NIKE racing on Sydney Harbour in the late 1930s

Images(2)

Nike

Vessel numberHV000410

Builder Tom Phillips

Owner Sydney Heritage Fleet

Vessel class 12-Foot Skiff Class (1914 - 2011)

Date1933

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 3.66 m x 3.66 m x 1.52 m (12 ft x 12 ft x 5 ft)

Vessel Highlights

12-Foot Class

DescriptionNIKE was built by Tom Phillips in Balmain for BL Thomson around 1933. His shed was next to the Balmain Coal mine. The hull is batten-seam, carvel planked in Queensland cedar. It has closely spaced frames and a full bow, with a gaff rig on a long bowsprit, all typical features for a 12 -Foot skiff of the period between the two world wars. It was raced with a crew of four, a tight fit in such a short craft. The class was often seen as a training class for the bigger 18 foot skiffs, but a number of class enthusiasts stayed with the 12s for many seasons rather than moving to another class.

NIKE raced with the Vaucluse Amateur 12 Foot Skiff Club in Sydney for many seasons, but was not as successful as DOVE had been for the Queenslanders. It was sold to J Carr in 1935, and he continued to race with the same club. In 1965 NIKE was given a shorter mast and then used as a training boat for the Carr family. They donated NIKE to the Sydney Heritage Fleet in 1981.

The 12-Foot Skiff class dinghies were smaller versions of the well known 18-Foot Skiff class, and shared the same unlimited restrictions to sail area and crew. They were also open boats with no buoyancy allowed, so a capsize meant the end of the race for any unfortunate craft. In 2010 these exciting craft are still sailed on Sydney Harbour, Brisbane River in Queensland and the Waitamata Harbour in Auckland New Zealand as high performance skiffs with only two crew.

SignificanceNIKE is a wooden 12-Foot Skiff class dinghy from the early 1930s, built in Sydney NSW. It was based on the design of the Queensland Champion skiff DOVE, and shows the typical construction of an early 1930s skiff.