Arctic Tern - Lug Yawl
Description
The Arctic Tern is a graceful, double-ended beach boat designed by Scottish naval architect Iain Oughtred, introduced in the 1990s as a refined evolution of his earlier Jeanie II (inspired by Shetland yoals, traditional Norse-influenced fishing boats). Named for the agile Arctic bird, it embodies Oughtred's philosophy of elegant, versatile small craft that prioritize sailing and rowing in coastal or sheltered waters. At 18'2" (5.54 m), it's part of Oughtred's family of glued-lapstrake plywood double-enders, ranging from the compact 15'2" Whilly Tern to the spacious 19'6" Caledonia Yawl. Built for day sailing, occasional camp cruising, or as a tender, the Arctic Tern excels in simplicity and seaworthiness—rows effortlessly, sails responsively with a balanced lug rig, and trailers easily. Its lapstrake hull offers a smooth ride through chop, while the open design suits solo or small crews (2–4). A longer variant, the Sooty Tern (19'8" / 6 m), adds a raised sheer line and more sail area for enhanced stability and power.
Construction Details
| Designer | Iain Oughtred |
|---|---|
| Length | 18.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.110 ft |
| Beam | 5.380 ft |
| Displacement | 243 lb |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | MIZZEN |
|---|---|
| Luff | 8.33 ft - (2539 mm) |
| Foot | 4.17 ft - (1271 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | 7.59 ft - (2313 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 65.73 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 7.63 ft - (2326 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 3.5 in - (89 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 16.93 ft² |
| Sail Type | LUGSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 9 ft - (2743 mm) |
| Foot | 9 ft - (2743 mm) |
| Leech | 16.5 ft - (5029 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 76.71 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 11.17 ft - (3405 mm) |
| Head | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Area | * 90.51 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.