Hi,

I think the skerry may fit what you want. I haven't had lots of opportunities to sail in high winds (US midAtlantic region is fairly calm in the Summer) but did get pummeled once at the shore with probably ~15-20+ knt winds.  I spent several hours on the water and with a scandalized sail (actually I removed the sprit) the boat was quite manageable and dry.  

Christine de Merchant (http://www.christinedemerchant.com/skerry.html) has had a lot more experience in the high winds and she also considers the Skerry to be a dry boat.

Hope this helps your choice.

Mihai

Jonathon,

Some great comments about how the Skerry performs in big air.  I can picture exactly what you're saying.  I'm building a Dory and wondered if you know how the Dory performs in big air compared to the comments you made about the Skerry?

thanks,

Curt

Jon's comments ignore one very important factor - the sailor's experience. Various people, Christine DeMerchant among them, have posted about taking their Skerry's out in 20 knot+ winds with no trouble. There's some ad copy photos on this website somewhere showing John Harris sailing in 20 knot+ winds, totally under control. If the sailor is up to it, the Skerry is much more than a 12 knot boat. 12 knots is just where it begins to get really fun.

As far as reefing on the water, the solution for that is to reef early. Check the weather reports and put off with a reef already in if the weather looks as if it's going to get challenging.

For the Dory, I remember talking with George Krewson, who built the beta test kit, and he had that out in 20 knot+ winds, too. Maybe he'll hop in here with his experiences.

The main point is that the limiting factor is the sailor's skill, not the boat.

Have fun,

Laszlo

I've had both boats in pretty strong winds (15-20 knots). No problems with either. I felt comfortable in both, the Dory can handle more wind in my opinion. The Skerry has an advantage of being able to row while the sail is allowed to luff. The Dory sail needs to be lashed to the mast in order to row. That can come in handy if you get caught in an outgoing tide against the wind in an ocean inlet. Yup, the voice of experience. The only problem I had at all with the Dory was I didn't have enough weight in the boat to carry it thru a tack ( I'm around 140 which is just a bit more than the Dory rigged) so I had to jibe. The first one was a little nerve wracking but the boat is more stable than you think and it was no problem. I stayed out for about an hour just playing in the wind and enjoying how well the boat handled it. Jibed a lot, never came close to a take down. And I believe the production version of the Dory has a larger rudder to help the handling. 

The one comment made above about the Skerry "tipping over in a heartbeat if you're not extremely alert" may be true, but I think Laszlo was right when he said the limiting factor is the sailor's skill, not the boat. 

George K

The Skerry is a very capable boat that can be safely taken out in winds of 20 + knots by an experienced sailor.

Similarly, I have sailed my lug-rigged Passagemaker Dinghy in a breeze of 20+ knots (un-reefed) and felt that the boat handled exeedingly well. The Skerry, Dory and Passagemaker will be more stable with a second person aboard. They like the extra weight - judiciously placed - to provide better lateral balance

So, when I single-hand and you start feeling overpowered, you can luff or simply bear off and not try to point so hard to the wind.

If you sail single-handed often you might want to add a little more weight in order to increase stability: so consider adding two 50 lb bags of sand and secure them near bottom middle and a bit forward of the dagger board trunk. 

This past summer I sailed with a friend who had just built a Skerry. He was quite inexperienced and definitely not ready for a fresh breeze. After sailing with him for an afternoon I suggested that he learn the basic sailing skills and develop confidence on one of the old Sunfish in our Club.

Inexperienced single-handers usually make the mistake of sitting way too far back in the boat and that will make tacking in a breeze definitely more difficult.

Cheers

~~~_/)~~ Chris

My PMD Blog

Hey George,

One concern I have on the "stock" dory rudder is that it appears it only goes below the skeg a few inches, which is good when beaching but bad when setting the boat on the ground (does the rudder bear the load?)

I asked John about a kick up rudder for the Dory and he sent me a drawing of a kick up rudder option for the dory that may be a mod of the Skerry kick up rudder.

"And I believe the production version of the Dory has a larger rudder to help the handling."

Do you know if the rudder on the Dory you sailed is the stock rudder sold with Dorys?  If it is, I wonder if the kick up rudder has more wetted surface, more bite etc?

Your thoughts?

Curt

Curt,

I built the BETA Dory so the rudder was smaller than the production boat's. Not sure how much size was added, CLC can answer that. And when beaching the rudder does near the load as there's a keeper that holds it in place. I haven't seen John's drawing for the Dory kick up rudder but it should  work as well as the Skerry's. And I can't speculate as to the performance since I haven't seen the drawing. John should be able to give you an answer on that. 

George K

George,

Thanks for the info...also, my mistake, it was David that sent me the dorry kick up rudder drawing.

Curt

   This is from a fairly inexperienced sailer. The sprit in 20+ would make me nervous. I am not sure how strong the wind was but I have had a few times that I wished I could reef. Since I have small children, I have opted to begin working with a balanced lug with my skerry. I feel safer...though I do not have the rig properly tuned yet. I think my cleats on the mast are to far below the sail. Also, once you are in 20knts the healing becomes some real work to manage if its gusting.

I like the skerry but now wish for the size of the dory. I have 3 kids a wife, and a large dog. Too often I leave folks on the beach. The dory has less rocker and I think would be more dicey in a following swell and would need more rudder to turn (as long as the skerry is balanced it turns well into a tack).  I took my dad and brother out  on separate occasions in stong wind on a shallow sound and with the wind stacking up the waves, I found the weight of an adult putting the bow very close to pulling water over the bow . My brother is 6' 4" and about 185lbs so it was a heavy load in front and about the limit with the two of us. I am about the same weight. He really needed to be between the daggerbox and the mast, but thats not much room to sit for someone his size.

The other nice thing about the dory is you could add a rowing wing. I would like to try that on my skerry.

All that being said, the Skerry fits in my garage, is fun to sail, and for two should work very well. It rows easily. (I rowed it back about 3+ miles after the wind died last weekend with the kids dragging their feet in 87 degree heat and felt fine) With two adults, the one in the bow could raise the sprit while one tends the back. I always had to dance around the kids raising the sail while making sure the boat didnt get out of control in the rear. Again, I am still a novice.

Ultimately, I would go with the dory between the two just for the added capabilities and capacity unless it doesnt fit the garage. The rig can be changed but the dory is more boat.

Pat