Jimmy Skiff : three boats for the price of one! Indeed, this little bare simple sailer is also an excellent rowing boat as well as a light tender... for when you'll have the main boat .

Length: 4.01 m, beam: 1.27 m, weight: 44 kg. Sail area: 5.60 m2.

Before the advent of the outboard motor, rowing/sailing skiffs were common on the US shoreline, and especially in the Chesapaeke Bay. They were used for crabbing, fishing, transporting goods, and enjoying summer evenings with a friend. Many local kids could row their dad's skiff long before they could ride a bicycle. Proper rowing and sailing skiffs are extraordinarily rare these days. With 90% of all flat-bottomed skiffs designed for outboard motors, we may be in danger of forgetting what a pleasure it is to spend an afternoon in a handsome, easily-driven rowing skiff, a boat that glides effortlessly with each stroke without dragging its transom. Don't be deceived by the Jimmy Skiff's™ ample beam and stability; this boat rows well enough to really cover some miles in a day, whether it's to reach your fishing grounds or just to enjoy an afternoon on the water.

The Jimmy Skiff ™ has two rowing thwarts with two sets of oarlock sockets to maintain proper trim with one or several passengers aboard.

The Jimmy Skiff ™ is light enough to be cartopped or hoisted onto the deck of a larger cruising boat. And even though she weighs less than 100lbs in rowing trim, there’s enough room and capacity for three adults or a family of four. Under sail, the Jimmy Skiff™ exhibits perfect balance and impeccable sailing manners in light or fresh breezes. The "leg-o-mutton" sail is quick to set up and strike, with only the simplest controls, making the Jimmy Skiff a perfect boat for beginning sailors. The traditional sprit boom means that the crew will never get whacked in the head during a surprise jibe.

The basic kit is the rowing version. Add the optional sailing rig kit, and you’ll have the components for the mast, boom, daggerboard, trunk, and kick-up rudder. The sailing rig can be retrofitted to the rowing kit at any point, even long after completion.

Please note that this rig is rather "muscled": as soon as the breeze picks up, you go swimming very quickly! This is the reason why you might prefer the Skerry's spritsail (long boomed version, with 5.70 m2 area) in order to benefit of its lower lever arm, better efficiency and shorter spars which stow inside the hull.

CLC called their skiff "jimmy," Chesapeake slang for a male blue crab, because the Jimmy Skiff design is derived from rowing and sailing skiffs once common on the Chesapeake Bay.

See the pictures of the Jimmy Skiff's first sail in France.

See the Jimmy Skiff's trials under oars at Choisy-au-Bac

The Jimmy Skiff design is as simple as can be : two side pannels and a transom flanking a bottom pannel...

Photo courtesy of Ron Paro

You'll find Ron's account of his experience building and launching his Jimmy Skiff on his blog, which is crafted to the same high standards as his Skiff: www.jimmyskiff.blogspot.com

See the pricelist

Opening the sail kit for the skiff. On the left, the three pieces of the mast (two scarfs to glue), on the right the two pieces of the sprit-boom with one scarf only, and a lot of stuff in the middle, including the sail.