Skipper sk 700? 7m

Or SK700 built by Cruachan Marine?

There was a SK700 review in PBO 160 April 1980. Suggests they are light displacement boats - fast but tippy ... not really family sailing. Concluded: "All in all...SK is excellent value, has good performance and should appeal to those moving up from dinghy racing."
LOA23ft,LWL 16'8", beam 8'2" displacement 2200lb ballast 800lbs (36%) sail 275sqft lifting keel 1.09/4'7" draught, fixed keel 4'7". Designer Stephen Jones.

PM me if you want a copy of the boat test.
 
There was a SK700 review in PBO 160 April 1980. Suggests they are light displacement boats - fast but tippy ... not really family sailing. Concluded: "All in all...SK is excellent value, has good performance and should appeal to those moving up from dinghy racing."
LOA23ft,LWL 16'8", beam 8'2" displacement 2200lb ballast 800lbs (36%) sail 275sqft lifting keel 1.09/4'7" draught, fixed keel 4'7". Designer Stephen Jones.

PM me if you want a copy of the boat test.

I'm looking at the details of a Skipper 700 in an old PBO " British Sailing Cruiser Guide, published in 1981

22.5 ft LOA, 8ft beam
Sail area 275 sq ft
Draft (Lifting keel) 1.7/4.8ft
1760 lbs displacement, 600lbs ballast
Designer Stephen Jones, Builder Cruachan Marine ( Argyll)
 
Maybe one and same....or model change?

I'm looking at the details of a Skipper 700 in an old PBO " British Sailing Cruiser Guide, published in 1981

22.5 ft LOA, 8ft beam
Sail area 275 sq ft
Draft (Lifting keel) 1.7/4.8ft
1760 lbs displacement, 600lbs ballast
Designer Stephen Jones, Builder Cruachan Marine ( Argyll)

Looks very close and the OP title suggests a certain ambiguity about the name. No mention of it being called the Skipper in the review. Maybe the fin and lifting keel versions had different displacements? Or it was remodelled and became the Skipper instead of the SK700 (if they are one and same or share the same ancestry). The lifter has a lead bulb according to the review and a vertical box to lift up into with Delrin sliders to reduce friction.. By implication the fixed fin did not have lead bulb . Instead it was bolted to strengthening stringers , though both versions given as 4'7" maximum draughts. I'm not quite sure what PBO meant by "1.09/4ft 7in" as the draught of the lifter. Is that one foot and 9 hundredths of a foot or 1'9" or just a typo?

Moulded in Emsworth (by Hodge Mouldings) and fitted out at by Cruachan at Taynuilt, Argyll according to Doreen Annan who wrote the review.
 
Sounds like two slightly different descriptions of the same boat.

The big differences being the displacement and the ballast.

Heres the one I'm reading .

scan0068.jpg
 
Yes thats the one about 23 foot
open at the stern...that last photo is oban so that makes sense
looks like it would be lively fun!
and that skipper 700 is how it looks
so ye very good info!
 
I always thought the Skipper 700 had potential to be a good boat, though maybe requiring an experienced crew rather than a novice family - a bit like a smaller Aphrodite 101 in spirit, as both never seem to have been appreciated though quite different design approaches.

When discussing ballast ratios, check where that ballast is situated !

Some lift keel boats have built in ballast stubs just below the waterline, others carry a bulb low down on the end of the keel...

While I favour the latter idea, the ballast stub format may give better longitudinal stability ( just hard-mouthed steering on the ones I've tried ) and require a much lighter keel and mechanism; whether this is an aid to sailing or manufacture I'll leave to you to decide, but the S700 did always strike me as a sailor's boat.
 
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