INTERNATIONAL BUILDING AND MEASUREMENT RULES FOR THE ST AYLES SKIFF 2023
Aims and Objectives of these rules
1.1 The boats to be raced shall be available to as many people as possible.
1.2 The quality of the boats shall be dependent on the skills of their builders.
1.3 The success of its racing shall be dependent on the effort, skills and seamanship of its crew rather than being dependent on being able to afford the purchase of expensive specialist materials outwith the financial resources of other boat owners, or use of specialist boatbuilding techniques outwith the abilities of the handy amateur.
1.4 Racing craft should be as evenly matched as possible.
1.5 Builders and users must not compromise the safety and longevity of the boats in order to achieve speed.
1.6 Builders and users must abide by the spirit of the rules to achieve these aims.
1.7 Builders are encouraged to share their thoughts and experience with regards to the development aspects of the class with other builders, members of their national association and SASI.
1.8 These rules apply to the racing of the St Ayles Skiff under Oar power.
Hull
2.1 Hull General
2.1.1 The hull is to be constructed as faithfully as possible to the St Ayles Skiff plans produced by Mr Iain Oughtred (“the plans”) except where these rules allow a difference. The hull must be constructed using a kit supplied by a kit supplier approved by St Ayles Skiff International.
2.1.2. The weight of the hull with all seats fitted but other fittings and equipment removed must be no less than 150 kg.
2.1.3. In the event of the hull being measured under the prescribed weight, the boat while racing will carry sandbags equally distributing at the bow and stern the weight required to make up to the prescribed weight.
2.2 Hog and Keel
2.2.1 The timber to be used for the hog and keel, and gunwales shall be of Larch or other timber of a density greater than 550kg/m^3
2.2.2 Polypropylene or other plastics are permitted as a material for keel bands if preferred to brass or other metals.
2.2.3 Rocker is not allowed on the keel. The keel must be flat for its whole length between the stems.
2.3 Planking
2.3.1 The hull planking shall be constructed from Lloyds Type Approved BS1088 Marine Plywood or equivalent as supplied with the kit.
2.3.2 In fitting the planking, “gains/geralds” should not be longer than 250mm.
2.3.3 The fairing of plank edges and return corners like plank joints and the plank/keel joint on the outside of the hull shall be to a radius no greater than 3mm.
2.4 Stems
2.4.1 The width of the outer face of the stems fore and aft must be at least 25mm and the stem (both fore and aft) must have a moulded depth from their outer face to the planking of between 50mm and 75mm.
2.4.2 Plywood is a permitted material for the inner stems.
2.5 Gunwales
2.5.1 The timber to be used for the gunwales shall be of Larch or other timber of greater density than 550kg/m^3.
2.5.2 Gunwales must contain a volume of timber equivalent to the gunwales shown in the plans and provided this rule is complied with spaced gunwales are permitted.
Oarlocks
3.1 Oarlock fittings are to be made of timber and/or plywood or leather suitable for its purpose.
3.2 . Oarlocks must be at the gunwale. The entire thole pin or equivalent must be inside the plane of the inside face of the top plank, or that plane extended upwards. The pin axis must not be further inboard than 100mm from the inside face of the top plank.
Rudder
4.1 The rudder shall be constructed of timber or plywood suitable for its purpose.
4.2 Rudders must be attached to the aft face of the sternpost at two points. The rudder axis must be no more than 25mm from the aft face of the sternpost at these two points.
4.3 The submerged area of one side of the rudder must be not less than 850cm^2 calculated below the waterline defined in the method statement. A 25mm wide painted band in a contrasting colour must be painted on the rudder with its bottom edge at the reference water line as defined in the method statement.
Thwarts
5.1 Thwarts may be spaced further apart than the arrangements show in the plans. The aft edge of a thwart may abut but must not be forward of the front face of its frame, nor the front edge of a thwart be aft of the aft face of its frame.
5.2 Thwarts must have a constant width of between 150mm and 250mm and cross the boat from frame to frame.
5.3 Thwarts are to be made of timber or suitably supported plywood.
Floorboards and Footrests
6.1 The floorboards shown in the plans are not required for racing craft. Dispensing with them is a reasonable departure from the plans.
6.2 Footrests, where used, must be made only of timber or plywood, with other materials allowed for fixings such as screws and nails but not for adjustable parts of the footrests such as sliders or runners.
Oars
7.1 Oars shall be made of timber and/or plywood. The use of thin plastic or leather sleeving, facing or wear strips fastened to oars to protect wooden parts from wear is permitted. Plastic is to be no more than 6.25mm thick and must not project in its width or length beyond the wooden part it is covering.
7.2 Oar blades must not be “spooned” or of the “chopper” style.
7.3 Blades to be symmetrical about a horizontal plane through the shaft axis, i.e. the top of the blade should be a reflection of the bottom.
Materials – General
8.1 Materials permitted in the construction of the boat are: Timber, Plywood, Brass, Silicon Bronze, Stainless Steel, Gunmetal, Leather and any other material allowed under particular applications within these rules for that particular application only.
8.2 Glues used in the construction of the boat should be of Marine Quality, and will usually be Epoxy resin or a Polyurethane glue.
8.3 Fibreglass reinforcement is not permitted except for temporary repair.
Safety Equipment and Buoyancy
9.1 Items such as pumps, buoyancy, and other items of safety equipment which do not affect the racing performance of the boat may be made of any material.
Measurement by Officials
10.1 Any regatta organiser, referee, umpire or office bearer of SASI, or the recognised national class association for the St Ayles Skiff in the country in which the race is taking place may require measurement, by himself or others, of a racing craft and its equipment at any time and without giving reason.
10.2 The SASI Board or the committee of the recognised national class association for the country in which the skiff being examined is based, is authorised to issue an exemption certificate to clubs, excusing a specified skiff from compliance with a specific rule for specified reasons, and for a specified period of time; and that the committee may delegate that power to any class measurer appointed by them. If the said skiff is to race at the St Ayles Skiff World Championship, the exemption certificate must be ratified by SASI.
Para-Rowers
11.1 Departure from the rules set out above is permitted for the purpose of making reasonable adjustments to allow rowers or coxes with disabilities to participate fully in racing St Ayles skiffs as part of a crew, and allowing the crew to compete with others on as near equal terms as possible. The adjustments are specific to the individual para-rower (or cox) and when that rower or cox is not on the boat, the crew must not take advantage of any such departure.
Approved by SASI Board February 2023.
Method Statement
This method statement does not form part of the rules. However it is added here to give an indication of how the measurement rules will be applied.
Rudder area:
The rudder is hung on the boat and a line drawn on it projected from the keel rabet line, which is where the keel meets the garboard strake (bottom plank).
The reference water line is drawn 390mm above this line, parallel. Alternately, the same line can be drawn parallel to the keel and passing through a point 25mm below the bottom of the fourth plank above the keel where it meets the sternpost.
The area below this line can be calculated by overlaying a 10cm grid and counting whole and part squares. There should be at least 8.5 squares.
If the rudder has a lifting blade, it should be lifted till only 850cm^2 is below the line, and a 25mm wide band in contrasting colour painted with its bottom edge at the line. This is so that umpires can check that at least 850cm^2 is submerged.
Note
Reference waterline 390mm above keel rabet