What Does Skipjack Mean?

A skipjack is a kind of sailboat. It was developed on the Chesapeake Bay for the purpose of Oyster dredging. It has been successful as the chief boat for oyster dredging on the bay. These kinds of boats are continually in service due to the ban on the use of power boats I the state of Maryland in its oyster fishery. It is sloop-arranged with a very sharply racked mast and it also has an extremely long boom. The mainsail in general is triangular.

A very normal skipjack is usually 40 to 50 feet in length. This boat is generally steered from a wheel which is mounted towards the stern. Due to the laws stated by the state, the boat uses no motor. Eventually most of these skipjacks were modified with the use of stern davits which has been added to hold a push boat to allow motorized travel.

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