The Cocktail Class Association has licensed us to produce a kit for their ridiculously nifty 8-foot racer called the "Skua." It's powered by either a 6hp or 8hp outboard, depending on how much the skipper weighs. Less than 200lbs, and you are limited to a two-stroke 6hp Johnson or Evinrude outboard---which are ubiquitous and inexpensive. Over 200lbs, and you may use an 8hp of any vintage.
This is a 1939 design by Charles MacGregor, originally published in The Rudder Magazine as an example of what could be done with a novel new material called "plywood."
The Cocktail Class Wooden Boat Racing Association has revived the old design and is rapidly building up the class as a forum for safe, fun, ultra-inexpensive racing.
Keith Carew, an engineer from the esteemed Farr Yacht Design team, pitched in after-hours to help with the complicated conversion from tricky plywood-on-frame construction to stitch-and-glue, suitable for first-time builders. We've come up with a pretty cool slot-together scheme. You can assemble the boat in an hour or two, ready for epoxy fillets and fiberglass, yet the kit is competitive and completely "class legal."
One of our early kits, helmed by our own Aaron McWain, won the 2011 Cocktail Class Nationals. The History Channel show, Modern Marvels, featured the construction of a couple of Cocktail Class prototypes in our shop. You can watch the show here.
Kits and plans ship with a brilliant 143-page instruction manual with almost 400 photos and drawings illustrating every step.
Note: "Cocktail Class Throttle Component Kits" include the proper attachment fitting for use with OMC 6hp motors and 1970s or older OMC 8hp motors. Newer 8hp motors will require manufacturer-specific cable attachments that are not included in our throttle kit.
