Class Profile- Musto Performance Skiff

by Paul Manning on 30 Nov 2005 The Musto Performance Skiff has been designed and developed with the following brief in mind – to produce an elegant yet simple dinghy with blistering performance that is highly enjoyable to sail. Just ask any Musto Performance Skiff owner and they will confirm that the design brief has been achieved.

As with any true skiff the deck layout is extremely simple leaving the sailor free to focus on sailing the boat. The superb Harken deck gear combined with the layout means that all the controls work effortlessly; don't get tangled up with complexed systems, just focus on sailing the boat.

The spinnaker hoist and recovery system allows the sailor to hoist and drop in seconds due to the low friction blocks and wide chute mouth. In addition the system is not prone to jamming or ropes twisting up which could lead to problems in extreme situations.

The Musto Performance Skiff has evolved and been tested using the considerable experience of the development team. From the concept in 1999 by German designer Dr. Joachim Harpprecht, a lifetime single-handed trapeze dinghy sailor, through Victor Boats production prototypes to Dave Ovington and Ovington Boats work to finalise the production and manufacture. The previous successes of these world premier boat-building companies guarantee the quality of the Musto Performance Skiff.

With the backing of Musto Ltd and with strong class rules protecting the one design principle we are enjoying strong and exciting fleet racing worldwide.

The Musto Performance Skiff was presented at the ISAF single-handed trials in March 2000 for consideration for future Olympic Class. The result of the evaluation event was clear and very satisfying to everyone who was involved in the project. Evaluation sailors invited to the event by the ISAF had no problems in sailing the Musto Performance Skiff and the smiles showed their enjoyment of sailing this boat.

In every race staged by the evaluation panel the Musto Performance Skiff was the first mono hull, and in the last race sailed over a windward leeward course, the two Musto Performance Skiffs were first and second by a considerable margin. This clearly showed the performance of the Musto Performance Skiff. Recent major handicap/multi-class events have confirmed the Musto Performance Skiff to be the fastest boat of its type.

Victor Boats and Musto Ltd have now established an exciting new class, with up to seven nations currently to be seen competing at European events. The boat clocks speeds of over twenty knots and the hull with all deck fittings weighs only 55kg for a length of 4.55m. (Bare hull weight 40kg)

For further information on the class and events see: www.mustoskiff.com