easier than it would be with a fixed keel.

About 56 Skuas were built, mostly by their owners in marine ply. A few were completed from GRP constructed hulls. As of 2011, few remain in active.

They are eligible for racing within the Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy association (CVRDA) as both a 'lost class' and as a classic dinghy.

Skua data:

LoA       17' Beam       5'10" Draft       4'9" Sail Area 140 sqFt Spinnaker 120 sqFt Weight of Hull 260 lb

Performance: PY 102 (1972).

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