Skiffing on

Australian Sailing - March 2011

How the traditional skiff classes are faring against the ready-mades, by Bob Ross.

AUSTRALIA’s traditional skiffclasses – the 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s – are surviving the serious impact of the more recent off-the-shelf classes.

A check-around during the Australian championships revealed that they still have a healthy core of followers who enjoy not only the high-speed sailing thrills that all of them offer, but the fun and sociability that go with them.

All four classes, in various ways, have moved away from the sometimes wild experimentation that went on in earlier days when almost anyone could knock out a boat and alter it themselves.

The longevity offered by modern carbon/Nomex foam constructed skiffs has encouraged very similar hull shapes built in moulds. Experimentation continues in rigs and sail shapes, within restrictions that vary across the classes.

And they are still good to watch. The League’s spectator ferry following the Sunday racing on Sydney Harbour is well patronised, often packed, and two ferries have to be laid on during the J.J.Giltinan international championship.

During the 12ft skiff Interdominion championship, sailed on upper Sydney Harbour waters from Hunters Hill SC, on the weekend more than 100 people sat on the grassy slope of the park at Clarke’s Point, Woolwich, for a grandstand view of the action.

All week, the racing was short, sharp and exciting in big breezes with two races an afternoon, each lasting around an hour and with a time limit of 90 minutes or within 25 minutes of the first finisher.

The good-natured camaraderie of the competitors was evident, from the front of the fleet to the back. Crews of the first boats ashore, from a fleet widely separated by capsizes and other mishaps, returned to help the last strugglers carry their boats up the ramp.

This 51st interdominion was also run by a good-natured bunch of voluntary race officials and hosted from two great volunteer clubs. Host club was Lane Cove Sailing Skiff Club, which has one of the strongest 12ft fleets in the country. The club conducted the event from nearby Hunters Hill SC, which in true neighbourly spirit allowed Lane Cove to use its clubhouse and extensive grassed rigging area.

Nick Press and Brad Yabsley from Lane Cove SC, sailing Dimension Polyant, won the interdominion’s Silasec Trophy for the third time and the second in a row. While these home waters were very familiar to them, they also had great upwind speed and cool race strategy.

Second were the 2009 winners Brett Hobson and Alex Johnson on Garde and third New Zealanders Alex Vallings and Cameron McDonald on Nuplex.

Beaten into fourth place on a tie break was Gemmell Sails, skippered by Nick’s father Murray Press, who is 57, crewed by Ben Gemmell. Fifth was Frankenskiff, skippered by legendary 59-year-old New Zealander Tim (“The Guru”) Bartlett, who has won the Silasec Trophy four times since 1996.

Nick Press, who is also president of the NSW 12ft Skiff Sailing Association, explains why older sailors continue to do well in the 12s: “There’s a balance; you’ve got to be a good boat handler – sometimes that comes with age – and a tactician as well.

“And maybe some of the older guys have got a bit more time and money to make their boats go a little bit quicker. They’ve been in the class for a long time so they’ve built up a good package.”

State of the 12s

Nick Press says that although the class numbers in NSW have been “stagnant”, it has a core group of boats that turn up for every event with about 20 attending the state championship.

“We are under increasing competition because people can go out and buy a 29er or 49er straight out of the box. They think it’s cheaper but a 12 would actually be a lot cheaper because you buy a boat that will last you a lot longer than any ready-made boat.

“The hulls are so well built, there’s no reason to replace them very often. My hull is nine years old and there’s absolutely no reason to replace it, which is good for us but bad for the class in a way in that you don’t get that turnover of vessels to get new people in.”

However, seven brand new boats were purchased for the NSW fleet in the past off season from class builder Nick Olsen, in New Zealand, with four launched so far and three more to be completed by the end of the year. “That’s a double benefit for the class because they are selling on their old boats,” says Press.

Olsen supplies packaged Woof hulls, to the design first developed by 12ft stalwart Jim Walsh and naval architect Brendan Egan about ten years ago. “A few variations have come out over the years, but the Woof is still definitely the dominant shape,” says Press.

“You pay $10,000 for the hull, put together some rigs; you can have as many as you want but most settle for three, on two masts with one stumped, for $25,000 all up. You could probably pick up a very good second-hand boat for $15,000 to $20,000, which I think is very competitive.”

Nick Press races an 18-footer on Sundays after the 12s on Saturdays. “It’s a very different way of sailing. The 18s are always going fast where the 12s really accelerate but they also slow down very quickly.

“There are fantastic qualities about racing in both fleets. The 18s fleet is very tight with a lot of really competitive boats. The 12s are great fun and full of nice people.”

16s: Own feeder class

Some far-sighted members of the Manly 16ft Sailing Club in 2001 decided to develop a feeder class for youngsters into the 16s. The then junior sailing coach Robert Atkins, boatbuilder Paul Kulmar and naval architect Graham Radford designed the 13ft skiff, a scaled-down version of the 16, as an intermediate class between the junior classes like the Flying 11s and the 16ft skiffs.

The NSW 16ft Skiff Association promoted it through its affiliated clubs. The 13s’ fifth national titles were held this season at Manly, Queensland.

The innovation has succeeded, with several 13ft skiffs graduates sailing well in 16s. One of them, James Dorron, after two seasons in the 13ft skiff division, steered Fire Stopping to win the 2007-2008 Australian 16ft championship at his first try.

He was 19; the youngest skipper to win an Australian title in its history, which goes back to 1906/07. He won again with Fire Stopping the following season and finished third in this past season’s championship at Royal Queensland YS, Manly, behind two seasoned campaigners, Lee Knapton (Brydens Compensation Lawyers) and Clint Bowen (Fluid Building Services) and ahead of Nathan Wilmot, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist in 470s, steering Hubble Cleaning Products in fourth place.

Knapton bailed out from a promising campaign in 470s after the 1996 Olympic trials to concentrate on the family real estate business and started sailing 16s for fun at Georges River Sailing Club.

He won the Australian championship in the 1999-2000, 2004-05 and 2006-07 seasons. After the latest win he sees the class still to be in good shape, although the fleet of 27 at Manly was well down on the 58 at Belmont, on Lake Macquarie the previous season.

He still likes sailing in the 16s. “It’s the enjoyment of sailing them, and the people; a great bunch of guys at club level and it just gets better as you go through to state and nationals.

“They are a narrow boat so they are quite a challenge to sail in big breezes.”

Long history

The class has had many developments over its 100-year history. Today it has a three person crew, two of them on trapeze, and carries large masthead spinnakers. It currently has more than 135 boats through 12 clubs.

Strict rules on hull design and construction to contain costs were introduced in 1997-98. These rules also limited the number of masts and sails that could be registered for the Australian championship: two masts, two mainsails, two spinnakers and three jibs.

The carbon/Nomex honeycomb hulls, from three main builders, are similar and strong. “The hulls are lasting,” says Knapton. “The boat we sailed this year is in its sixth season and still as strong as ever. You just have to replace mast tips and sails.

“A new boat, from start to finish with two rigs costs about $50,000.”

For next season, the class rules have been amended to allow carbon fibre masts as well as the current aluminium section with fibreglass tips. “I think it was inevitable,” says Knapton. “They will cost more but last a lot longer and so save us money.”

These days, there is not much difference in hulls and rigs, says Knapton. “It just comes down to the sailors.”

14s are forever (by Neil Patchett)

For more than 100 years, the 14 footer has been a relative of the Australian skiff family. While all skiffs started out with minimal buoyancy, no decks, huge sails and hard playing/sailing crews, the 14 evolved along a slightly different path.

Early on, the Australian 14 footer adopted a semi-restricted rule that encouraged controlled experimentation which suited the do-it-yourself types looking for thrills and speed. Over the past 30 years the Aussie 14 built stronger ties and eventually united with the International 14.

Today the International 14 is a powerful, two-person all-carbon speedster that sports square-top mains, asymmetric masthead kites and hydrofoiling rudders.

The class is sailed in all Australian states and territories, except Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Overseas, there are long-established fleets in England, Germany, Canada, the USA and Japan. All these countries and Australian states were represented at the 2010 world championship, held on Sydney Harbour and contested by 108 boats.

The gender of sailors at the regatta was mainly male but there was a smattering of females as either helms or for’ard hands. The sailors ranged from 16 to 72 years of age and from 60 to 110kg in weight and came from all walks of life.

Master of the class at the moment is expatriate Englishman Archie Massey who currently lives in Sydney and has formed an all-conquering partnership with crew Dan Wilsdon.

Massey built his boat George 1st from a slightly modified Paul Bieker B5 design using Nomex foam and pre-preg carbon from SP Technologies. His spars are all carbon featuring a CST Composites High Modulus 2 mast.

Rigs are getting stiffer, following the 18s to some extent, as this allows for a more general purpose sail, suitable for all wind-strengths.

The constant design evolution means good boats and gear go relatively cheaply. At the recent nationals, a $5000 boat chased the leaders around at times but a more typical quality used boat can cost $7000 to $20,000. New custom-built boats with all the go-fast gear can cost more than $40,000.

Australian class president Stewart Vickery has made an enormous contribution over the past 12 months and has set up a class building program. He is now offering quality underweight clear-finished carbon hulls for $12,000 with an additional $3000 for foils and rudder box.

While the 14 has a history that goes back to the late 1800s, the class is a noticeably different to the other skiff classes. The 14 has long been decked. And while other skiffs revelled in being tied to licensed clubs, gambling and sponsors, the 14 evolution went quietly on, spurred by a mix of unshakable enthusiasts, experimentalists and thrill seekers.

The attraction is the rich chemistry created by ingredients that include tradition, camaraderie, challenge, technicality, innovation and speed. It is the two-wire ride in a thoroughbred that planes to windward and flies downhill in a design that has never stood still. Or as world champ Massey says: “14s are forever.”

18s: Stability and growth

The one skiff class that has gained new young talent from the off-the-shelf classes is the 18ft skiff. The Australian 18 Footers League at Double Bay on Sydney Harbour has a policy of affordability that has encouraged youngsters from the 29er class

One of them, John (“Herman”) Winning, son of the League’s president John Winning, skippered appliancesonline.com.au to fourth place in the 18s premier event, the J.J.Giltinan international championship, in 2009.

“The 29ers are mostly bought by fathers when the kids are still at school,” says John Winning senior. “The good kids, if they can sail a 29er and just build up muscle, can sail one of these boats.

“We’ve got the situation where they can come and sail pretty much for nothing, but they’ve got to put in the effort.”

Faced with a shrinking membership after the introduction of the professional Grand Prix circuit in the 1990s, the League introduced drastic measures to rationalise the cost of competition.

They effectively made the hulls and foils one-design, produced by a registered builder (currently Van Munster Boats) from a female mould with approved materials. Only two rigs are allowed.

There is room for experiment and development in the rigs, within limits on mast height and bowsprit pole lengths. The most recent trend has been to stiffer masts under higher shroud tensions supporting “bat wing” topped mainsails.

This move was led in the 2007-2008 season by Michael Coxon of North Sails, working with his nephew who is also called Michael Coxon and Seve Jarvin’s Gotta Love it 7 team, who won the Giltinan championship that year with Coxon’s Fiat second.

Through the previous winter, they two-boat tested stiffer masts supporting mainsails with bigger roaches and flatter luff curves. Norths and Southern Spars in Auckland then developed the successful new mast/sail combination that allowed bigger, more efficient, gust-responsive upper roach areas.

The League owns all the boats in its racing fleet, with some exceptions like British sailor Andy Budgen’s Project Racing, which sail by invitation. And it makes them available to crews through individual sponsorships.

It has a specific policy of introducing and developing new young Australian talent to the fleet and has financially assisted crews to compete in overseas events and international crews to contest the Giltinan championship regattas.

The League is a popular local social club as well as a sailing club and revenue from its bar and restaurant trading is invested into the sailing. Since 1993 it has spent more than $10 million on the production of moulds, construction and rigging of boats, trailers and maintenance of the 18ft skiff fleet.

For the current season, it added four new boats to its racing fleet of 16. They have a stronger, simpler foredeck designed to handle the higher loads of the latest rigs and to last longer.

They are Yandoo, skippered by John Winning; Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, skippered by Michael Coxon, who won the Giltinan championship in 2006 and 2007; Pure Blonde, skippered by one of the hot “young guns” James Francis and Smeg, skippered by the 12ft interdominion skiff champion Nick Press.

Two of the talented Wilmot sailing family have joined the fleet. Nathan, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, when he is not racing in conflicting 16ft events, has been crewing for promising youngster Jonathan Whitty on Panasonic. His younger brother Jeremy is helming appliances.online.com.au, a second-season boat formerly helmed by Herman Winning.

The League this season has supplied four of its older boats under charter to a group of Perth sailors who have revived 18ft skiff sailing on the Swan River from Mounts Bay SC, inspired by Grant Rollerson who has also been a regular competitor in the League’s fleet with Slam.

Another six have gone to the revival of the Brisbane fleet led by former Sydney 18ft skiff sailor David Witt. The group sailing them includes another former Sydney 18ft skiff sailor, Scott Ramsden, who as youngster skippered Bank of New Zealand to win the J.J.Giltinan championship on the Brisbane River in 1990.

They have been sailing regularly on Moreton Bay from the Darling Point Sailing Squadron 16ft skiff club at Manly on Saturdays and have racing scheduled once a month on the Brisbane River from the Brisbane 18 Footers Sailing Club.