SKUD 18
Encyclopedia
The SKUD 18 is a class of racing sailing boat
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...

. It is a lead-assisted skiff
Skiff
The term skiff is used for a number of essentially unrelated styles of small boat. The word is related to ship and has a complicated etymology: "skiff" comes from the Middle English skif, which derives from the Old French esquif, which in turn derives from the Old Italian schifo, which is itself of...

 with a tube-launched asymmetrical and a modern high performance stayed rig
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...

. The boat was created for trials held by the International Association for Disabled Sailing
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 who were looking for a new two person boat for an additional medal allocated to sailing for the 2008 Paralympics.

Background

The class is an elegant examples of Universal Design
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....

 and provide a pathway, within the mainstream, for entry level sailors right through to elite competition. Allowing both able-bodied and disabled athletes alike to enjoy this keelboat. More severely disabled sailors will welcome the ability to compete on an equitable level.

History

Created as a concept for International Association for Disabled Sailing
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 selected trials for a new boat for new two-person Paralympic competition in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, the SKUD 18 is a strict one design class. Sailors are seated on the centerline for Paralympic events, but the boat can be sailed with or without either of the seats and configured to suit different sailors’ needs. Perfect for training younger sailors before they move into high performance skiffs or dinghies, the SKUD18 is also ideal for those not-so-young sailors who cannot hike like they used to but still want the excitement of high performance racing.

Design

The SKUD 18 is a result of collaboration between Chris Mitchell of Access Sailing and Julian Bethwaite of Bethwaite Design, both in Australia, along with Argentine naval architect Martin Billoch. By combining Mitchell's unique experience and ideology of ‘sailing for everyone’ with 20 years of Bethwaite research and technology, the result is an innovative lead assisted skiff (LAS), the SKUD 18.

“The design evolved as a 5.8m LAS, capable of carrying weight whilst maintaining a high level of performance and control. Cost has been kept low, is easy to stack and containerize, requires simple maintenance and offers ease of use. The boat will be a challenge for able-bodied and disabled sailors alike. The SKUD 18 has been designed from a performance basis to offer scintillating, crisp and snappy response to sailors regardless of their mobility.” - Julian Bethwaite, designer of the Olympic class 49er
49er (dinghy)
The 49er is a double handed twin trapeze skiff type sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. The design, by Julian Bethwaite, the son of Frank Bethwaite , is revolutionary...

 skiff


“The SKUD 18 is very versatile and can be handled by a variety of crew configurations. The helmsperson can transfer manually and be steering with tillers, or be in a fixed seat on the centreline using a manual joystick, push/pull rods, or a servo assist joystick with full control of all functions. The forward crew can either be seated on the centreline, transferring manually, or on trapeze. As the name reflects, the SKUD 18 is a SKiff of Universal Design and can be sailed for fun or serous competition by people of all levels of physical ability.” - Chris Mitchell, designer of a range of accessible sailcraft

Universal Design

Universal Design is related to "inclusive design", "design for all" and “accessible design”. Universal Design differs from accessible design as accessible design means products and buildings that are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. Universal design means products and buildings that are accessible and usable by everyone—older people as well as young, women as well as men, left-handed persons as well as right-handed persons. It acknowledges disability, aging, and other differences as a part of everyday life.
SKUD 2P in Paralympic format.

Adaptations for Disabled people


“The purpose of servo systems is to allow the more severely disabled people to sail and to level up the playing field.” - Chris Mitchell, SKUD 18 servo assist system developer


Servo motors sailboats are generally used to allow people with mobility problems to enjoy the freedom and independence of sailing by themselves, sailing solo, something that many don’t achieve in any other aspect of their lives. On two-person boats like the SKUD 18, the helmsperson may be a severely disabled sailor (SDS) so needs servo assisted steering, while the crew would generally control the sheets. But it is achievable to have a full servo system so that the SDS helmsperson can adjust sheets and other controls like the cunningham (sailing)
Cunningham (sailing)
In sailing, a cunningham or cunningham's eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. Sailors also often refer to the cunningham as the "smart pig"....

 and outhaul
Outhaul
An outhaul is a line which is part of the running rigging of a sailboat, used to extend a sail and control the shape of the curve of the foot of the sail. It runs from the clew to the end of the boom...

 as well. Access Sailing Systems servo assist equipment can easily be converted for manual use by disengaging the steering winch clutch and winding out all but a few inches of sheet and then hauling in the sheets by hand. On the SKUD 18, sheets are double ended and can be readily adjusted in either mode.

With its debut in the 2008 Paralympics, this was the first of the 3 keelboat classes to use a spinnaker, as well as the first Paralympic class to specify a severely disabled sailor and a female in the crew, with both sailors secured (with quick release) to their centerline seats for safety purposes. With its 140 kg bulb and 1.7m draft, the 2-person SKUD 18, even with both crew on the centerline, has exceptional stability and is fail safe. Important considerations in being fail safe with a Severely Disabled Sailor (SDS) aboard in the worst situation, i.e., where the boat is broached
Broach (sailing)
A sailboat broaches when its heading suddenly changes towards the wind due to wind/sail interactions for which the rudder cannot compensate. This causes the boat to roll dangerously and if not controlled may lead to a capsize...

/ lying on its side in wild conditions:
  • SDS need to be strapped into a seat for body support.
  • Their head must remain clear of the water even if all systems fail.
  • Considerable buoyancy required under the side decks, considering that the sailor could be strapped into a leeward canted seat.
  • There is escalating potential for danger if the sailor is in a sliding or transversely mobile seat, either manual or servo powered.
  • Further, as high level quadriplegics are generally restricted to helming and its considerably less complex to organise steering for a centreline seated quad, a fail safe seat for a quad should therefore be fixed on the centerline.
  • The forward crew for 2008 Paralympics were also restricted to a centerline seat for same reasons. However this is not the ideal format for the boat, though it does allow those with limited mobility to attend to the other primary function of rig adjustments.

SKUD Manufacturers

The SKUD 18 is built by Extreme Sailing Products in Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 for Bethwaite Design. Run by two Australian boatbuilders, Tim Ross and Paul Paterson, XSP also produce the 49er
49er (dinghy)
The 49er is a double handed twin trapeze skiff type sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. The design, by Julian Bethwaite, the son of Frank Bethwaite , is revolutionary...

, 29er
29er
The 29er is a two-man high performance skiff designed by Julian Bethwaite and first produced in 1998.-Background:It is targeted at youth, especially those training to sail the larger 49er. It has a single trapeze and a fractional asymmetric spinnaker. The Class is a more modern replacement to...

, Tasar
Tasar (dinghy)
The Tasar is a fiberglass 2 person sailing dinghy with a mainsail and jib. Designed by Frank Bethwaite of Sydney in 1975, the boat is technologically advanced. Aimed at a husband and wife/parent and child crew, it is designed for a combined crew weight of 140 kg. The hull weighs 68 kg,...

, Byte
Byte (dinghy)
The Byte is a one man sailing dinghy. It is produced by xtreme Sailing Products of Singapore and PS2000 in North America, and was previously produced by Topper Sailboats in the UK. However, Topper ceased production of GRP boats to concentrate on its rotomolded plastic designs. It is 12 ft ...

, 420, Optimist and a number of other classes. XSP were selected for their consistent high standards of workmanship and their efficient distribution location via Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

Access Class Association

The SKUD is managed by the Access Class Association which also administers the Access 2.3, Access 303 and the Access Liberty

Paralympics

Sailing has been part of the Paralympic Games
Sailing at the Summer Paralympics
Sailing has been an official part of the Summer Paralympic Games since 2000, after being a demonstration sport in 1996. The International Association for Disabled Sailing is responsible for coordinating the event with the International Paralympic Committee and the hosts....

 since 1996 and detailed information on each sailing event can be found on the following pages.
For the SKUD 18 class it debuted in Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 during the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games. Eleven nations competed on the 2-person keelboat
Keelboat
Keelboat has two distinct meanings related to two different types of boats: one a riverine cargo-capable working boat, and the other a classification for small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yachts.-Historical keel-boats:...

, namely host country China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The entries criteria require at least one member of the crew to be female. This led to the first three women who've won Paralympic medals in sailing. Sailing competition athletes and full results.

"I'm very pleased to be the first woman ever to win a gold medal in Paralympic sailing."
- Maureen McKinnon-Tucker

Medal SKUD Skipper Crew
Gold
Nick Scandone
Nick Scandone
Nicholas Salvatore "Nick" Scandone was an American yachtsman who narrowly missed participating on the U.S...

 (USA)
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker is an American paralympian yachtswoman. In 2008 in Beijing she became the first woman to represent the United States in sailing at a Paralympic Games...

Silver
Dan Fitzgibbon (AUS
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

)
Rachael Cox
Rachael Cox
Rachael Cox is a Paralympic sailor from Australia. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Mixed Two Person SKUD18 event. She was born on 13 September 1975.-References:...

Bronze
John McRoberts (CAN
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

)
Stacie Louttit

IFDS
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 Disabled Sailing World Championships

2011 IFDS
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 Two-Person Keelboat World Championship

2011, Weymouth and Portland





2010 IFDS
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 Two-Person Keelboat World Championship
http://ifdsworlds2010.com/, The event was held in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 in [Medmeblick]] from 6–14 July 2010 and sponsored by Delta Lloyd.

2010, Medemblik
Medemblik
Medemblik is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.- History :...





2008 IFDS
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 Two-Person Keelboat World Championship
http://www.skud.org/?Page=25226, Changi
Changi
Changi is an area at the eastern end of Singapore. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport/Changi Air Base, Changi Naval Base and is also home to Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II which held Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia...

, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.
The second and final Paralympic qualifying event for the SKUD class. Held at the SAF Yacht Club, from 23–27 March 2008. The final 4 countries qualified: Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Malaysia, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.
Medal SKUD Skipper Crew
Gold
Jovin Tan (SIN
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

)
Desiree Lim
Silver
Jia Hai Liang (CHN
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

)
Yu Huawu
Bronze
Bento Amaral (POR
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

)
Luisa Silvano


2007 IFDS
International Association for Disabled Sailing
The International Association for Disabled Sailing is an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and is responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee...

 World Championship
http://www.2007ifdsworlds.com/results.html, Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, NY, USA.

Held from 7–15 September 2007 by the Rochester Yacht Club, this was the first Paralympic qualifying event for the SKUD and included the 2.4mR and Sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 classes. In the SKUD class, the first 6 countries qualified: Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 as Paralympic host country automatically qualified for 1 slot.
Medal SKUD Skipper Crew
Gold
Karen Mitchell (USA)
JP Creignou
Silver
Nick Scandone
Nick Scandone
Nicholas Salvatore "Nick" Scandone was an American yachtsman who narrowly missed participating on the U.S...

 (USA)
Bronze
Carl-Gustaf Fresk (SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

)

Other Events

Bruce Wake International SKUD 18 Open Meeting

2010, Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....





External links

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