Arctic Tern
Description
The Arctic Tern is a versatile, double-ended open sailboat designed by Scottish naval architect Iain Oughtred, known for his elegant wooden boats inspired by traditional Shetland yoals (Norse-influenced fishing workboats). First introduced in the late 1980s as a scaled-down version of Oughtred's larger Ness Yawl, it evolved into a standalone design emphasizing camp-cruising, day sailing, and long-distance rowing or sailing adventures. Built primarily from glued-lapstrake plywood for lightweight strength and ease of home construction, it's intended for solo, or two-person use, with enough open cockpit space for comfort and flotation compartments for gear storage during weeklong trips. The boat is rigged as a gunter sloop (with options for lug or yawl rigs), offering a balance of speed, seaworthiness, and simplicity—no outboard motor is typically needed, though modifications exist.
Construction Details
| Designer | Iain Oughtred |
|---|---|
| Length | 18.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.110 ft |
| Beam | 5.380 ft |
| Displacement | 243 lb |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | 15 ft |
| e | 13.67 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | 15 ft | 13.67 ft | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Foot | 5.75 ft - (1753 mm) |
| Leech | 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Area | * 36 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.