Goat Island Skiff
Description
The Goat Island Skiff (GIS) is a lightweight, high-performance plywood sailing dinghy designed by Australian naval architect Michael Storer in the early 2000s, inspired by traditional skiff shapes but optimized for modern speed and simplicity using just six sheets of 6mm plywood, epoxy, and fiberglass, resulting in over 1,000 amateur-built examples across 27 countries as a cult favorite for DIY enthusiasts. At 15 feet 6 inches LOA with a 5-foot beam, 130-pound hull weight, and a shallow 4-inch draft (board up) rising to 3 feet (down), it excels as a versatile day sailor or camp-cruiser for 1–4 adults, powered by a 105-square-foot balanced lug sail on flexible spars for planning thrills in moderate winds—often outpacing heavier fiberglass dinghies like the Finn—while rowing efficiently with 9-foot oars stored aboard and accepting up to 4 horsepower outboards for auxiliary propulsion. Its flat-bottomed, rockered hull with daggerboard and buoyant tanks ensures stable, forgiving handling for beginners yet responsive joy for racers in events like the Texas 200 or Small Reach Regattas, complemented by an open cockpit, midship thwart, and ample freeboard for safety; detailed plans evolve into a comprehensive build manual with active online communities, making it an accessible, trailerable (or cartop) gateway to wooden boat ownership that prioritizes fun over fuss.
The standard boat dimensions
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Blueprints
Sails
Goat Island Skiff - LEG-O-MUTTON
| Luff | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 3.5 ft - (1067 mm) |
| Leech | * 8.41 ft - (2563 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 78.12 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Head (Inches) | 2 |
| Area | * 15.15 ft² |
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Goat Island Skiff - STANDING LUGSAIL
| Luff | 7.769 ft - (2368 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 10.771 ft - (3283 mm) |
| Leech | 17.47 ft - (5325 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 81.04 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 12.26 ft - (3737 mm) |
| Head | 10.427 ft - (3178 mm) |
| Area | 104 ft² |
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Goat Island Skiff - STANDING LUGSAIL
| Luff | 8 ft - (2438 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Leech | 15 ft - (4572 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 80.98 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 11.42 ft - (3481 mm) |
| Head | 9 ft - (2743 mm) |
| Area | * 88.81 ft² |
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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.
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