Skimmar Sea Dog 9.5 Frostbiter

A DONATED BOAT
On August  6, 2015, a friend told me that someone she knew had a sailboat to give away. It needed work; would I be interested? I had been trying to sell four nicely restored sailboats for nearly a year and have several projects waiting for attention. Unfortunately, in our economy, only politicians, lawyers and drug dealers can afford to buy boats and they buy big expensive motorboats and yachts, not dinghies.

I went to look at it and was not very impressed. It was filthy from decades of outdoor storage and was damaged in a storm when the boat drifted over a spillway. Finally, there was no rudder, dagger rigging or sail. I offered to take the boat off the lady's property at no charge.







What a difference a power wash can make -- every flaw becomes visible!


Surprisingly, however, the hull was basically sound except for the damaged area.








Fortunately, the boat had been stored upside down, so the inside was not bad.




The damaged side was going to involve some hard work -- if I decided to restore it. My wife assured me, "I'll help you get it to the landfill."


Whenever I get a boat that is new to me, I do research to find out all I can about it. A still legible label on the side said it was made by Skimmar and the HIN verified that it was a 1975 model. The length measured 9' 4" (the bow nose was slightly damaged, so I wasn't certain).





I am still undecided. Any takers for this boat as is? I'll sell it for $250 to make my wife happy!

Thanks to the internet, I found that it is a Skimmar Sea Dog. There is a rather large contingent of Sea Dogs in the Sachem’s Head Harbor Frostbiter Fleet in Guilford, Connecticut.

Here is a neat video of the December 7, 2013 Sea Dog Frostbiter World Championship - water and air temperature at 40 degrees! The winner was a mother!

What is Frostbite Sailing?
Frostbiting video