Sooty Tern

Description

The Sooty Tern is a 19'8" (6.0 m) double-ended clinker-ply sailing dinghy designed by Iain Oughtred as an enlarged development of his popular Arctic Tern faering-inspired beach boat line. It is a plans-based design sold through Oughtred Boats (and sometimes adapted or extended by other builders like Devlin Boat for related variants such as the Sooty Tern 25 gaff-rigged cruiser). Exact quantity built is not documented as a production class (hundreds of Oughtred small boats have been home- or professional-built worldwide since the 1980s–1990s, with the Sooty Tern being a popular choice among enthusiasts for its graceful lines and versatility), but numerous examples exist with active builder blogs, forum discussions, and sailing reports. Construction is typically clinker (lapstrake) plywood with epoxy, making it lightweight, strong, and relatively straightforward for skilled amateurs (Oughtred estimates around 600 hours for a similar build). Key features include a balanced lug yawl rig (or sometimes sloop variants), centerboard for shoal draft and trailering/beaching, excellent rowing performance when unrigged, and a roomy cockpit for daysailing or coastal cruising by 1–4 people. It is praised as a fast, stable, and beautiful open boat ideal for protected waters, gunkholing, or light overnighting—light enough (around 300–400 lbs hull/rigged) for car-topping or easy launching by a small group.