Goat Island Skiff Yawl

Description

The Goat Island Skiff Yawl is a refined two-masted variant of Michael Storer's iconic lightweight plywood sailing dinghy, developed by naval architect Clint Chase in the early 2010s to enhance its versatility for single handing, sail-and-oar adventures, and events like RAIDs, while preserving the original's blistering performance and DIY ethos using the same six sheets of 6mm plywood, epoxy, and fiberglass for a hull weighing around 130-142 pounds. Retaining the 15-foot-6-inch LOA, 5-foot beam, and shallow 4-inch draft (daggerboard up) to 3 feet (down), the yawl rig splits the 105-square-foot sail area into a forward-shifted balanced lug mainsail (approximately 80-90 square feet) and a compact 14-15-square-foot mizzen on flexible spars, enabling easy reefing underway, balanced helm in breezes, and seamless transitions to rowing with 9-foot oars or a small outboard up to 4 horsepower. Ideal for 1-4 adults in day sails or camp-cruising, it planes thrillingly in moderate winds—often matching or exceeding the single-mast version upwind and down—while the mizzen aids maneuvering, heaving-to for breaks, and stability in chop, with buoyant tanks and ample freeboard ensuring forgiving safety for novices or racers; builders modify standard plans (available via Storer Boat Plans or Chase Small Craft kits) by adjusting mast partners and adding a mizzen step, fostering a vibrant global community of over 1,000 hulls where the yawl's subtle elegance shines in regattas and coastal explorations.