Perfect Skiff
Description
The Perfect Skiff (also known as the 16' Perfect Skiff – Weld) is a simple, flat-bottomed sailing/rowing skiff designed by Steven Weld (a wooden boat enthusiast and competitor in a WoodenBoat magazine design contest around the early 2000s, where it was critiqued and discussed in forums). It was developed as a refined yet practical take on the classic flat-bottom skiff—often debated as one of the "most and least refined" craft due to its basic form but elegant execution. The design emphasizes easy amateur construction (plywood or cedar-planked versions with welded or traditional methods), versatility for rowing, sailing (lug or leg-o'-mutton rig options), and light outboard use in protected waters or coastal daysailing. Plans (5 sheets plus notes) are available from WoodenBoat Store/Publications, covering lines, construction details, and sail plans for both plywood and cedar builds. It's not a mass-produced model but a plans-based design popular among home builders for its straightforward build, shallow draft, and good performance relative to simplicity; production is limited to individual or small-shop builds, with examples still discussed in wooden boat communities.
Construction Details
| Designer | Steven Weld |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 16.000 ft |
| LOA | 16.000 ft |
| Beam | 4.420 ft |
| Displacement | 250 lb |
| Max Draft | 2.670 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.830 ft |
| Year Built | 2000 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Perfect Skiff - 3-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 15.67 ft - (4776 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 10.5 ft - (3200 mm) |
| Leech | 15.5 ft - (4724 mm) |
| Tack Ang | 69.4 ° |
| Area | 77.03 ft² |
| Comments | This is a Leg O'Mutton sail laced to the mast with a 9.67-foot sprit. |
| Edit in Calculator |
Perfect Skiff - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 6.5 ft - (1981 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 11.33 ft - (3453 mm) |
| Leech | 13 ft - (3962 mm) |
| Head | 8.67 ft - (2643 mm) |
| Diagonal | 11.75 ft - (3581 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 77.23 ° |
| Area | 85.63 ft² |
| Comments | This is a balance lug sail. The head is laced to the yard. The foot is loose secured at each end of the boom. |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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