snipe sailboat daggerboard

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Snipe daggerboard

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The old Snipe I'm reviving lost the daggerboard eons ago when someone capsized. Ha, the last registration sticker on the bow is from 2008! I will likely make a steel daggerboard. So I just have questions: 1) Do Snipers usually connect a line to their daggerboard so, in the unlikely event of a capsize(!), it may not end up at the bottom of the lake/bay somewhere? 2) What holds the daggerboard in an up position when headed downwind ... just kind of jam it there at an angle? Thanks, mateys ... Ed ps and I've even got a Jiffy Jib Jam !!  

What is the usual material for Snipe centerboards? A steel daggerboard may be too heavy to adjust easily. The class rules call for aluminum (Section 2:E) : https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/SNICR20210101-[26861].pdf  

snipe centerboard weight

The steel dagger board is 1/4" thick and the aluminum is 3/8" so which one you user is determined buy the width of the opening in the dagger board trunk. the 3/8" aluminum board will not fit in the older boats and 1/4" aluminum is not strong enough. the extra weight of the steel board does not help with stability so if you have the 3/8" opening then you should use the aluminum board. in a Snipe the lighter they are the better they sail.  

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Published on August 4th, 2021 | by Editor

Getting started in the Snipe Class

Published on August 4th, 2021 by Editor -->

Getting started in a new one-design class can be intimidating. You may not know the boat, the people, the set-up of the rig, or the fastest sail trim. But joining a new class is not as scary or as challenging as you might think.

Quantum Sails’ Carter Cameron began sailing Snipes a year ago and in this report reflects on the positive experience and lessons learned to give others a leg up when starting your one-design journey.

Sailing the 2021 Snipe US Nationals marked my first anniversary in the boat, and I couldn’t have had more fun. Here are my takeaways after the first year learning the boat.

Chines Growing up sailing Lightnings in Charleston, I was familiar with how a chined boat sails. However, most new Snipe sailors are collegiate or recently graduated sailors who are used to sailing round-hulled boats like Lasers, 420s, and FJs.

With these boats, the goal is to sail as flat as possible so you get the most efficient flow over your underwater foils. Anytime you heel to leeward, you’ll start sliding because the foils don’t have an optimal angle of attack. The Snipe is different from collegiate dinghies because the chine helps create lift as well, and its daggerboard is not as efficient either.

The Snipe board is made from a piece of sheet metal, so it’s only faired around the edges and flat in the middle, whereas with fiberglass boards you can create shape across the whole foil. Sailing the Snipe with a little bit of leeward heel−no more than 5 degrees−puts the chine in the water and creates lift to help overcome its less efficient daggerboard. Tunable Rig The Snipe has many controls to help manipulate sail shape, which is great for the collegiate sailors who are used to having vang, cunningham, outhaul, and jib halyard to tension the rig. In addition, the Snipe has adjustable spreaders in sweep and length, a mast ram, jib cunningham, and STA-Masters to adjust rake. While this may seem like a lot, the magic of the Snipe is that you can simplify all these controls and still be fast.

Quantum’s tuning guide is spot on, so just follow that to match rake, tension, and spreader sweep and length, and you’re off to the races. I learned fairly quickly what the mast ram is capable of, but new sailors don’t need to worry about moving it in their first year in the boat. Just lock it at neutral and you’re good to go.

For the curious, however, mast forward upwind will bend your rig more and sag jib halyard and vice-versa for when you pull it back. Once you’ve got some Snipe experience, you can pull your mast aft all the way on the downwind, which helps get your boom farther out and pushes more depth into your main, creating a more powerful shape.

Whisker Poles Are Your Friend Gone are the days of the skipper holding out the windward jib sheet for wing-on-wing downwind. Now the whisker pole has come to the rescue. Snipe whisker poles are rigged on a clever self-retracting bungee system rigged inside the boom.

All that needs to be rigged to go sailing each day is to tie the end of the pole launcher line coming out of the pole to the clew of the jib and feed the other end of the launcher line through the blocks on the mast and deck to the crew. Whisker poles are great for maximizing projected area on the downwind and they really help the boat take off on the reaches. Snipes love to plane because of this set-up.

Serious Sailing, Serious Fun The Snipe Class trademarked this motto for good reason. It is truly one of the most competitive one-design classes in the world, and it’s hard to meet a better group of sailors off the water.

It’s not every day you get sail against World Champions like Augie Diaz, Raul Rios, George Szabo, Pan-American gold medalist Ernesto Rodriguez, and too many National and North American champions to count. It’s humbling to be rolled by one of these guys on an upwind, and they’re more than happy to help you sail your boat faster as well.

My favorite part of the motto is Serious Fun. I’ve made friends I’ll have for the rest of my life and had mentors I’ll never be able to pay back no matter what I do. Part of the serious fun is getting the “U30s” in the boat, post-collegiate sailors 30 years old and younger. There are lease-to-own programs, loaner boats, and numerous regatta charter deals that are geared to get this group sailing Snipes.

There’s nobody that does this better than Alex and Lisa Pline of Annapolis Fleet 532. They’ve been instrumental in getting me involved in the class and making sure I’m having a good time. Because of folks like the Plines, we’ve got a good group of U30s who travel to all the regattas. You’ll feel like you’re back in college with these folks when you’re off the water.

After one year of sailing the Snipe, I can tell you it is a fantastic boat for anyone looking for competitive, fun racing at a price that won’t break the bank. I wouldn’t change a thing I’ve done sailing this boat for the past year, and I know I’ll be sailing it for the rest of my life. So for all of you on the fence, trust me and go get a Snipe. You won’t regret it.

For more information about Quantum Sails Snipe products and tuning resources, visit the Quantum Sails Snipe one-design page .

Tags: Carter Cameron , education , Quantum Sails , Snipe

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• Sailboat Guide

Snipe is a 15 ′ 5 ″ / 4.7 m monohull sailboat designed by William F. Crosby and built by Lillia (Cantiere Nautico Lillia), Schock W.D., Grampian Marine, Nickels Boat Works, Inc., Helms - Jack A. Helms Co., Jibetech, Aubin, AX Boats, Eichenlaub Boat Co., and Loftland Sail-craft Inc. starting in 1931.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Origins in the US, built, sailed and raced around the world, to this day, and one of the most popular sailing dinghies ever. (In its heyday, the largest sailboat racing class.) See international web site for the many fleets and associations around the world.

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Daggerboard

Specifications SNIPE

15.50 ft / 4.72 m - 1931 - William Crosby

SNIPE Sailboat Data

Hull Type: Daggerboard Rigging Type: Fractional Sloop LOA: 15.50 ft / 4.72 m LWL: 12.67 ft / 3.86 m S.A. (reported): 128.00 ft² / 11.89 m² Beam: 5.00 ft / 1.52 m Displacement: 380.00 lb / 172 kg Max Draft: 3.25 ft / 0.99 m Min Draft: 0.50 ft / 0.15 m Construction: FG or Wood First Built: 1931 # Built: 31000 Designer: William Crosby

Information from  sailboatdata.com .

Hull Speed: 4.77 kn

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Snipe Deck Layout

Whisker Pole Launching System

The Snipe uses a retractable boom-launched whisker pole. The crew deploys the pole with an automatic cleating system led through two 29 mm Carbo stand-up blocks. Two 29 mm T2 Carbo blocks hold up the whisker pole line.

Carbo Ratchamatic Mainsheet®

Use this revolutionary load-sensing ratchet as a secondary mainsheet ratchet to give the skipper extra holding power upwind. As the load decreases around the weather mark, the ratchet automatically turns off for a smooth release.

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Class History

This popular racing dinghy has an active international class association that attracts some of the best sailors in the world. The boat's bendy rig and simple sail plan allows a broad range of crew combinations and weights to make this modern, tactical racer great fun to sail.

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Boat Specifications

LOA: 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m) LWL: 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m) Beam: 5 ft (1.5 m) Sail Area: 128 sq ft (11.8 sq m) Weight: 381 lb (173 kg)

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SNIPE Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of SNIPE. Built by Grampian Marine and designed by William F. Crosby, the boat was first built in 1931. It has a hull type of Daggerboard and LOA is 4.72. Its sail area/displacement ratio 39.08. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by undefined, runs on undefined.

SNIPE has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about SNIPE and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, contributions, who designed the snipe.

SNIPE was designed by William F. Crosby.

Who builds SNIPE?

SNIPE is built by Grampian Marine.

When was SNIPE first built?

SNIPE was first built in 1931.

How long is SNIPE?

SNIPE is 3.86 m in length.

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The official website of the International Snipe Class

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1956 Mozambique Nationals

South american championship, swec – snipe women’s european championship, 2024 snipe world championship, regata nazionale rapallo – trofeo mino scognamiglio, ii prova de apuramento nacional – troféu luso-galaico, join the snipe class serious sailing, serious fun.

The Snipe is a two person dinghy that brings the well-balanced class motto “ serious sailing, serious fun ” to life at every regatta. It’s a class we can grow old in, with age-appropriate challenges and opportunities for every generation .

The Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA) is a widely popular and well run organization all over the world. The Snipe Class offers the best racing calendar you can imagine – for champions and beginners, for juniors (under 21), women, masters (over 45) and mixed teams consisting of major events as World Championships, Europeans, South Europeans, South Americans, North Americans and Nordics, not to forget several international Snipe Regattas.

Snipe class members can comment on the 24 proposals.

Class members can leave comments at the bottom of each proposal…

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